Crook Family

September and Football

2010-09-27T10:08:00.001-07:00

Two things started this month, school and football! Levi started preschool, and so far he is loving it! His teacher says wonderful things about him, and I am so happy he has that time a few times a week!

Justin’s brother started football as well and we have had the opportunity to attend a couple of his games. They look like a good team this year, so I am hopeful for future games!

We’ve been enjoying, as always, the re-start of College football! We are hoping to be able to attend a Duck game later this season with Justin’s brother and his wife. Although I am not a Duck fan, I do acknowledge the team looks good this year and I love going to football games!

Justin is taking his insurance license test this week, and hopefully he will be selling soon! We are looking forward to him earning that extra money! And I know Justin is excited to be able to work with his dad.

I recently wrote a letter to the local Pepsi Bottling company. They have a Christmas lights display every year in December. They mostly have displays of popular characters from Disney and Warner Brothers. They also have a Grinch display, lots of Santa-related things, and a ‘12 Days of Christmas’ section. I wrote the letter offering my services as an artist. The owner personally wrote me back accepting my offer and asking me to call and schedule a meeting with him. I did so, but he was out of town. His secretary took my name and number, and as soon as she realized who I was she said Mr. Pastega (the owner) was expecting my call and that he was very excited to work with me. She also said he was absolutely impressed by my work and couldn’t stop raving about them! I am really excited to be working on this and displaying my art for everyone to see and enjoy!

We took family photos this month, and here are some of the better shots:

August Fun

2010-09-01T09:39:00.001-07:00

Well we’ve had a lot of fun this past month, including my “golden” birthday where I turned 28 on the 28th of the month… a once in a lifetime birthday! The kids have mostly been enjoying the wonderful weather outside. Both love to be outdoors, so nice weather is a plus for them and me!

We also had an opportunity to attend a friend and old co-worker’s wedding (on my birthday). It was so wonderful to see her find such happiness, she totally deserves it! It is always a joy to attend weddings, and be reminded of why you got married! Quite frankly I LOVE being married!

For my birthday Justin made me breakfast and let me just relax for as much of the day as I could. We went to lunch with my sister and my parents. And then the next day my sister made me a wonderful dinner at her house and bought my favorite Costco cake, Red Velvet!! It was very nice of her, and I appreciated it! I got many books for my birthday, so I now have about 12 books on my to-read list! I am excited! I will never be bored!

Justin received his letter saying he is approved by the State to take the insurance licensing test. He plans to take it within a couple weeks, and be practicing with his dad by the end of September. Hopefully we can get that income flowing smoothly! I was a bit skeptical at first, but now I am actually getting excited about him doing this! For those who have not heard, Justin won’t be returning to school this term (although he does plan to finish his degree in the future), we are trying to save up money to buy a house, and ultimately start a bakery/deli business. We are working on the details for both and don’t plan to make these big moves until next summer. But I will keep you all informed of our progress!

Well college football starts soon and Justin and I can hardly wait! Its our favorite time of year, and we are so excited to see how the Beavers, Ducks, and Cougars do! Until next week…

All Updated!

2010-08-17T15:12:00.001-07:00

There I am all done and updated! Now you all can relax and enjoy the pictures! I will really try to update again soon, but it may not be until September, so please be patient! Thanks!

Benton County Fair & August Fun

2010-08-17T15:10:00.001-07:00

Another fair we get to go to for free is our own County fair. Levi went on the bumper cars, the huge slide, the kids roller coaster, and in the fun house twice. He was so ecstatic! We also watched the Rodeo for a little, and the Rodeo Queens came and said hi to the kids and let them pet their horses. The kids loved it!

Just a couple days ago we were able to head out on a hot sunny day to a local swimming hole I used to go to just north of Corvallis. The kids had a blast, and it was nice to get away for a little.

Crook Family Reunion

2010-08-17T15:03:00.001-07:00

We had the Crook Family Reunion this July in Lincoln City. It was a blast, and I think everyone had a wonderful time!

Fourth of July & Linn County Fair

2010-08-17T14:58:00.001-07:00

I made some fun pancakes for the 4th. And we lit off our own fireworks and then watched the ones that the city does. On the 3rd, we had Justin’s family over for dinner, it was delicious ribs!

Hazel and I got our nails done for the 4th!

We went to the Linn County Fair for free again! We took Levi on a kids roller coaster and the Ferris wheel! He loved it!

Our Trips to The Coast

2010-08-17T14:50:00.001-07:00

We have gone on a few trips to the coast this summer, and here are some great shots of our fun!

Sprinkler & Park Fun

2010-08-17T14:39:00.001-07:00

We have had many days where the kids have been able to play outside, and we have all had loads of fun doing it!

Chatfields Visit

2010-08-17T14:30:00.001-07:00

My sister came to help my mom for a week, and then returned in a couple weeks to spend some time with our family before spending the next 5 years in Peoria, IL where her husband is doing his residency. Here are some pictures from our fun!

A Stroke of Chance

2010-08-17T14:23:00.001-07:00

So I have been gone for a while, I realize, and I apologize. Many things have happened, and I plan to showcase them all. First of all, in early May my mother suffered a double stroke followed by a hemorrhage. Thankfully, and due to strong medicine and hundreds of prayers for her, she has practically fully recovered. In my (non-medical) opinion she is back to normal, and was only a few weeks after it happened. Essentially she had lost her ability to speak, nothing else, she just couldn’t talk. They gave her the meds, and we waited. About an hour after the medicine kicked in, my mom said my son’s name. And then the next morning I woke up to my mom calling me on the phone to say, “Daphne, I love you.” The best phrase I had heard in a what had seemed like an eternity! They weren’t sure if she would ever recover, and here she was saying my name less than 24 hours after it happened. The whole experience was terrifying, eye-opening, and thrilling all in one. I’m glad it it all over, but it is an experience my family will never forget. Here is my mom a a few days after the stroke with my Uncle (her brother) and Aunt who came down from the Seattle area. Looks amazing if you ask me!

Okay, Okay… get off my back!

2010-04-26T16:12:00.001-07:00

Alright, so its been a while. Two months almost, I know. So in that spirit, this will be a long one, I am warning you now. But keep in mind most of that length is pictures.

We have had some beautiful days the last couple months, and this is from one sunny Saturday.

Here is Levi looking at his namesake’s grave, my cousin Levi Wieland. It was the first time he saw it, and he recognized his name right away. I told him Levi was a little boy just like him and that my Aunt Sherrie (who he knows) lost him in an accident. He was quiet and then said, “I’m sorry mommy”. Nearly made me bawl.

Some Easter fun!

We went fishing recently, and the best thing we caught was a Hazel!

Justin and I also celebrated our 5th anniversary recently, and as my husband put it, we are looking forward to a trillion more!

We love you all and wish you the best!

Dentist and Silver Falls

2010-03-02T14:00:00.001-08:00

Well I have some cute stories about both kids this week.

We will start with Hazel. She has two new favorite spots to sit. Inside the bottom drawer in the kitchen, and in the window-sill in the living room. Its really cute to see her pull open the drawer and climb right in. She also just climbs right up to the window and plops down to look outside. She just loves the outdoors, so any chance she gets to be or look outside she takes it!

Now for Levi. He went to the dentist for the first time this week. They brushed his teeth, took a popcorn kernel out, and inspected all his teeth. He looked good to go. He did alright, was a bit scared at first, but eventually he calmed down and did great! Hopefully when we go back they can polish his teeth and he won’t get fussy.

On our way home from the dentist we went to Silver Falls. I was able to get lots of pictures for my blog (www.oregon365.blogspot.com), and the kids had a blast hiking and running around, as them loving the waterfall and being outside! We had a great time and we’ll have to go back in the summer.

That’s all this week!

Couch and Coast

2010-02-22T13:03:00.001-08:00

So we’ve picked back up in being busy, but thankfully not too terribly busy!

We finally got the couch we bought, and we love, love, love it! It works nicely in our living room and looks so much better than our old one. We’ve done well with keeping people (especially kids) from eating or drinking on it. However, last night while we were making dinner Levi drew with blue pen all over it! We immediately started scrubbing with rubbing alcohol and Oxy-Clean. Thankfully we were able to get the stains out, and you really can’t tell he did it at all.

We also got a new gas grill this weekend and have used it twice! We are thrilled to have a nice grill that we can use year-round! We made Jucy Lucy’s the other night, and they were delicious! For those who aren’t familiar with that, it is two burger patties pinched together with cheese in the middle. So when you grill it, the cheese melts, and then when you bite into it you get a gooey yummy center to your burger!

We also made it to the coast this weekend and it was beautiful! We have had some great weather lately, and it shined through at the coast. It was about 65, no clouds, and very slight wind! Just wonderful! We went to the aquarium, Mo’s Chowder, and the beach. The kids had a blast, and it was nice to get away!

Levi has been out riding his bike lately, and he is really starting to catch on great! He actually wants to ride (instead of being scared). He can go around the whole loop out back by himself! I can’t wait until we take the training wheels off and he goes all by himself!

Hazel has been on and off sick lately, and just when she gets better from one thing I swear she gets sick with something else! She’s been a sweetie though, and I’m glad she can still be cute even when she feels like crap.

Well that’s all this week!

Finally Relaxation

2010-02-16T09:49:00.001-08:00

Well we’ve had a far more relaxing last week or so. We’ve settled in with our new car, and we’re still loving it! We are waiting for our new couch, which arrives tomorrow! But mostly we’ve been just relaxing.

This one will be short and sweet as don’t have any news to share really. Life has been proceeding as normal around here. The photos below are from when we got Hazel and Levi new pjs. They were thrilled! Mostly Levi, but both ran around the house giggling and laughing once the pjs were on. It was adorable!

Well hope you are having a wonderful and relaxing time as well!

Birthday, Sick Kids, and a New Car!

2010-02-09T14:42:00.001-08:00

So tons has happened around here lately, mostly great stuff too! It has been a whirlwind of a couple weeks, and I hope that since I have about one hour free to write this post, that means it might be cooling down a bit.

First off, Levi celebrated his fourth birthday this past week. I can hardly believe my little guy is four! On his birthday he had a friend come over and play on his train set. Then we went to McDonalds for dinner. He was thrilled! The Saturday following he had his party. All his cousins from in town came, and about four friends (and a couple of their siblings) showed up. Levi was in heaven! He had so much fun! We again went to McDonalds for his party, but I think that will be the last year we do that for him. It was just really loud. But as I said, he had fun, and that’s what matters.

Hazel on the other hand has been sick the last few days, and now that she is getting better, Levi is getting sick. Hazel, when she is sick, tends to want to cuddle and be held more. So this meant my home gets a bit neglected, and chores pile up. Thankfully my mom took both kids for about an hour yesterday so I could do some much needed cleaning. Hazel is on the mend, and I am very glad about that, she had a nasty cough, sore throat, and a fever. No fun for the Baze.

To get out the other day we went for a drive. We went about five miles north of Corvallis and took a road about ten miles long to a highway that headed south again, and then back home. It went through the foothills of the Coastal Range, and we saw some pretty scenery. You can see some of those pictures coming up in my Oregon 365 blog. That website is: www.oregon365.blogspot.com. Right now I am doing roses for Valentines day, but after that I will start with some of the shots I took.

