Arden's Brat Pack

To you, the outsider, this may just look like ladies at a wedding. To me, this picture represents 30+ years of friendship. It represents sleepovers, Cabbage Patch Dolls, dance parties, horrible 80's hairstyles, secrets, Strawberry Shortcake, liking skater boys, countless family trips, Wednesday night youth group, spats, Summer camp, the crazy lost years, heartbreaks, college, growing up, marriage, careers, kids. In short it represents WAY more memories than I could write about. Although we now live in 3 different states, our friendship hasn't waivered. I love these girls like sisters even though we don't talk often (other than FB). We're always able to pick up where we left off when we get together.

Here's to another 30 years! I look forward to continuing our friendship into retirement years and eventually into the wheelchair/walker races years. You, my friends, ROCK!

A Day of Solitude....kind of

I don't care for drama but I seem to be in the center of it lately with work and being "that" pregnant girl (You know? The one's that's complaining about stupid pregnancy things that don't matter in the long run!). So it was nice to not only have a day by myself but a day of pampering. My day started by sleeping in until 7:30. Then I took P to school before heading off for a prenatal massage. I did a little wedding shopping for a friend-at my leisure without having to coax a 3 year old through the store. From there I headed off to more pampering by getting my hair done. I left there, went next door and had a quiet lunch for 1, something I wouldn't have done 4 or 5 years ago for fear of looking like a loner. I took my time, reading my Kindle, enjoying my time alone. I was still early getting P from school so I stopped at one of my favorite walking places and took a leisurely walk around the park, enjoying the beautiful weather and scenery. The quiet time was a time of reflection, one to take a minute to count my blessings.
I'm blessed in so many ways but instead of taking time to count my blessings I spend more time complaining about dumb stuff. After taking a few minutes to reflect on our life, I realized that I blessed to have such a wonderful family. I'm blessed to have a sweet, loving boy that is my world. I'm blessed to be pregnant with our second son, who hopefully will be just as sweet as his big brother. I'm blessed to have great friends who let me vent and be myself yet still love me. I'm blessed to have a wonderful husband who enjoys spending time with our son so I can go be social and do my own thing once in awhile. I'm blessed with so many things that I take for granted. Having a little alone time today made me aware of all the great things in my/our life. I am blessed!!!

Spoiled with Time

I'm one of those that enjoys being with the girls and being social but I feel guilty at the same time. I felt that way Wednesday, after I had been at school all day and then I left P with a new babysitter to go have sushi with some girlfriends. However, I've gotten over that feeling this weekend because me being gone has given Rob and P some much needed Father/Son time. Friday night I had Book Club so they BBQ'd antelope steaks and enjoyed a fresh peach cobbler I had baked for them. Then last night Rob took P on his first tent camping experience. He wanted to actually go camping somewhere but, after hearing that P was a little nervous about it, he decided to stick close to home....literally. They pitched a tent by the dog kennel and I gave P 5 minutes before he thought the "monsters" were going to get him and beg to come back in. But, much to my surprise, he stayed in the tent all night and didn't ask his daddy once to come in. That gave me a chance to read my People mag, eat some pumpkin cheesecake (YUM!), do some photography stuff and take a hot bath. This morning P and I both woke up congested so I decided we'd play hookie from church. We went for a walk with the dogs and then I ran some errands before meeting up with some girlfriends for lunch. Now I'm home, Rob's left to help a friend move and P is napping which means I get more quiet time to just read and walk on the treadmill. I'm trying to not get too used to this because a) Rob will be working out of town a lot sometime in the near future and b) We will be a family of 4 soon and these moments/hours of resting will be no more. So I'm soaking it up, letting the boys enjoy their time together while I enjoy time with friends and time to myself before life as we know it changes.

Farm Friends

 

My friend asked me to come up and get some pics of her furry babies yesterday. I was excited to get pics of her 3 month old horses because I loved the pics I got of them last time. However, this time they weren't as cooperative. Her dog and chickens were photogenic, though, so it wasn't a complete loss.

 

Rampage!