Well, we got our tax return, and we thrilled with how much we got. It was a lot more than we expected, so we are doing the smart thing with the extra money: paying off debt. We are paying off one credit card completely, and putting quite a bit towards our other one. We also went out and bought a new car. We have been needing to upgrade for a while because our tiny car wasn’t meeting our needs. We did a lot of research and looking and finally found one that we both loved. It is a 2001 Acura MDX and has all the bells and whistles. We got it for an internet special, so it was $3000 less than their list price on the lot, and $4000 below blue book value. Needless to say we got an amazing deal! With our down payment, we now owe less than what the car is worth, which is a first for Justin and I in married life (we have always owed more on the car than it was worth).

We also have made some other minor purchases with our return, including a new couch (it was much needed, we’ve only had garage sale items that we bought for $25), and a new shelf for the living room. We needed a new shelf because Levi tried climbing the old one, and since it was cheap wicker, it snapped into a bunch of pieces. I am please with how we spent our money, and we still have quite a lot in savings for the summer and such (summer is usually when we are really tight because we don’t have financial aide).

Well that’s all. Its a lot, I know! Hopefully we’ll calm down a bit!

Surgery, Camera, and Stuff

2010-01-24T11:17:00.001-08:00

So we have been super busy these last couple weeks. Normally I would have a lot of stories about Levi and Hazel, but most of the news involves me and Justin.

So Justin, as some know, had minor surgery week ago on Monday. It was of a personal nature, so I’d rather not share what all it involved. Suffice it to say that they had to remove some scar tissue. When they got in there, there was more than they thought there was, so Justin was left with a walking catheter for ten days. For the first few days Justin had some pain and soreness, as expected with any surgery. Now the only inconvenience is the catheter that he doesn’t have taken out for another four days. He’s doing great now, and I appreciate all the prayers from family!

About a week and a half ago I received my birthday & Christmas (from last year), Valentines, and anniversary gift! Needless to say its been a long time coming! I have wanted it for about five years now or more! Okay, I’ll quit keeping you in suspense… Justin got me a new digital SLR camera. It is a Canon Digital Rebel XS. It has 10 MP. I could write a few paragraphs about all the features, but I’ll save you the boring blog post. Justin and I can notice a major difference in the quality of my pictures, and I can’t wait to use it professionally! On that note, I have started a new blog for those who are interested. It will be scenic photography throughout Oregon. I have done the first 24 days of January, so be sure to check the older post. www.oregon365.blogspot.com

Well now on to the stories you actually want to hear about, Levi and Hazel! Well Hazel started walking this past week or so. Justin can’t get enough of watching her do it either. She looks like a little penguin when she walks, so it is kind of adorable to see her do it. As I’ve mentioned in the past, she has amazing balance, so although she just started walking, she doesn’t fall down a lot, and she can even turn around and such. We are excited she is finally walking, considering she should have done it about three months ago. But we are still excited.

Levi has been under some stress lately, and as such, has been acting out a lot, and ending up in time out a lot. Fortunately we’ve been able to get him a lot of time playing with cousins and friends lately, so I think that may have helped. Every day he asks if it is his birthday, and every day he asks for cake. His choice is still changing for what theme he wants, so I am glad I went with three themes: Spiderman, Scooby-Doo, and Wall-E. He is so excited, and I just can’t wait for it to be over with. We are having his party at McDonalds again this year, on Saturday, February 6th at 3 PM, for those interested in coming!

Yesterday we had my brother’s son over for a visit. We had wanted to go sledding on Mary’s Peak, but as we got closer we realized all the snow that was there earlier in the week was gone. So we changed routes and went to Alsea Falls. The boys loved it and I was able to take some great shots. I posted a couple shots from that trip on my other blog as well.

Well keep checking my other blog and this one for great pictures!

Happy New Year

2010-01-12T11:12:00.001-08:00

Well its the new year, and we are looking forward to a year as wonderful as the last. One resolution I made was to root for the Ducks in one game… which I did on New Year’s Day at the Rose Bowl. So both times I rooted for the Ducks this year, they lost. Now I know, some of you are saying ‘Keep rooting for them!’ and some are wishing I would stop. But I can only please one of you, and so I choose to not root for the Ducks. Sorry Beaver fans, but I just can’t bring myself to that level. In case you are wondering, I made my shirt and it says "I only root for the Ducks when they play Ohio State."

I feel we have a lot to look forward to this year. We have Justin progressing in school, Levi will be starting pre-school (as soon as someone takes him off the waitlist), Hazel will start walking ANY day now, and we have some small trips planned (nothing major, just to the coast or mountains).

Well I’ll start off with Hazel. She recently has been teething… okay she’s been teething for about four months straight. Every time I began to wonder if that’s what it really was, I would feel in her mouth and feel one or two more teeth in there. Well as of the last couple weeks she’s been working on four new teeth, two of which are her canines and they hurt the worst. So needless to say she’s been medicated. Which actually has made her quite sweet. I was beginning to wonder where my little sweetheart had gone… but I guess when your mouth constantly hurts you’d be grumpy a lot too. She is also so close to walking on her own. My mom saw her take five steps the other day, but nothing since. I have seen her take one step and then crawl. I know its coming, crud its been coming now for two months or more! She has the stability, so I don’t know why she’s waiting. But I’m in no hurry, so when she’s ready she’ll do it. Here’s a link for a cute video of Levi walking with her:

http://picasaweb.google.com/JustDaCrooks/January200902#5425930797523677362

http://picasaweb.google.com/JustDaCrooks/January200902#5425930827339658258

Now for Levi. He is getting quite the personality, which is mostly just a big goofball with a little bit of his mom’s temper in there. The other day we were driving past Reser Stadium (where the Beavers play football) and I asked him if that was a football stadium. He said, “Yeah, Go Beavers!” So I responded by saying “Go Beavers!” Justin didn’t say anything, and after some nagging from Levi, Justin said “Go Ducks!” To which Levi said, “No daddy, you’re supposed to say go Beavers.” So Justin obliged him and said it. Then, in his cute form Levi said with a big sigh, “Okay fine, you can say go Ducks.” Justin and I both laughed and Justin said go Ducks. Then Levi said, again with a big sigh, “Okay fine,you can say go Cougs.” We were still laughing and Justin said that too. For his final comment Levi said, “Okay fine, you can say go Nana.” Justin didn’t say that one but was very confused because Nana is my mom to Levi. We just laughed anyway!

We had a fun time this past weekend when we went up to Portland to OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry). They have many exhibits, and all are kid-friendly. Levi had a blast, and even Hazel enjoyed herself. We then went to lunch with my mom and dad who were up there for my cousin’s wedding. After lunch I was able to see my cousin and his new bride, which I’m glad I did, there reception won’t be until March, so it would have been that long before I saw them.

Well I think that’s all for now! Happy New year!

Christmas!

2009-12-28T14:20:00.001-08:00

Well we had a busy but wonderful Holiday and I hope yours went well too!

Justin’s sister and her family came into town, so we spent a lot of our Christmas at his parents visiting with them. We have a lot of fun with any of Justin’s siblings, so it really was a treat to have them here. I just wish I could have seen my sister from Chicago this Holiday.

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were spent carrying out a bunch of Crook Family traditions, as well as a lot of lounging and chatting. Just an enjoyable time for all.

After Christmas we had Justin’s sister and her family over to our house to relax and have a good time. Hopefully that was achieved. We played games, watched some football, and socialized. I think it was great to have them over, and I hope they can make it out again sometime.

Sunday evening we had two friends come over to visit and they stayed almost until midnight. It was lots of laughs and memories shared. I love having good friends or family to visit and play with!

As for little stories about the kids… I’ll start with Hazel. She is getting so good at her balance I know she will just get up and walk away one of these days. I even caught her going from a sitting position to a standing position on our bed, and then bounce… all while standing. So, I know she can walk, she is just choosing not to. She is also a little jabberer, I need to be reading to her a lot more because pretty soon she is going to be talking up a storm. Another thing is that one night Justin was getting Hazel in her PJs, and while he was throwing out the diaper she ran off stark naked. She went straight for the bowl of Muddy Buddies on the couch and sat to eat them… naked as a jay bird. It was adorable… so I had to get a picture. Don’t worry it’s been blurred! The last shot is of Justin styling Hazel’s hair… its amazing how much she really has!

Levi had his cute moment on Christmas morning. Justin woke up with him at about 6:30 or so. He told Levi to watch a Christmas show and we’d open presents when Hazel woke up. well about half an hour later Levi comes running into our room yelling, “Santa brought me a gun!” over and over again. Well considering his present was a Nerf shotgun, I knew he had opened at least one present. We went downstairs only to realize he had opened about four presents before finding his gun. Luckily Hazel woke up at that point and we opened the rest of the gifts together. He was just so excited about his gift, I couldn’t really get mad at him. It was Christmas after all!

Well that’s all from us, we hope you had a Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year!

Pre-Christmas

2009-12-20T20:08:00.001-08:00

So here I sit, all my obligations this month are over and done. I can actually now enjoy my Christmas season. I finished my Sunday lesson, which went well, all presents are made and done, the Christmas party is over… it seems all in done.

I got a lot accomplished this last week, but unfortunately blogging was not in that to do list. But I am managing to get one out before Christmas, so that’s good! I am very excited about this holiday, as I usually get really excited the week before. Although this year doesn’t bring as much family in to town and I have yet to do my holiday baking with my mom, I still am enjoying my holiday! I gave a lesson today in church and made a movie for it that was a montage of paintings done about the life of prophet Joseph Smith from our religion. I also did one about Christ’s life, but was not able to show that at my lesson because we were already short on time, and the lesson was about Joseph Smith. However, many people asked for a copy of the movie I made and I offered to put the second one on there too, one lady said she wanted it to show in her Sunday school next week. I’m just glad it was enjoyed. We had the Sister Missionaries over for dinner and I showed the video about Christ to them and they want a copy to show to people they teach. I’m glad the work I put into it can be used to touch and teach others!

Levi and Hazel have been really sweet to one another lately. Don’t get me wrong, they still have little spats, but for the most part they love to play together. In fact I am starting to see a little instigator and inciter in Hazel. She will go into Levi’s room and literally make it look like a tornado ripped through the room and then just sit there and look innocent. On more than one occasion Justin has come upon the mess and sworn Hazel could not have made the mess on her own. If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I would have been with him, and Levi would have been falsely accused. She is our little curious monkey and into everything. Levi loves to follow behind her and investigate something she has already discarded. It is fun to watch them play together.

Well I will let you all get back to your holiday prep, and from our hearts to yours, Merry Christmas!

Before The Madness

2009-12-09T14:47:00.001-08:00

So I thought I would blog a little before my super stressful ward Christmas party and dinner. Hence the title…

Well my little Hazel Baze celebrated her first birthday this past weekend! Unlike her brother she gobbled up the cake and loved smearing it all over herself. We let her go for a little while but she was not happy at all when daddy came to take her to the bath. She loved her gifts too and received many things I know she’ll play with a bunch! Thanks everyone!

Levi, in his innocence and cuteness had an adorable conversation with Justin today. Justin said, quoting an ancient Chinese proverb, “He who hurries cannot walk with dignity.” to which Levi says, “Dignity?” Justin tries to explain, but before he gets two words out Levi continues, “Dignity!! I LOVE Dignity!!!” Then he just runs off into the other room. What an adorable little boy. I am trying hard to teach him manners and to keep his cool (which is hard when mommy herself has to constantly learn to keep her cool too!). He has been learning well, one thing that is hard for him is when a show ends he would start whimpering or screaming. I finally sat him down and explained that all he had to do was come to mommy or daddy and ask ‘My show turned off, may I watch another one please?’ He nodded, and I felt he understood. I was confirmed since then because almost every time his show has turned off he will come over and say that exact phrase to me. It is a proud moment as his mom, for him and myself!

Well Justin is finishing up finals and can’t wait for it to be over. He is already looking forward to summer. Although I am not too happy about this winter break for him. His boss at work failed to hire the needed people and temps for the holidays so they are short staffed already and when people take vacation time it makes it so much worse. So Justin is working almost every day this month and almost every weekend! I am not happy at all! He has Christmas Eve night, and all day Christmas off, New Years Eve night, and New Years Day off. So I should just be thankful for that.

I am prepping for my ward Christmas dinner. For those who have been following me on facebook you know some of this. I was put in charge initially of just food for the dinner (which in and of itself is a huge thing). Well the committee chair couldn’t be at the event so she appointed someone else in charge and me second (technically third if you count her) in command. Well then the woman she asked to be in charge can’t be there either. So that left me. Luckily we have an awesome committee that are working their tails off too! I am doing a ton with the food, but thankfully I don’t have to worry about music, the program, decorations, and the like. But I am conducting the meeting. So most of my stress will happen the night of when I am trying to get everything off without a hitch. I’ll let you know next week how that all goes.

Well Christmas cards are finished, kids gifts are bought and wrapped, and I’ve almost finished both sets of parent’s gifts. All that’s left now is to finish my brother’s family gift and deliver that. Oh, and I am feeding the sister missionaries in a week and teaching a lesson at church in two weeks. I know you all may be thinking I need to learn to say no, but I felt that I was supposed to do these things, so I am. I don’t question when the Lord prompts me to do something, I just do it!

Merry Christmas to all!

Long Time Gone

2009-12-02T12:09:00.001-08:00

First of all, I really like that song by the Dixie Chicks (my title)!

Well we have been a long time gone, and I apologize! After Halloween both my kids got pretty sick, so did Justin, so did I. Unfortunately Hazel was sick the whole time, Levi was sick for about two days, same with Justin, and I was sick after Justin and Levi were better, but I was sick for a week. So all in all we were down for the count for three weeks! Poor Hazel, she had it bad for that whole time! But we are better now, although I think Levi might be getting a cold now!

One event for us was Christmas decorating!!! Justin and I got the Christmas bug a week or so into November. So by the 20^th we had all our decorations up, inside and out. We've been listening to the music for some time as well. I personally don't see anything wrong with "getting the bug" that early. I mean we are celebrating the Savior's birth, why not start early!! Justin was also really excited about putting up lights since we have an actual house type place that he can really decorate. We still have some finishing touches to do with the lights, so I will post a picture of our house when I have one.

Another major event was Thanksgiving. I invited my family over to my neighborhood clubhouse this year, which meant I was in charge. I made the assignments, and got things all set up. My main focus was the turkey. I have never cooked a turkey, so I was a little nervous. I have cooked duck and a whole chicken, but I was told that turkeys are just different. I decided that I would make a citrus turkey stuffed with lemons and oranges. I had some great help from my sister all the way from Chicago! She gave me some great advice and even calmed me down when I thought I had ruined the turkey (which I hadn't). The turkey came out great, it was super moist and tasted wonderful with just a slight hint of citrus! The whole went off without a hitch, and we were even able to catch some football! I mean Thanksgiving wouldn't be Thanksgiving without some good football!!

Our last major event was a couple days after Thanksgiving when Justin's grandpa remarried. Justin's dad preformed the ceremony here in Corvallis and some family and friends travelled in for the event. He married a very nice woman named Rita, and we are so excited she is a part of our family!

Well Hazel the Baze! She, once she got past being sick, has decided that walking might not be a bad idea. She is standing a lot more, on her own that is… not holding on to things. She's been walking along furniture for a while now, and she'll push things along and walk with them. But she has made it clear she will walk when she is ready, not when mommy or daddy want her to. I was watching her one day and she actually took a step, until she saw I was watching her, then she immediately sat down and gave me this look like, 'What, I didn't do anything!' She is nearing her one year mark (two days and counting), and we are so excited for her! I think the first two or three years in any child's life is just such a fun and exciting time!

Now for the little Levi-O-Ski! He is developing quite the personality and mostly an attitude. I guess its normal for his age, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. He is mostly just like his dad and a total goofball. He says and does things that are totally crazy and just make us laugh. He has quite the imagination and will come up with totally out there ideas. Justin's mom brought over a cardboard box the other day and it instantly became his favorite toy. He has used it a ton (mostly as a train car). It is so cute to see his imagination at work!

Well I have loads to look forward to the rest of this month, including Hazel's party, Levi's first dentist appointment, I'm in charge of my ward Christmas party, and then I have several craft projects to work on for Christmas gifts! Busy, busy busy! Hopefully I can find another day to blog a little so we don't go another month!

Love you all, and Merry Christmas! Remember our Lord and Savior!

Whirlwind October

2009-11-02T09:00:00.001-08:00

Well we have had a whirlwind of a month! It seems like everytime I wanted to blog, something else was happening so I waited. But at long last here it is... pics, captions, and fun stories!

We went out one day to take our family pictures and they came out better than I expected. I think it is our best family photo yet! I sent it out to some people and posted it on my Facebook, and I had such a great response from everyone. Some people even asked me to take their family photos too! Yea! I can't wait to do this professionally!

Here is Levi with his three friends at our complex. Wyatt, Brennan, and Max are pretty much all he talks about. He loves his friends so much! He's learned all sort of games from his friends, one of which is a pirate game. So yesterday when Justin asked him to do something, Levi responded, 'Aye-aye Captain!' He even used a pirate accent. It was so hilarious!

As usual we went to a pumpkin patch to get our pumpkins this year. It had been rainy for a while, but we only had one day we could do it, so we went anyway. It actually was sunny for the half an hour we were there, so good timing for us! It was so slopped in mud, though, that the tractor's tires on the hayride to the pumpkin patch dug about 8" divets in the ground! It was amazing! Levi got to go through a hay maze, play in a corn feed box, and play with their duck races.

This was a fun year to carve pumpkins. Hazel didn't mind the goop, in fact she loved it. I remember Levi crying when he touched the goop, probably because it was so cold to touch. But she loved it. We decided next year Levi will be carving his own pumpkin, with help of course, instead of me carving one for him. While I was carving his pumpkin he was mutilating Hazel's by stabbing it and poking anything he could into it. But we had fun all the same, even if mommy was a little stressed at having to carve three pumpkins and draw designs for four! Next year Justin and I are going to try sculpting our pumpkins. We may buy one now and sculpt a turkey for T-day, just to test the waters, but we'll see.

Alas the Hazel. She is so sweet. She can be our little lady of sweetness and an adorable ball of cuteness, or she can be a holy terror and scream at everything. Luckily those moments are becoming fewer. She has started a new smile lately. We call it in my family the bunny face. She will get a big grin, like below, and then scrunch her nose and sniff/snort really loudly... kind of like a bunny. It is so funny sometimes we bust out laughing, which only makes her do it more!

Oh our little Levi! He is such a boy. Now I know that statement is obvious, but he really is. Although I can say he officially potty trained. I honestly don't think it was anything Justin or I did to make this happen. He really just decided to do it on his own. Granted the punishments for going #2 in his pants, a cold shower and he had to clean up the mess and dispose of the underwear, may have had something to do with him learning to do that in the toilet. But for the most part it really was just all his decision. He still has an accident or two, but he usually cleans it up before he even tells me it happened. He has developed quite the attitude lately, and we have had to curb some back talk and snotty language. We are teaching him you don't call people stupid, and he now points out to us and everyone that you don't say stupid at all. So I know he is learning!

Also, the poor Baze has been so sick off and on again for a few weeks now. She is currently sick again with what seems like a cold. Poor thing can't even breathe!

Ah Halloween, my favorite holiday. We got to do some real decorating this year, and I loved it! I can't wait until we have our own house and we can do a mini haunted house and go all out on the yard. I love Halloween, and I would love to make it a fun (not scary) holiday for all! Below are our pumpkins: Justin-Darth Vader, Daphne-Sally from Nightmare Before Christmas, Hazel-Silly Face, Levi-Transformer's Autobots Icon

For Halloween this year we decided to be a bunch of crooks... trying to play on the last name. Not many people got it unless they knew us, and even then it took some people a little bit to get the joke. Justin and Hazel were in black and white striped inmate outfits, and Levi and I were in orange inmate outfits. I think next year Levi will be Wall-E, Hazel will be Eve, and Justin and I will be the huge fat people from the movie (using the air-blown costumes)! It will be hilarious... hopefully.

This wasn't her costume, but we put this on her for one day. She was comfy at least!

Our trick or treat bowl. I thought it would be fun to use some dry ice. The kids didn't even notice when they took their candy, so next year I will be putting the dry ice to better use.

Just today, the kids in a bath! They can be so cute and so sweet together. Levi loves to play with Hazel, and if he does it right, she loves to play with him. It is really a sweet sight to see him play so gently and kind with his sister, and they go play so rough and tumble with his friends outside, I'm glad he knows the difference.

That's all from us! Happy Halloween!

Getting Busy

2009-10-12T08:52:00.000-07:00

So we have been quite busy with school starting and such. We've been doing a lot of stuff, and we even celebrated Justin's 27th birthday. I will do my usual pictures with captions, but here are tidbits for you.
I was just called to serve on the Activities Commitee for my ward, and I am way excited to do so! I have never been on the Activities Commitee before but have always wanted to be. I know the Commitee Chairperson, we are old friends, so I am even more excited to be working with her.
Justin has started school again and is an official OSU student. He has threatened to wear is Oregon (rival school) shirts to class, but me and everyone else said he'd be crazy to do so. Some people wouldn't take kindly to that sort of thing. He is quite busy with the school work, and he bikes to and from class, which takes up more of his time. When he bikes to and from school and then to and from work he bikes about 18-19 miles that day. So he is getting quite the work out. It is 4 miles roundtrip from school, and a little over 14 miles roundtrip from work.
Levi is loving our new place and neighborhood. He is outside almost everyday and he will look out our back window to see when someone is playing outside, at which point he insists he has to go play with them. He has made some friends here, which I am thrilled about. These are his first friends (besides the friendships with his cousins). They come over a lot and he asks to go to their houses a lot too. There are three boys, and they are all 4-year-olds. Some are almost a full year older than him, and one I think is only six months or so older. But he is as tall as all of them and can certainly keep up mentally.

Hazel has passed one teething phase, although I fear she is entering another one. She has had a perpetual cold the last week, which Levi did for almost ten months straight when he was her age. It seems like she is constantly on medicine, but I am trying hard to keep that to a minimum. She loves to pull herself up on anything and will walk along edges, but no signs of walking solo yet. She refuses to put her feet down when you are trying to guide her. I'm in no rush, she'll get there when she's ready. However, she has learned the signal for touchdown (something every baby should know, right?). Levi learned it at this age too. So she claps, waves a little, dances, and does the sign for touchdown (almost all of these she does when prompted).