I like to think of myself as an optimistic, "glass half full" kind of person (maybe that's being optimistic....ha!). But, whether it be from lack of consistent sleep or pregnancy hormones or my job misery I am ready to bite someone's head off today. It started at 6:25 when the stupid blue jays squawked outside my bedroom window for over 10 minutes, waking both me and P up. Then I told P he couldn't watch "George" since he made it look like a hurricane had his hit room at bedtime last night. So the TV hasn't been all day as we're having a battle of the wills. But he has become my shadow, asking 500 who? what? why? questions. Then my teaching partner keeps stalking me. I don't know why she doesn't grasp that my break has officially started but she keeps calling and not leaving messages (A huge pet peeve of mine!). It's little things that are adding up and making me super grumpy. I understand that there are a lot worse things to contend with but let me just have my little vent at the moment and we can all move on. (I figure it's safer to vent on here than to bite someone's head off). :)

Vacation Mode

This week was horrible at work! So bad that I was willing to walk away from my job and never look back. So bad that I cried myself to sleep. So bad that I hid under the covers when my alarm went off, knowing what laid ahead. To say our break came at the perfect time is a huge understatement! I was so happy to start my 3 1/2 weeks off today that I would've been content just sitting on the couch all day. But, in true Jen form, I kicked my break off with a bang. Last night P got to try a new babysitter (whom he absolutely loved!) and I got to go have sushi with the girls. This morning P and I drove to Tahoe to meet one of my closest girlfriends that is visiting from MN. We spent the morning at the beach then had lunch at this little hole in the wall place then went back to the beach. It has been such a fun first 24 hours off from work! When I go back I know I only have 2 months and I can do anything for 2 months. But until then I'll enjoy EVERY minute of my much needed break~!

Wow....40 years??

Today my parents are celebrating 40 years of marriage!! That's quite an accomplishment in any day and age but especially today's. I have no doubt that marriage has had its shares of ups and downs in the past 40 years (Just ask my parents about their first year of married life!) but they've always made marriage look easy. Growing up, they made it clear that God came first, their marriage second and my brother and me third. It wasn't a bad thing at all. It's just the way it was. When my dad got home from work, my parents would go in their room for 15 minutes just to have time to themselves before the rest of the evening was devoted to family time. My dad used to embarrass me (and maybe my brother, although that's doubtful) growing up because he couldn't-and still can't-keep his hands off my mom. I remember having fresh flowers around the house a lot because he brings them to her just because he loves her. When she packs his lunch, she slips a love note in it. Keeping God at the center of their marriage is what's kept it strong all of these years but the simple ways they say "I love you" has helped as well. They are each other's best friend and love spending every minute together whether it's coming to visit us kids, running errands, fishing, doing things around the house or just relaxing in front of the TV. I'm extremely thankful for the wonderful example they've set for me and my brother as to what marriage should look like! Happy 40th anniversary Mom and Dad!!

Exploring

My MIL gave me one of the biggest compliments by saying that she loves that I'm such an explorer. I didn't realize, until she mentioned it, that I LOVE to find new places. Today I found a park on the Internet that I wanted to go to. It didn't have slides or swings for P but there was a beautiful pond and a few old, historical buildings on the gorgeous grounds. Needless to say, the dogs, P and I had fun exploring.

I Think I Can.....

For every one night of good sleep that I get each week, there are 3-4 sleepless nights to follow. Last night was the worst. I FINALLY fell asleep at 4:15AM and slept til P woke me up at 7:45. I couldn't get comfortable, couldn't get my mind to shut off, couldn't cool off enough to relax. This morning I was a zombie and I knew if we stayed around the house all we would do was sit in front of the TV, something I'm not ok with, especially given the beautiful weather. Since Rob is working 4:30AM-7:30PM right now I knew it was up to me to provide the entertainment. So P and I decided to go to our old stomping grounds and ride the train. I don't miss where we used to live at all but I do miss being so close to VC. It's such a fun, quaint, historical town that's always full of fun things to do and explore. After a rather warm, but nice, train ride we grabbed an ice cream cone at our favorite ice cream parlor. Then we walked around, taking in the sights.
Now P is resting and I'm exhausted. I created a long list of things that need to be done so I can keep busy while he's in his room, playing quietly. I'm hoping that by walking on the treadmill and cleaning, I'll be worn out enough tonight to shut off my brain, get comfortable and get my one decent night sleep for the week!