Anyway, here are more pictures, enjoy!

We have a little lip (about 8" high) of patio off the back of our house, Hazel was looking over the edge and fell off. I was right there, but instead of crying she just sat up and gave me this look like 'What the heck was that?'

Justin's birthday cake. Many of you know this pains me to do, but hey it was on an orange cake plate and I did a black border... that counts, right?

For Justin's birthday I took him fishing. No luck though. We need to find better spots!

Hazel enjoying her fishing experience.

Just hanging around.

Outside a grocery store.

At Target... goofing off.

My little witch!

Just chillin on a Beaver Game day!

That's all folks!

Settling In...

2009-09-23T11:59:00.000-07:00

So its been a while, so we will just do pictures with captions this time. I do want to share a couple stories to start with though.

Yesterday in the car Levi was singing the song 'I'm Yours' by Jason Mraz with me and my mom. He was using the fly swatter I just bought as a baton, and it was adorable! So I told him he was so stinking cute. His response: "Yes, I am." My mom and I cracked up laughing and so of course, Levi starts laughing too!

Levi in his dady's shoes!

Hazel now has six teeth and more coming in. She is in constant pain, and so is constantly whinning. I give her medicine, but I don't want to overdo it. She is crawling like a crazy lady and will make a mad dash at anything you don't want her to... probably setting world records! Justin says she should have her own show called Hazel The Explorer! She pulls herself up on things constantly, and I think she might think about walking in the next month or so. Levi didn't walk until he was 14 months, so I'm not in any hurry.

Hazel yearning to escape.

Pretty sunset we had yesterday.

Gorgeous sunrise we had a couple weeks ago.

Levi and his daddy napping. Like Father like Son.

So we got this rocket thing at a garage sale (best 50 cents ever). Levi loves it, especially when someone can really launch them. He spent the afternoon chasing the rockets his daddy launched. We have had neighbor kids lining up 10 or more to play with this and launch their own rocket!

The Cheeto Crook!

"Where's all my Cheetos?"

"Hehe, I know where the Cheetos are! I'm a Crook!"

Me and my babes!

Hazel's new sleeping position, sitting up or folded in half.

"My blankie!" (notice the death grip on the blanket)

Chillaxing in the car.

Levi loves to push the stroller, whether his sister is in it or not. But he is very careful when she is in it, it is so sweet to watch!

You can't eat until you are totally comfortable!

Me and Hazel on my brother's motorcycle.

That's all from us!

New Place

2009-09-08T12:59:00.001-07:00

So here we are in our new home, and loving every minute! We have a washer/dryer, more space, wonderful neighbors, and lots of windows! On the day we moved in two men from the neighborhood came over to help us unload. The next day a lady from across the street and also from our ward at church brought some muffins. Following that we had a visit from the Relief Society and we are expecting the Bishopric tomorrow. We have been welcomed wonderfully and have already made some great connections with people.

Every day Justin brings up something else he loves about our new place, and then reminds me of everything he already loves too. We are all unpacked and somewhat settled, which is nice. I don't have many pictures, but here are two videos you can watch that are of my new place.

http://picasaweb.google.com/JustDaCrooks/August2009#5377374097299709650

http://picasaweb.google.com/JustDaCrooks/August2009#5377374710810877330

Levi has loads of new friends, and really enjoys the playground out back. Just a couple days after moving in two neighbor boys came over and ran upstairs with Levi to play for a while. They have been over a couple more times since then, and Levi just loves it!

Hazel is really crawling all over the place and getting into everything! Levi wasn't nearly as curious, so most of this is new to me. If anything is opening she runs for it, if you make an unusual sound, she's there, if you don't want her to touch something, its already in her mouth. She is all over and into literally everything she can grab and then some. She's cute to watch some times, but mostly if you aren't right behind her, she'll get something she really shouldn't.

Football has started again, yea! Justin's younger brother (I can't say little because he's taller than him) is playing for West Albany, so I'm sure we'll be heading to some of his games this year too. I'll spare Justin the embarrassment of mentioning how the Ducks did, but BYU and OSU did awesome! BYU's game was even a great upset, as they beat the #3 team in the nation. Luckily Justin's brother Marcus was able to make it out with his family from Wyoming to visit his wife's family, and to spend some time with us. We watched the Ducks game with them and they came over and saw our new place. Allison is getting bigger and bigger, which just means cuter and cuter. I saw her about a month ago, but she got cuter in that time I swear!

I have found some time between unpacking and doing daily stuff to paint another picture. This goes with my collection I am painting, leaving me only one more to paint... Oregon. This one if of Nebraska and the Missouri River.

Anyway, that's all from us, just mostly moving in stuff, nothing way fun. Hope you all are doing well!

Getting Ready

2009-08-24T10:51:00.000-07:00

So we've been packing a lot lately, a couple hours each morning. We are probably half way packed, maybe more. I have a schedule for each day since we only have the mornings to pack. Friday will have the most since we have to pack food and last minute stuff then. That day is my birthday, so Justin and I are trying to find a day when we can actually celebrate my birthday. So far he is working most of the days after we move in. We'll find a time though. We did get to see our new place today, and not a place similar. We were so excited! They put in new carpets, and the place looks wonderful! We were plotting out furniture and such, and the only room we couldn't really figure out was our bedroom. It is a lot smaller than we are used to, and so we are trying to figure out how to fit our bed and dressers in there.

The kids have been playing great together lately. It is so cute to sit and watch them! Their favorite place is in the blankets. I have several shots of them on different days just playing in the blankets. At least those are easy and quick to clean up!

Hazel has started crawling. She is learning still and is hesitant right now, but if you give her sufficient motivation she will slowly make her way over to it. I have a video on Picasa, but its too much to download here. So here is the link:http://picasaweb.google.com/JustDaCrooks/August2009#5373230652196312578

We bought a washer and dryer this past week. We got a really awesome deal on the set. They are about five years old, but look in new condition. The previous owners took great care of them. They had no problems, but they were offered a nicer set by their neighbors, so that's why they were selling them. When we went to pick them up (with some awesome help from a friend), they had some dogs and four goats that Levi loved. They even let him feed the goats!

So the real adventure begins! We are packing like crazy, and getting every thing ready to move. We won't be able to connect our tv or internet until a week after we move in, so it'll be a little before I update my blog. We have plenty of help thankfully. People from our ward and family are being gracious with their assistance!

The Aftermath

2009-08-14T10:09:00.001-07:00

Well we got a definite answer about the place we want to move in to. We were approved! So we will be moving August 29th. It is a place in south Corvallis, a little closer to OSU for Justin. However, it is a 3-bedroom, 1.5 bath duplex for only $10 more a month. It has a larger yard area, a park literally in our backyard, LDS managers, and wonderful neighbors! We are so stoked!! I already know some of the other people who live there (from church), and they are already welcoming us and one has even offered her old piano as a housewarming gift. I am just so excited, I am even looking forward to moving all our stuff!!

So my brother had his fourth child, another boy! His name is Kristopher Thomas Carleski. He weighed 7 lbs. 13 oz. and was just as cute as a bugs ear! He was born August 8th, 2009.

Levi has had some good play time with his cousins who return to Chicago tomorrow. He loves all his cousins so much, I think he will be sad when they go home.

Hazel is teething again. But she has been trying to make the best of it. She is overall a happy baby, but in the evening she is quite whiny and trying. Nothing a little Tylenol doesn't fix though. She is my little sweetheart. She is learning to clap, wave, and say Mama or Dada. It is so cute to watch them learn so much in so little time.

The kids are learning more and more to play together. Levi loves his little sister, and tries every day to play with her. Sometimes he has been a bit rough, so we have to explain she doesn't play like that yet. He just has a hard time seperating playing with his other cousins and playing with Hazel. He does try to help a great deal, sometimes more hindering than helping, but at least her tries.

We have been trying now for about six months (hardcore about two months) to potty train Levi. He is as stubborn as a mule however. He sincerely doesn't mind being wet or soiled. Since June we have done underwear or pull-ups, and he still doesn't care. We've tried treats, reward incentives, charts, stickers, reminding him every ten minutes, taking him when he wakes and before bed, Cheerios in the toilet, giving him a book, offering special underwear as a reward, cold showers for mistakes, tons of encouragement for a good job, and several other tactics. Nothing has worked. They all have worked for one or two times, then nothing. I don't know how to get through to him. He knows when he needs to go, and when he has gone... I mean he's 3 and a half! But he just doesn't care. Oh, one day, one day I will have a break through.

So we went to the Scandinavian Festival again. Levi loved it, and Justin loved the food. Next year is the 50th anniversary, so Justin wants to dress up. I promised we'd dress the kids up... who knows we may have another little one by then (no I'm not pregnant... thank goodness!). But it would be fun seeing the kids all dressed up.

We also had our family pictures taken, the whole Carleski clan. My brother's wife had her baby just in time it seems! So here are our spoils from that adventure.

That's all from us! Hopefully I will get to post again before we move.

The Vacation

2009-08-07T19:44:00.001-07:00

So we made it back! Both drives ended the same way... with Hazel screaming for the last hour or so. Overall neither of the kids were bad. On the way out there we left at 7:30 PM, and by 9:30 both kids were asleep. Levi woke up a couple times but would go right back to sleep. He woke up for good at about 5:30 (6:30 Utah time). Justin was sleeping, so Levi and I were able to have some cute conversations. I drove for the first four hours (Corvallis to Boardman, OR), the Justin drove for the next four hours (Boardman to Boise, ID), and I completed the drive with the last six hours (Boise to Lehi, UT). My back, knee, and neck were throbbing by the time we arrived. Below is a picture of the sunset in Idaho that I got to see. Justin said it is the only beautiful thing in Idaho.

Once we arrived Justin's sister let us sleep for a couple hours, while Levi and his cousins played. They had a decent sized house with a good sized backyard. So that was nice for the kids to play in. Here is where the kids got a hold of the hose and were attacking each other. Levi decided to spray his uncle. The whole thing was funny, until we realized Lincoln was crying (as you can see in the picture).

Jessica and Braydon had a trampoline, something that up until now Levi has been afraid of. But once we let him get on and be on alone, he did alright. If any adult got in with him and jumped he would immediately got to the edge and hold on. But alone or with other little kids he had a blast. I think it actually taught him how to really jump. Before he would just crouch down and spring up, only making it maybe a half inch off the ground.

Both Justin and my parents were sealed in the Provo Temple, so we thought we'd visit since we were so close. Levi loved seeing the temple, and Hazel seemed indifferent (tired). We were surprised by how many people stopped to tell us what cute kids we had. One lady even asked where in Oregon we were from because her daughter goes to school out here. We then got talking about the Portland Temple and how beautiful it is.

We were also able to see Justin's older sister Nia while we were there, and at her place she had what they call a 'Splash Pad'. Basically it is a bunch of fountains doing fun stuff for the kids. I know that they all had a blast, and Levi loved playing with his cousins.