It's That Time of Year

 

It's my least favorite season of the year....football season! However, that being said, I took P to his first football game last night when a friend asked if I could snap a few pics of her son playing and we BOTH had a blast! True to form, P spent more time flirting with the cheerleaders and had to say a special goodbye to them 3 times. But, he did watch the game...some...and was one of the loudest cheerleaders for the Douglas Tigers.
It was a photography challenge for me and, after taking 175 pics, I only found about 20-25 that I could live with. Here is a sampling of some of them:

 

Taking Backseat

Yesterday Rob surprised me by calling late afternoon to tell me he was on his way home. He had shot an elk but hadn't recovered it despite 8 hours of searching (I'll let him blog the details on his hunt.) so he felt like he shouldn't hunt anymore. I told P before bedtime that Daddy would be home when he woke up this morning but P didn't wait until daylight to see Daddy. He crawled into bed with us at 4am and cuddled close to Rob. Ever since then he's been Rob's shadow. Anywhere that Rob goes, P has to be. While Rob was cleaning out his hunting stuff from his truck, P was playing right beside him. I'm not used to taking a backseat to anyone when it comes to P but I'm very happy to oblige today as I know how much P missed his Daddy.
It was nice spending time as a family. P had his first soccer lesson and I thought he'd enjoy it more than he did. Maybe it was because he couldn't be next to Rob every minute but he flopped down on the grass a few times, saying he didn't want to do soccer lessons anymore. But, I got some cute pics of him and that's really all that matters!

It's Official!

We REALLY miss Rob!! For some reason I had it in my head that he'd get an elk within 5-6 days and be home before a week was up. But we're going on 10 days and it's getting harder by the day. In the past I've dreaded Rob being gone because, like any toddler or person for that matter, P can be difficult at times. This time it's been hard because P and I are having a hard time with him being gone in general. I haven't slept well since he's left and it's been really bad the past few nights even though my parents were here. It's also been rather lonely around the house, my only constant conversation being with a 3 year old. But the person having the hardest time is P. The first few nights he only wanted to sleep with his elk because that's what Daddy is hunting. Now he only wants to sleep in his tent because that's what Daddy is sleeping in. The worst part, by far, is the meltdowns. He was having them every other day then it turned to every day. So far he's had 2 today, crying hysterically because he misses Daddy. I'm trying to be strong when I talk to Rob because I don't want him kicking himself 5 years from now because he quit a hunt early due to all of us missing each other. But between you and me I am anxiously awaiting his call saying that he got an elk. Not because of the elk but because it means he'll finally be coming home. At least I know we're on the home stretch because, with or without an elk, he'll be home soon. We can't wait!!

One of the Best!

 

When my parents come for a visit it's never that we can't find enough to do. It's that we don't know if we have enough time to fit it all in. So today my dad and I woke up at 4am and were out the door by 4:15 to ensure that we had enough time. There are some visits that are just perfect all the way around and this was one of them! We enjoyed each other's company and the local events/sights. From the Hot Air Balloon Races to a picnic at the lake to a drive to a few small historic towns.....we had a blast!

 

 

Monsters and Shadows...Oh My!

3 things I've been strict with when it comes to P is nutrition, his schedule and what he's exposed to on TV. I've slacked on nutrition and his schedule but I'm still very concerned about what he watches on TV for several reasons. I don't believe 3 years should watch "Shoot 'Em" shows, war movies, vulgar shows, etc. One reason is because of his active imagination. I'm the one that gets woken up with him or the one that has to soothe him at bedtime when he's scared. He no longer like his fan on because he thinks the red lights look like "bad man eyes".
With as paranoid as I am about what gives him nightmares, I find it ironic that I've been the cause of some of his fears. He's obsessed with Spiderman so I found a 1960's cartoon for him to watch on YouTube (I mean how scary can a 1960's cartoon be??). That's what started the fear of his fan. He no longer asks me to watch Spiderman on the 'puter. Yesterday when we got home from school I told him he could watch the new Curious George that had been DVR'd. The blurb said it was about the power going out during a storm. Oh but it was so much more than that! It was about George imagining monsters in a cave when the lights went out.
At bedtime P was crying that he didn't want me to leave. I told him he could see me from his bed but that wasn't good enough. He wanted me right next to him so needless to say he slept with me. Even with me next to him he was scared. We prayed that Jesus would protect him. I told him Ruby was lying by the stairs so that monsters wouldn't come upstairs. He really freaked out about the shadows on the walls until I showed him how you could make animal shadows. He thought that was fun. Once all the lights were out, he finally fell asleep. But, at 11:30 he mumbled in his sleep "Don't let Doggy go downstairs. The monsters will get him." I was awake because of my own imagination so I rubbed his back and assured him he was fine but I think he was just talking in his sleep.
He's been awake for a half hour now and hasn't mentioned anything about monsters so I'm hoping it was a one night thing. I felt so bad, especially since that's something that I'm so passionate about in the first place.