Hazel loved the trampoline too. Only what she enjoyed was sitting there while you threw balls at her. Even if they hit her in the head she would just giggle and giggle. I got some on video, but you'll have to go to my Picasa website for those. (You can also go to my Picasa for all the photos)

Just me and the Haze spending some cute time in the backyard! Actually I realized after I took my shower and decided to just leave my hair down that Hazel has not seen me with my hair down at all since she has been able to recognize me. When I first held her she just looked at me all confused until I started talking, and then you could see she all the sudden knew who I was.

Justin and Braydon were able to make it out to play some frisbee golf while we were there. A nice break for them. We were at a park in the center of the course, but all the boys decided to follow their dads anyway. Justin was also able to play some raquetball with Nia's husband Skipper while we were there. Skipper taught him a thing or two about the sport too! Justin came home and just couldn't believe had bad Skipper beat him. Apparently Skipper takes the sport very seriously, and Justin said he thinks Skipper was hoping for more of a competition than he got.

Here at the Splash Pad again, eating their popsicles.

We were also able to attend Nia's baby's blessing (Sophie). Here we are after church. Right before we left I found some fabric that I wanted to make into a dress for Hazel, so I got on it, and with help from my mom I was able to finish it before I left. I also made a tie for Levi to match. These are the outfits I made. The tie wasn't so bad, so I might make some more later.

For Bentley's (Jessica's son) birthday we gave him a beachball sprinkler. Levi loved it and he would fill his mouth with the water and run at Justin to spray it on him. It really was funny.

Another treat was when Hazel was able to eat her first cupcake. She didn't get any frosting, just the cake. Justin was worried and swore she was on a sugar high afterward, but she didn't seem much different to me. She was cute though, and loved her cupcake.

While on our trip, we couldn't miss the Conference Center and Temple Square in SLC. We hit up the conference center first. I was amazed by the size, the structure, the artwork, and pretty much everything about the building. They have all the original artwork, like the one below (which is the largest painting in their collection). I can't remember it's size but it really was huge! On the rooftop the created the scenery so that you could get a feeling for what it was like when the pioneers came from Wyoming over the Rockies into the Utah valley. So all the shrubbery and such on the roof made you feel like you were on a hillside, not a roof. It was a neat experience.

We also went to the Church Headquarters building and went to the top. I got some great shots of the temple, and you could see anywhere in the Utah valley for miles. After that we realized that it was much too hot that day to keep the kids out too much longer, so we went by the SLC temple, took some pictures, and then headed onward to lunch.

That same day we went to the Bingham Copper Mine. It is the world's larget open mine, and the largest man-made hole. Let's just say it was HUGE! In the picture of us, you are only seeing maybe a fourth of the arc of the mine pit. Not to mention how far down it goes. The next shot is of us standing by a tire of one of the dumptrucks they use. It is 12.5 feet tall, over two tons, and cost $25,000 a piece. Each dumptruck has six of them. The top of the dumptruck sits about ten feet or more taller than the tires, making these machine massive beyond anything else! As far as we could see it looked like they had a fleet of 50 of them for the hauling.

Levi was able to play on some Power Wheel ATV's with his cousins. They had three identical ones for all three boys to play on. Levi seemed to really have fun. We just let him go in a park to keep it safe for all.

For those who know about this place, you won't be too surprised by my thoughts, and for those who have never been, I strongly reccomend you GO! It is called Thanksgiving Point, and it is just north of Lehi, UT. It has a dinosaur museum, an IMAX, a farm with petting zoo and hayride, an art museum (for kids and adults), and a massive garden (for kids and adults) with the world's larget man-made waterfall. It was wonderful! We went when they were having a special and paid only $2 a person per place (it is regularly $10 a person per place) so the dinosaur museum was packed. There were easily about 1000 kids, and maybe a few hundred adults. However, the gardens were wonderful! They had a Noah's ark at the kids entrance that was a huge water play structure. Levi had a blast. Then they had a maze and some tunnels that he enjoyed. From there we moved on to the adult part of the garden which was enormous! They were beautiful to boot! Justin thinks it is the largest garden in the world (but not really).

Our last stop befor heading home was a picture of all the Crook grandkids (minus one... Jocelyn). We were excited that we could all be together and see one another. It is nice to get everyone together and just have fun!

Our drive home was broken up. We left Wednesday at about 1:30 in the afternoon. I drove from Lehi to Boise again, and then Justin drove from Boise to La Grande, OR (about a three hour drive). We stayed there over night at a friend's house. I wanted to keep driving, but Justin and my kids insisted (they fell asleep) we stay. So I gave in and stayed. We left early the next morning and I drove the final six hours home. We had many stops because both kids were restless most of this drive. One stop was at Multanomah Falls just east of Portland. It was nice to have a pretty break!

We are glad to be home, even though we had loads of fun and it was great to see so much family! I think Levi is happy to be back, and I know Hazel is thrilled to be home again. Road trips sure aren't what they used to be before we had kids!

Well that's all from us. I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of a new nephew, so I'm sure you'll see his picture next week!

Before the Vacation

2009-07-23T10:08:00.000-07:00

So we haven't been up to much, a little of this, a little of that. Our adventure begins next week when we will leave Monday night for Utah. Justin has two siblings that live there and his brother will be coming down from Utah to visit as well. It'll be a mini-family reunion. We haven't seen these siblings anywhere from 7 months to a year ago. Two siblings had babies in that time, so we have two new nieces to meet as well. One of Justin's sister's hasn't met Hazel yet, so she'll get to meet her too. We will be there for one nephew's birthday and a baby blessing. We are so excited for our trip! So it'll be two weeks until my next letter, but I'm sure the next one will be full and long.

A few things we did this past week was visiting with Justin's dad's dad, Grandpa Crook. It was the first time he met Hazel, and its been almost two years since he saw Levi, so he was huge. The kids seemed to enjoy him a lot.

Another thing we did was a garage sale. We sorted through a lot of the kids clothes my mom has for us, and got rid of five garbage bags full. I sold those and many other things at the sale and made about $65 in all. I think if I had a place in town to do it, I would have sold more, but since I don't have any where to do it, I did it at my sister's house, which is north of Corvallis by a mile or two. People still came, and everyone loved the prices. It was worth it, I think.

In good news, Justin and I heard word we are now #1 on the waiting list for the Camas Commons, the subsidized housing. We are looking to move in at the beginning of September. We are so excited and grateful for this oppurtunity. It will be larger, have washer/dryer hook-ups, and have three bedrooms for only $10 more a month than what we pay now. Granted we wouldn't get free cable or a pool, but it will be so much nicer for us. The complex is managed by an LDS family, and the complex has several LDS families there who are in the same position we are, so that will be nice.

That's all for now!

Fourth of July

2009-07-09T14:58:00.000-07:00

Well the day before the Fourth we decided to make some tye-dye T-shirts. Justin said he had never made one before, so it was something fun and new to all (except me, fun for me, but not new). I made mine purple and orange, Justin wanted yellow and green, Levi requested a rainbow, and I made Hazel on with red, orange, and yellow. I did spiral designs on all, and everyone had fun making and wearing their designs.

I bought Levi and me harmonicas at a garage sale, and I have learned to play Taps and Oh, Susanna. Levi just loves to play it. His "music" doesn't sound too bad, just doesn't really have a beat.

More pool fun has been had by all. Justin occasionally gets to join us which Levi and I appreciate! Hazel seems to do well in the water, something Levi did not do at her age. Levi wanted you to hold him the whole time, but Hazel is okay floating by herself. Both are getting tanner, even though Hazel is in SPF 60 and Levi in SPF 15. They have their mom and dad's skin I guess! Oh, and yes you do see Justin with a goatee in the photo. He tried it out for a week or so at my request, but as soon as his parents saw it he shaved it off.

Levi has been really sweet with Hazel lately. Now that she can sit up he loves to sit or lay next to her and try to make her smile, which isn't hard for him to do. She just loves all his little antics!

Our Fourth of July was very fun and we loved to celebrate with family. I made red, white, and blue pancakes for breakfast. We headed to Justin's parents in Albany for lunch where we had a wonderful BBQ. Justin was our monitor to make sure everything from the food to the plates and cups were made in America... because we couldn't eat anything or do anything that wasn't affiliated with America on the Fourth! He "approved" of our lunch as we all felt everything we ate was very American. How much more American can you get than hamburgers, potato salad, baked beans, and watermelon? Okay, maybe an apple pie, but we didn't have one. After lunch Justin had to go to work and I headed to my sister's house. Her neighborhood was having a block party so we got to participate in that a little. We then roasted s'mores and lit off our own fireworks. We ended the evening by watching the Corvallis fireworks. It always makes me miss Nebraska and the fireworks we would see there. Justin also remembers Wyoming (who has no restrictions about fireworks) and Utah's fireworks and misses them too. I keep telling him one day we'll go to Utah or Wyoming for the Fourth so that our kids can see some real fireworks!

Again my two sweethearts!

Just today we went up to Salem to the Discovery Center and Carousel. We went with my sister and her kids and my mom. All the kids had a wonderful time, and Levi seems to really be warming up to the carousel! Hazel absolutely loved the bubble room that they had, and we even caught Levi in a huge bubble and Justin was able to use a hula hoop to make a large bubble and then make it wobble and dance!

Well that's all this week! See you next week!

1, 2, 3, 4... Exhaustion

2009-06-29T14:38:00.000-07:00

Wow, I think that's all I can say.... okay, I suppose I can fill you in a little more than that. We had my mom's family reunion this past weekend (Thursday - Saturday), and I was 100% in charge. We didn't have the whole Clark Family there, but about half of us made it. My husband has forbidden me from ever planning this big of a reunion on my own again. I didn't feel too stressed out until we were there and things started going wrong.

On Wednesday the reunion officially began, but I couldn't make it up to Portland because Justin was at work. But the group went to the temple and then Sweet Tomatoes for dinner.

We went to the Oregon Coast, which I decided was a bad idea for such a large group because with the weather there you can't count on anything! Besides the fact it is well known amongst my mom and her siblings that they can be very picky and feisty about plans made, even plans they make themselves. So I knew this going in to it all, and did my best to grit and bear it all. It wasn't too bad and only had one real melt down. Not bad for three days of planning and such. We had to change plans a lot because it was extremely windy this weekend, even for the coast. The sun was nice and warm, but not warm enough for the harsh wind.

Thursday we had some lunch and then later tinfoil dinners at the beach with a fireside following. Before dinner Levi was playing with his cousins and did a face plant into the pavement. He had a nasty abrasion on his forehead to prove it! We also celebrated my Uncle Riley's birthday as a big group. I had bought a cake at CostCo for him, and not knowing I had, my cousin Maria made him a gorgeous cake. So needless to say there was ample amount of cake (which I am okay with). Maria's cake was actually my favorite cake in the world, so I ate as much of it as I could without being a pig. After that day we noticed we had a touch of sunburn. Most of us stayed at a motel in Newport that had inexpensive suites (kitchenettes included). We had a gorgeous view from our room, and we decided we should have stayed at this place instead of where we did on our honeymoon. Needless to say it was nice and we enjoyed our room a lot.