Update on Rob

I spoke with Rob last night and this is the update I posted on FB.....

Update on Rob's hunt: Just talked to him and he said he had the best hunting experience he's ever had in his life today! He was in the thick timber where the elk are bedding down. His knee was hurting him pretty bad so he decided to sit for a few minutes and do some cow calls. He said that within minutes a good sized bull came about 40 yards from him. Just then the wind shifted and the bull took off the other way. But soon after Rob called in a huge 6x6! He said he had him within 25 yards and was at full draw when the bull turned and bugled right in his face. Unfortunately he missed but he's blaming it on the vibration the bugle made on his rest, causing his arrow to not shoot straight. :) Tomorrow his buddy comes to help him so he has to take tomorrow off to relocate camp. I'll keep ya posted the next time anything exciting happens

Last Summer Hoorah!

3 years ago I would've said I was blessed with acquaintances in Reno. But friends? Not really, other than one from college (and her family). Today it's a different story. We are truly blessed with so many groups of friends. We still have my good college friend and her family. We have our "Archery Family", who would do anything for us. I have my school friends and P's play group mommy friends. Needless to say, we rarely lack for something to do. This weekend was no exception, which helped take my mind off of how much I miss Rob. Every day, except yesterday, was spent with friends. Friday night my college friend, her family, P and I did our annual rib fest. This is where we beat the crowds by getting ribs and taking them back to someone's house where we have a potluck and sample the ribs. It's always a great time with such good friends! Saturday we went to a birthday party for one of P's buddies. It was nice to have him play while I caught up with some friends that I haven't seen too much recently. Today a friend asked us if we'd join her and her family at Lake Tahoe to celebrate her birthday. P and I didn't have plans to we made an afternoon out of it. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know her better as we took in the beautiful views. It's nice to now be able to say that we are blessed, as a family and as individuals, to have such great friends in the area!

 

 

Rob's Hunt and All That it Entails

Rob left for his hunt after work on Friday. He got to the area he'll be hunting in around 12:30AM. After setting up camp he got a few hours of shut-eye before heading out to glass at early daylight. He came back in when it started warming up since that's when elk typically bed down for the day. Just as he laid down to get a little shut-eye, he heard a clap of thunder. Knowing that animals move before big storms, he used the storm to his advantage. He glassed for quite awhile, seeing 30-40 bull elk. Because of the hunter that he is and because of this coveted tag that he holds, he only saw one elk he would shoot. His plan-when I talked to him last night-was to find a vantage point today and keep a watch on that particular elk as much as he could so he could pattern the elk. That way he'll be able to hopefully get in close enough for a shot.
On the home front, P and I desperately miss Rob but are trying not to let that show when we talk to him. Yesterday morning, first thing, P was in the kitchen with me. He was goofing off while I was loading the dishwasher. While jumping down from his stool, he knocked a bowl out of my hand. It shattered and created a deep, one inch (in length) gash on my foot. If you know me, you know I don't handle pain well. In fact, I'm a downright wimp! My first reaction was to let out a scream. My poor, sensitive boy started crying because he knew he had accidentally hurt me. I was trying to soothe him and clean up the blood that was pouring out all over the floor. After he had cried for quite awhile and after telling him it was just an accident, I asked why he was still crying. He said, "I need my Daddy home!" I explained that Daddy was hunting and would be home after he got an elk. P replied, "No! I don't want Daddy to get an elk. I want him home!". Luckily, things got better after that. I performed minor surgery on my foot-without passing out...PTL!-and I tried to make it a fun day for P. We went to a birthday party for one of his little buddies. Then I packed us some dinosaur sandwiches and fruit, loaded up the dogs and took everyone to the lake for a dinner picnic. When I put him to bed last night, I gave him his beloved "Doggy" that he sleeps with every night. He politely refused and said he only wants to sleep with his elk because of Daddy's big hunt.

 

 

For as excited as we are for Rob, we are hoping that he gets an elk rather quickly so he can come home safe and sound....SOON! If you talk to Rob, please do not share this blog with him. I'm only writing it because I know he doesn't have access to it right now. He can read it when he gets home but I know if he knew how much P was missing him, he'd scrap his hunt and get home immediately. We don't want him to miss out on a once-in-a-lifetime hunt just because we selfishly miss him.