Friday started wonderful as we went walking on the beach outside our hotel and found some tidepools. The sun was out and the wind wasn't too bad. However when we headed back for the sandcastle contest, the wind was easily 15-20 mph, and we couldn't even keep up the windblock for the babies. So we opted to go to a park for lunch. On our way out for the day I bought Justin a hat (and totally spaced sunscreen for myself... don't worry my kids were protected), he must not have worn it much though because he was just as burnt as me if not worse by the end of the day. While playing Levi sustained a bite(that left bruises) from a cousin... reasons unknown. He also scraped up his back while sliding down a part of the structure that he shouldn't have slid down. Poor kid! After lunch the kids played some 'Olympic' games I came up with, and we then went out to Mo's for dinner. After dinner was the photo and then family trivia. While we were waiting to take the picture Levi found some guys on the pier crabbing. He was so excited! They even let him help pull up the rope once. We also sang our happy birthday's to my nephew Calvin, as it was his birthday.

Saturday we went to the Hatfield Marine Science Center where they were having their annual Sea Fest for the Kids! It was a blast and we got some free stuff out of it. From there was lunch back at the park (since the wind was still obnoxious) and then goodbyes to all. Sometime while at the park Levi banged his chin on the playground and ended up with a nasty bruise. Luckily he wasn't like his mom who split hers open five times growing up. But he's still young, right? We headed from there up to Lincoln City for the Kite Festival, but the crowds were awful and after letting Levi look for a bit we headed home.

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Sunday was my dad's birthday (not 55 yet!), so we had a big dinner at my parents to celebrate followed by left-over smores (we had way too many for the trip... but no one's complaining!) and cheesecake! So one reunion, two sunburns, three birthdays, and four injuries to Levi later... exhaustion!

Monday we tried to relax most of the day. We tried to go swimming in our complex pool but found out it was still closed (it had been since Wednesday). So we went to the public pool in town. Both Levi and Hazel had a blast!

That's all from us... see you next week!

Calm Before The Storm

2009-06-24T09:41:00.000-07:00

So this will be brief and I apologize for the lack of pictures, especially of Hazel. I am prepping for my family reunion which I am in charge of, so I had to make this quick.

One story of Levi... the potty training took a downward spiral last week when he had a little bit of trauma to a private area. While Justin was shaving and taking care of Hazel, Levi was in the living room watching a show (naked as a jay bird since he just got out of the shower). He saw two Popsicle sticks on the coffee table, and for whatever reason stuck them up his rear. Well, he pulled them out and started screaming. Justin came in and tried to figure out what happened, all he knew was Levi was screaming and bleeding pretty bad from his rear. I was at garage sales, so he called me and I came right home. He had got him calmed down by then and finally figured out what he had done. I was able to look at him and do a decent inspection to determine that he had cut himself but not done any serious damage, and that nothing was still up there. I also had my brother-in-law (doctor in training) take a look at him and give me a similar assessment, but with some good instructions and things to look for. Luckily it was just a cut and nothing serious! I still can't fathom why he did it. Well, we were already having issue with him going #2 in the toilet, and now it is pretty much impossible. He is doing alright with the #1 in the toilet, and doing better about telling us too. Although he is still having a few accidents a day. But we are trying to be patient and not get too mad at him. I know the real struggle is getting him to go #2, and I keep waiting for signs that, that is a possibility.

Hazel is talking lots more lately and has learned to blow raspberries, which seems to be her favorite thing. She is still teething (going on two months now!) with no signs of teeth other than swollen gums, fussiness, and drooling. Levi had broken two teeth by now and had two more on the way, but I've known some kids who got them much later, so I am not worried. She is a sweetheart, but is definitely her momma and daddy's girl. She does warm up to others, but her favorite place is with her mom and dad. It is so cute when she has us both because she'll look at me then Justin, me then Justin... like she doesn't know who she wants more. It is adorable!

Well that is all this week, more to come after the reunion!

Potty Training Update

2009-06-18T07:00:00.001-07:00

Well Levi seems to be doing as expecting with cold turkey potty training. Yesterday he asked to use the toilet five times! But then after he went to bed he pooped in his pants. I kind of expected that though, he has always been shy about going #2. He has had many accidents, and sometimes tells me he needs to go and promptly goes in his pants before we reach the toilet. All of which I have been told to expect. We do keep asking him if he needs to go, but every time the answer is no. At least I am getting him to think about it though!

Crawfish & Pasta

2009-06-16T11:00:00.000-07:00

Well we had an eventful weekend with Mirinda returning on Thursday afternoon! Levi was thrilled to have his cousins back. They had a hay-day playing together, and we even enjoyed a wonderful BBQ at Alicen's house on Friday. Here are some pictures from that.

On Sunday we headed to Wilsonville to say goodbye to my Uncle who is leaving to Singapore for three years to be a Mission President for our church.

Monday Justin and I decided we needed to get into more of a routine from day to day. So, we all woke up with the kids at 6:30 AM, showered, ate breakfast, and relaxed a little before going to power-walk a mile. We brought Levi and Hazel with us, and Levi played around the field with his cousins and we pushed Hazel in the stroller. Everyone enjoyed themselves a lot! After that we came home and let Hazel take her nap, and got some things done around the house. Then we went on an adventure! We went up the Alsea river to about mile post 28 on Highway 34. There we found a good spot and started crawfishing with hot dogs and a net! Levi kept calling them lobsters, but he still had a blast! The water wasn't too chilly, and it was a nice enough day that we all had fun. Hazel even took a nap in towels on the shore. Towards the end my allergies flared up big time. My eyes, nose, and throat were all inflamed and mad at me. We had to stop in Alsea and get me some medicine. I don't usually take Benadryl because it knocks me out, but I was desperate, I couldn't hardly breathe. So once we got home I passed out for about two hours. Then for dinner we boiled the crawfish (we took home only ten), then shelled them and sauteed them in butter and garlic. As you can see by the pictures, ten crawfish yields very little meat. Next time we will have to catch twenty or thirty! We then added the sauteed crawfish to a marinara sauce and put that on some pasta. It was delicious! Wished there was more meat, but what can you do, right?

Later on Monday we went out for ice cream and then walked the riverfront here in town and let Levi and his cousins play in the riverfront fountains. He usually shies away from them because they are cold, but he was running through them with immense vigor! He loved every minute of it and of course screamed when we had to leave.

Today we started cold turkey potty training. So far... lots of wet pants. I just can't wait for the poopy ones! Yeah for me!

So we had a full weekend, and it looks like we have a full summer ahead!

Lots of Pictures

2009-06-10T08:49:00.000-07:00

Well most of the last couple weeks has been a blur, lots of the usual. So here's the pictrues! They aren't in order, sorry!

Levi was able to help me wash our car, my dad's car, and my mom's car. He loved it! Just like his mom!

We were graced with Thunderstorms last week. Made me miss Nebraska and Justin miss Arizona. It actually poured! Usually here in Oregon we get misting all day, but it actually had some serious downpour! Just like the good ol' days in Omaha!

We also were graced with the arrival of a new niece! Sofie Nicole Dean was born on June 6th in the afternoon. She was 7lbs. 2 oz. and 18 inches long. What a sweetheart! She is our 10th niece (from both sides combined) and our 17th niece or newphew. Almost too many to count! And we've only just begun on Justin's side.

Here is our little Hazel sitting up. She is so sweet!

Here is Hazel with her cousin Abigail. Abigail was born in early April, so Hazel is 4 months older.

Here is another Hazel sitting up, something she loves to do now!

The pool at our complex opened again, and Levi is back in the water!

Hazel did not like the cold water at all!

Hazel became more accoustomed to the pool once she was in for a while, and even enjoyed it a little! As long as she had something to chew on she was happy.

Here she is with her NaNa.

Levi and Hazel loves to play with each other!

Levi was hiding behind this tree to get me to use my binoculars to find him (putting your hands in circles up to your eyes).

Levi wearing my shirt for pj's, time to do laundry I guess!

Hazel in her exersaucer!

The Before!

The After!

Yet another one of Levi "smiling"

Us at the park... Levi smiling!

We took some more family photos, so here they are!

What A Week!

2009-05-28T18:58:00.000-07:00

Wow what a couple of weeks! Sorry its been so long. We've just been up to the same old stuff, but since the weather has greatly improved we've been outside a lot, leaving me not on the computer as much. Well I have been very busy making lots more bows, and completing another painting for Justin. Justin has been busy with school as the term is coming to a close. The kids have been themselves and loving the wonderful weather! I will let the mass amount of pictures tell the rest of the story!

This is Levi with his cousin in a shopping cart. They were having a blast!

This is my little Haze-A-Baze, aka Miss Shugah.

Levi on a tire swing with some kids he met at the park

The kids having fun together! Levi just loves to play with Hazel.

Okay, so I gave Levi a mohawk. My mom and dad flipped, Justin was leary, but I loved it! Everyone who saw him said they thought he looked adorable!

Here are some Memorial Day pics! We went to a cemetary in town, then the boys skipped rocks in the river (where I sprained my shoulder), and later on we hung out at my sister's house, had a BBQ, and roasted marshmallows and Starbursts in her firepit. Great day!

Well, just a few days after the mohawk I was over-ruled. My mom threatened to bleach it, and Justin decided he really didn't like the attitude associated with the hairstyle, and thought people would associate Levi with that attitude/personality. So he got buzzed. Oh, in case you are wondering, the picture below is what he does now when you ask him to smile. We have loads of pictures of this face because he won't smile too often, he usually makes this face.

Levi was given a Starkist from Dairy Queen. No he's not bleeding, he got the popsicle everywhere... and I do mean EVERYWHERE!!

Here is the latest painting for Justin. He asked for this one specifically. I told him I was painting Wyoming for him and he had this image in his mind of coming through a pass and seeing the Tetons with the sun bursting out. We found an image that closely matched his description on Google, and then away I went with the paints. He said this is almost exactly how he remembers them. So I am very happy with this one too! The image below is quite blurry, I don't know why, but the actual painting is a lot more sharp.

Well that's all for us. We look forward to sunny days and hot weather ahead! More adventures to come!

Rearranged

2009-05-13T09:47:00.000-07:00

Well we've had some great stories to share this week. I'll start with last Thursday. I went to my nieces' choir concert. They are in kindergarten and 1st grade, and so it was really cute to watch them perform! You know how when little ones perform something there is always that one kid who misbehaves or just does something that gets people's attention? Well that happened to be my niece this time. She is in kindergarten and they were using hand cymbals (the ones with wooden handles) and as she was swinging it she beaned the kid next to her right in the eye. He proceeded to bawl the rest of the time. I felt bad for the boy, but apparently he was bawling before the whole concert, my niece just added to his misery. It was sad and hilarious at the same time.

On Friday I sat down and made about 13 more headbands for Hazel. I am definitely perfecting this talent, as I can see my headbands are looking nicer and nicer. My offer still stands for you all with little girls!

Later on Friday we had the chance to have dinner and spend some time with Justin's maternal grandparents. I haven't seen them since the wedding 4 years ago, and they have never met Levi or Hazel, just seen pictures. Well, it was love at first sight for all. His grandparents just ate up Hazel, and she was totally enthralled by them. Levi said his hellos and then ran off and played. They only saw him in flashes but did comment on how cute and sweet he was. Later on when he thought no one was watching he sang 'Twinkle Twinkle" for them, it was so cute! I am so glad that they have met almost all of their living great-grandparents, and I hope they meet them all. Four out of six isn't bad!

Saturday night I had a girls only dinner with family. It was so nice to sit and chat as ladies. It is always fun to have a night where we can get away for a bit. We think we will make it a tradition every night before mother's day to go out as women (and girls).

Sunday was mother's day and I was able to have a wonderful morning! After sleeping in, I woke up to Levi running in with a small pot of silk gerber daises (my favorite) and Hazel with a balloon clipped to her shirt. We then just laid there and hung out in bed for a bit. It was nice. I then went to breakfast with my mom. We then went and tied balloons to my sister's car at church for mother's day. Later on when I was getting ready for church I came out in my dress and Levi was standing there. He looked up at me and said "Mommy you are beautiful!" I told him thank you and that he was very sweet. He kept watching me and then said, "Mommy are you a princess?" It was so sweet, and the perfect mother's day present! After church Justin had to go to work, so I ate dinner with my family.

Monday we spent the evening with Justin's parents celebrating his mom's birthday. We brought her some potted plants and a new family photo. They were very grateful to receive both.

Yesterday we rearranged our family area. Justin has been dying to do so for some time now, but neither of us could think of a way that would work. Well I have a program that allows us to design houses and do a 3D walk though. So I took some measurements and recreated our apartment exactly. Justin and I agreed it was a little creepy how much it looked like our apartment. So we used that to try out several different arrangements until we found one that would work, and then we did the rearranging. I still having decided what I think, but Justin loves it!

Today I am trying to deal with a cold and do laundry... sounds like a blast! Hope you all are doing wonderful!

Clear Skies Ahead?

2009-05-05T10:29:00.001-07:00

So this past week we took another family shot. This one was for Mother's Day, to give to our mothers. I also took pictures of the kids alone and me and Justin together. I should have got one of the kids together too, but it was hectic already so it slipped my mind until later. Anyway, here are the spoils from our photo shoot.

We had some semi good weather this week as well, so we got out and played at the park and even flew a kite on a particularly windy day. We let Levi give it a shot, and if Justin hadn't held onto him he would have blown away too!

The rest of the pictures are just from throughout the week, so enjoy! We are excited to celebrate our mother's this upcoming week, and hope you all are too!!

Spring Has Sprung

2009-04-26T20:29:00.000-07:00

I forgot to mention some stuff from last weekend, so I'll start with that. On Saturday my nephew Robert had his first T-ball game that we went to. Beforehand Levi tripped on his own feet and fell forehead first into our coffee table. We calmed him down with a sucker, and you could hardly see any bruising from it. After the game my family went to Red Robin for dinner where they were donating all the proceeds from that night to Special Olympics. Not only that but the local firefighters and police were there in uniform to be our hosts and servers. It was fun and a great help to all those who participate in Special Olympics!

Secondly, Hazel is teething. Levi started around this age as well, so I am not surprised. However, she deals with it a lot better than he did. Levi would non stop scream for hours, and no medicine or herbs would help. Hazel does great, but has a little fussiness in the evening. But Tylenol helps her a lot. She drools and chews like crazy! I can feel at least four swollen spots on her gums, but two of the teeth I know won't come in for a while, they never do!

Recently I found a great deal on elastic ribbon (40 cents a yard) so I bought three kinds and five yards of each. I am making hairbands for Hazel. I bought some cheap ribbon and am experimenting with bows. If anyone has any fun ideas, let me know! Also, for those who have little girls, I would be happy to make any type of headband you want! I have plenty of elastic.

It is coming closer to my Clark (mom's side) reunion, which I am in charge of. I am working on the T-shirts, and all I have to do now is the time consuming printing and ironing on. Justin said he would help me, so hopefully it can go faster. I am also trying to make sure all the meals and lodging are in order. It is quite a task, but it is running smoothly so far.

Justin and my 4th anniversary was this past week and Justin took me out to a nice restaurant. His gift to me was some jewelry. He took me to go pick it out, so I got what I wanted, but he said that the ring he picked out was almost identical to the one I picked! I don't have an expensive wedding ring (I don't want one until Justin and I can afford to get the matching set we designed), and my old one broke (gem fell out), so that is why he took me to get a new one. He also bought me a necklace and earrings to match. I love them all!! My gift to him was a painting. He loves Arizona ever since his mission there, and so I wanted him to have a piece of that. I painted Monument Valley with a sunset and lightning in the background. He loves it! I plan to make it a series painting, and do more places where we lived. It was a wonderful anniversary, with many more to come!

Levi's grammar is improving almost daily, and he constantly surprises me with phrases he says. His retorts are becoming smarter and more thought out. He is starting to use context correctly too, which is great! He really knows his colors, letters, and numbers. Oh, and he can tell you every name of every train from Thomas the Tank Engine! He also loves to sing. He can hear a song a couple times and start singing along. He loves the theme songs to Wall-E and Bolt. It is so cute to listen to him play and just burst out into song! Not only does he sing, he sings well. He is right on pitch and sings the notes just how they sound. His mom and dad both have good singing voices, and I am thrilled that he not only can sing, but loves to!

Hazel has entered a stage she hates. I am trying to get her to take a bottle, something I should have done a month or so ago. She has been fighting me a lot, but eventually she'll give in and drink. The fights are getting shorter, so I know it'll only be a matter of time before she just takes it. I am not giving her just a bottle, I still feed her myself too. She gets a bottle once or twice a day. We are also working on rice cereal, which is slow going as well. She catch on, I know she will.

That's all from us, hope you all can enjoy the Spring!

Short

2009-04-21T10:44:00.000-07:00

So not too much this past week. My mom returned safely from Chicago, despite a blizzard in Denver that tried to stop her. The sun decided to come out this weekend, and we have been trying to enjoy it! I didn't get many pictures, so sorry! I can't think of much that happened, so a few pictures will have to suffice this week.

100th Post

2009-04-14T09:36:00.000-07:00

Yea! 100 posts!!!

Happy belated Easter to all!

We have had a great week full of hellos and goodbyes. On Tuesday my mom headed out to Chicago for a week and a half to see my sister and her family for Easter. Out in Idaho, Justin's brother's wife gave birth to their first child, Allison Kelly, on Thursday April 9th. Meanwhile, here in Corvallis my sister Alicen gave birth to her fifth child, Abigail Elise, on Friday April 10th.

Allison Kelly

Abigail Elise

We took Levi on Saturday to a local Easter Egg Hunt with his cousins. He enjoyed himself, but it was really crowded and they kept running out of eggs. I don't blame them at all, a lot of kids were taking more than they were allowed to. However, I discovered one that happens at 1 pm at Albertsons and I think that will be the one we go to next year. They had the Easter Bunny, free hot dogs for the kids, face painting, an Easter egg hunt, door prizes, and a BBQ. Oh, and police and their dogs were there with McGruff the Crime Dog. Everything was free except the BBQ and door prizes. All proceeds went to the local Humane Society.

Later that day we decorated eggs. Levi loved it! He thought the whole thing was the coolest ever! We got some foil like we did last year, so we did quite a few eggs with that. Later on I used most of the eggs for Deviled eggs.

Speaking of food, we ate at my in-laws this year, and I made orange duck. I've made it before, but this was the first time without my mom helping me out. She and my sister were there for verbal assistance, but I really did most of it on my own. It turned out great, and the meal was wonderful! We had so much yummy food, I could have made myself sick.

We did get all dressed up for Easter, and I would have to say we all looked sharp! Hazel was the cutest by far! Her little bonnet was a hit with all! Levi looked so dashing in his vest and tie. And I think Justin looked really handsome in his too! I didn't get pictures of just Levi, but when he wears the outfit again I will be sure to take pictures for you all.

We had a great Easter, and we hope you all did too!

Waiting

2009-04-08T14:06:00.000-07:00

Lots of pictures and even a video this time, so I will just have captions this time... these are from the past two weeks.

In this shot, Hazel has just had her nails painted. I did hot pink because it was the only color my mom had that dried really fast.

This is what happens when you let your husband put makeup on your son... it becomes war paint! Quit wasting my makeup I say!

Our little Hazel dressed for church, she's just so sweet! The other one is of her new found love of her feet. She has discovered them, and found they are tasty!

Aww, a daddy and his princess...

My dad was doing some home repairs in his bathroom and Levi really wanted to help, mostly he just wanted to use the hammer.

Hazel has been playing on her mat a lot lately, and here is Levi joining in the fun. The other day I found him blowing raspberries at her and she was laughing in hysterics! It was adorable! The video is of me getting her to giggle.

Another fun outlet is the jolly jump-up, which we are trying out. She seems to like it, but she is still unsure what to do.

This is actually an outfit I wore at Hazel's age. My mom gave to me to use for my little girl.

We've had some beautiful sunny and warm days lately, so we have gotten out as much as we can. Here is an afternoon at the park. This day was sunny, but not really warm.

One sunny and very warm day we took Levi to use his tricycle. He could either peddle or steer, but he had a hard time doing both. Just needs more practice!

Hazel is old enough for rice cereal, so we are testing it out on her. Levi loved it, but I've heard that most kids don't. The first time around she just didn't know what to do with it, but she'll get it eventually!

Well that is all from us, enjoy the pictures and movie of Hazel's giggles. We are anxiously awaiting the births of two nieces, so hopefully next week will be an exciting letter!

Evergreen

2009-03-24T11:38:00.000-07:00

So we've had some fun times this week. We've gone to the park a couple times and yesterday we even made it to the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum in McMinnville. Justin's sister gave us some tickets to the museum so we decided to use them since Justin had no school or work yesterday. We had a blast! Levi loved it, and we enjoyed all the planes. We even got to see the Spruce Goose, World's Largest Wooden Airplane! It was GINORMOUS!!! It still has the longest wingspan out there, and you can tell why. Did I mention it was huge? We had to take two shots of us to get even part of it in the background, and we had to stand far away from it so you could even see it. Otherwise you would just see grey. Their space museum was awesome too! They had the Titan II, which was easily four or five stories tall. We took Levi downstairs by the engines/thrusters, but he didn't like that and kept screaming to leave. Other than that it was great, and Thank You Jessica for the tickets!

We had fun at the park too. Both days we went were cold and cloudy, but Levi and I needed to get out, so we did. Hazel enjoyed herself too, she mostly cooed at the clouds. I remember Levi would coo at the trees.

Hazel is talking a lot more now and is awake a lot more too. She is mostly smiles and giggles. As always she is our sweet little lady! We've noticed she is starting to discover her feet. Justin thinks this is so cute, watching her discover herself!

We've discovered that we can watch Netflix on our Xbox. Netflix is like a movie rental place, but they mail you the videos. Only with Xbox, you can watch a bunch of movies instantly, no going out, no waiting for the mail, just point and click. We get a month free, so we are testing it out. You can also watch TV shows, well previous seasons that is. So if you missed episodes of your favorite shows, you can watch them! The also have some old cartoons like Voltron! I was so excited!!

Anyway, we had a great week and we hope you did too!

Happy St. Patty's Day

2009-03-17T10:30:00.000-07:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day to all! I hope you are wearing your green, or that you weren't pinched too much today!

Well Levi is definitely showing signs of growing older. Well, at least he is showing his knowledge more! So Justin gets up in the morning with Levi and lays on the couch with him. Well, the other morning he did this and was wrapped up in Levi's blanket. Levi said, 'Hey that's mine!' and tried to get his blanket back. When he couldn't do so he came into the bedroom where I was sleeping and took Justin's blanket off the bed with his pillow and brought it to Justin declaring, 'Here daddy, your blanket!' Now how sweet is that?! He isn't ready to potty train yet, unfortunately. I have tried so many things, suggestions from many people, but bottom line is Levi isn't ready. I wish he was though, it would make so many things easier for me. This past week we were able to take Levi and Hazel to the OSU Lambing barns. Levi ran around saying hi to all the sheep and was amazed by all the babies. He was all smiles the whole time! He has also really taken to the movie Horton Hears a Who! He sits and watches it on our computer with headphones about once a day.

Hazel is talking more and more. I remember Levi used to like talking too, he would ramble on for about an hour at a time. Hazel is doing the same. She is so sweet! Her smiles and laughs warm your heart! She likes to have her legs scrunched up to her face and to be tickled, those are the ways to get her to laugh the fastest.

Justin is almost done with his first term of the new major, and I think he really enjoys this. He has always wanted to be a business man, and so this is nice he is pursuing that. This next term will be his last at LBCC, and he is looking forward to that.

Well, in the next couple weeks we will gain two new nieces, one on my side and one on Justin's. Abigail and Allison (I guessed on the spellings) are both due on April 7th. I'm excited for both to join our family!

We hope you all have a wonderful week!

Pics

2009-03-10T14:33:00.000-07:00

I'll start off with a photo of a project I made. I did it a couple weeks ago, but forgot to mention it in the newsletter. It is a growth chart that I hope to keep for all my children. I took two 30" foam boards and taped the backs together. Then I glued rulers end to end. Finally I decorated it with decals and die-cuts. I bought everything at Dollar Tree and the whole project cost me $6. I made it so that I can fold it in half and take it with us wherever we move, whenever we move.

This past week we've just been hanging out. We've had some sunny days and some cold snowy days. Weird weather! We registered Justin for classes yesterday and are thrilled this is his last term at LBCC. We are excited to begin the final part of his schooling at OSU. Levi has loved taken more pictures, so there are some funny ones in here for you. We were also showing him how to make funny faces. Hazel has been arching her back and neck a lot lately and has become very interested in everything around her. She is so sweet! We haven't been up to much this week, so I will just let you enjoy the pictures.

Last Two Weeks

2009-03-03T18:21:00.000-08:00

Okay I put it off long enough... time to sit down and write about the last two weeks.

About two weeks ago Justin and I said goodbye to Neil, his brother. He will be serving a two year mission for our Church in Mesa, Arizona. Justin served his mission in Phoenix, so he is really excited for him.

Levi as of late loves our laundry basket (again... for those who remember his fascination about a year ago). He asks at least once a day to be trapped in it. His vocab is improving, so it is really cute to hear him say 'Trapped in there!' Which is how he asks to play in the basket.

This was just a cute shot of Levi. He was asking for me to take pictures of him.

Justin took Levi out on one of our beautiful days and took this shot with his new cell phone.

Levi loves to snuggle up next to his sister. He tries to play with her too. But mostly he just sits and talks to her and moves her arms around.

He wanted to put Hazel in his cart like I do with him, but she wouldn't fit up top, he settled for in back. It was really cute though. Hazel didn't seem to mind either!

Hazel has been spending some time in her bumbo chair, which is something that helps support her sitting up. She really enjoys it for about five minutes then its all down hill from there.

Hazel and I were at Dollar Tree and I saw the bunny ears. I had to try them out. She was too cute!

This is a shot taken by Levi. He is actually getting good with the camera.

That's all I can think of for now! Hope you are all well.

This Last Week

2009-02-17T12:12:00.000-08:00

So a couple of cute stories about Levi. One was from his birthday that I forgot. I had just finished making and decorating Levi's cake, and I asked him to come look. As I said before he was sick, so his voice was all scratchy and he was tired, but he agreed. He took one look and ever so softly said, 'It is beautiful!' Probably the most precious thing he's done in a while. He is such a sweetheart sometimes. The other Levi story happened the other day when we were in the car. Levi was being feisty and yelling, 'Stop it!', so Justin was saying back to him. Then he started saying other things like 'Yes', 'No', etc. Levi would repeat every single word Justin said. So then Justin said 'Daddy is cool.' expecting Levi to repeat what he said. Instead Levi hesitated and then said, 'No, Daddy no cool!' I couldn't help but burst out laughing, which made Justin and Levi laugh too. It was a funny and charming moment for all.

In regards to Justin, we found out last week that he's been accepted to OSU for the fall. We are excited and thrilled to be done with LBCC and the daily commute to Albany. His major will be business, and he should graduate in summer 2011.

This past week Levi has developed a love for my camera and taking pictures. Here are some that he personally took without help from mommy or daddy.

Hazel is growing every day and I swear becomes more and more adorable! She smiles, laughs, coos, and talks all the time. She has discovered her hands and loves devouring them every chance she gets.

I love this one because you can see me smiling in her eyes.

We got our tax return last week, and since Levi got a lot of Thomas train sets for his birthday we bought some expansion track for him. It takes up our whole dinning room, but he loves it. By the end of the day he usually rips it apart and wants me or Justin to rebuild in the morning. We are trying to teach him to do it himself though.

Another purchase was an Xbox 360, and an Xbox Live subscription for Justin. This allows him to play with family and friends who also own an Xbox 360 via the internet connected to the game console. We've had a blast so far playing with our brother-in-law, Braydon in Utah. Levi's old pal Bentley (Braydon's son) was awake one evening we were playing, so he came in and we let the two boys wear the headsets and they sat and had a great conversation for about five minutes. It was so sweet. They miss each other so much, I wish we both lived closer to the other.

For Valentine's Day we spent most of the day just relaxing at home. Justin left me little 'I Love You' notes around the house, which was very sweet. He also got me chocolates and flowers and some very soft socks. I got him an Oregon Ducks basketball jersey and a green Oregon shirt (he's wearing it in one of the pictures above), and some balloons. We had my parents babysit the kids so we could go out to dinner for a little. I debated for a while on where to go. I went from fancy to casual, to nice casual, to ethnic, then to bowling alley. I decided on the bowling alley because Justin and I both love to bowl, we have fond memories of bowling together. We also wanted something fun to do, and this way it was more like a full date instead of just dinner. We went out for ice cream afterwards too. I was shocked to find out we had only been gone for an hour and half though. We had a great time and it was a fun Valentine's day.

The last thing is a sentence or two from Justin. He wanted to contribute to the blog, so here he is...I just wanted to say that I have the awesomest wife ever in the history of mankind! That's all. Thank you and have a great night!

Party Time

2009-02-09T10:43:00.000-08:00

Its been a while, but I have had a busy two weeks!
I had my niece's birthday (she lives in Chicago, so I can't claim that as a busy day), followed by my sister's birthday, followed by a friend's daughter's birthday party for Levi, followed by Levi's birthday.

For Levi's birthday we took him on a train ride, a real one. We caught an Amtrak in Albany and rode up to Salem where my mom picked us up. The plan was to ride a train back as well, but our train up there was two hours delayed so we missed our train ride back (they refunded our money). We sat in the station for those two hours because they kept delaying it every fifteen minutes, so we couldn't ever get a good idea how long it would really be. It was worth the wait though, Levi was in heaven! He loved it! Justin and I decided that we should take a train ride once a year. It wasn't that expensive, and it was relaxing to just sit and watch the countryside. We took some video, but you'll have to go here to see them: http://picasaweb.google.com/JustDaCrooks/January2009 (they are the images near the bottom with little gray rectangles in the lower left corner)

Levi's party went well, even though he was sick. He had the flu, so he only lasted about an hour, but he loved the party, and so did all the kids. I made him a Cars themed party, and even made a Lightning McQueen cake for him. We had it at McDonalds so he could play in their tunnels and play place. He invited a few friends from church and they all came, which made him really happy. Like I said he only lasted an hour, but I think all the kids and parents were ready to go by that point.

Hazel has been learning a lot about herself, and so have we. She has recently discovered her hands and loves to grasp things, especially my hair. She is all smiles most of the time, but we are still dealing with a bit of gas every now and then. She has learned that mommy and daddy can't always hold her, and she isn't happy about that. She is learning to laugh, which is cute to watch her try. She is making all sorts of expressions with her face as well, some cute, some funny!

For his birthday Levi got a lot of Thomas Trackmaster trains, which he plays with constantly. In fact he prefers playing with them to watching shows, a first! I am so happy he has something he can use his imagination with that distracts him from the tv! He also had his 3-year-old appointment with the doctor, where we were told he is a great kid and seems to be developing great! He said by three they should know one color, and he knows four or five. The doctor thought it was interesting because Levi knows yellow, and that is normally the last color kids learn because it is hard to say. However, kids normally learn red first, and Levi really struggles with identifying red. But overall he looked great. He is tall for his age, which means he weighs more for his age too. He is 3' 2" tall, and if that is any indicator of his height when he is fully grown, I bet he'll be over 6 feet tall! Don't know where he gets it from though!

Well that's all from our family! We are well and great, hope you are too!

The Usual

2009-01-26T16:11:00.001-08:00

Well we've had a busy couple weeks, but nothing super significant to report. We had a wonderful dinner at a Japanese Steakhouse (they cook the meal in front of you) for my mom's birthday. It was my brother's gift to her. We also had a lovely Sunday dinner as a family, and I made my mom a cake for that. Other than those things it's been uneventful. I will let the pictures and captions do the talking again.

This is Levi asking for me to take his picture. He loves the camera!

This was just a sweet moment when Levi was snuggling with me.

Right before this picture she was happy and the cat was purring... then it all went bad.

This one was today. She was talking (coo-ing) up a storm. Justin and I couldn't even eat because she was talking and smiling so much, we couldn't take our eyes off her!

More of her silliness from today!

This was Levi trying to play with Hazel. He is really a great big brother! Occasionally you will catch him singing to her or bouncing her in her seat.

Just chillin on a Saturday!

Here is that cake I made for my mom. Her two favorite colors are purple and yellow.

Thats all from us! Have a great week!

Not much

2009-01-12T12:19:00.000-08:00

So not much happened this past week. Just trying to get back to school and such. So here are some pictures with explanations below.

Levi has taken to liking Hazel's swing. We don't put Hazel in it much because it sits at a very odd angle when she's in it. But Levi loves to sit in it and swing by himself. He doesn't turn on the motor, but uses his arms to push him back and forth... reliving his younger days!

This one is to point out how Hazel is losing her hair. She is having male-pattern-baldness on just the top. Very fine and short blonde hair is growing in, but since you can't see it, she looks like she's going bald. Her hair on the sides and in the back is as long as it was the day she was born, but just not on top.

Here's a great shot! Hazel has been smiling more and more lately, and it is so cute to get a grin out of her! I just love the toothless grins!

This may look like she is about to cry, but it actually her coo-ing. She has discovered her voice, and occasionally will coo for you if you coo at her. Once again, I love the little voice and noises they make at this age!

The other day Levi and Justin made brownies. Here is Levi helping him out (he really did help use the mixer and put ingredients is and everything!).

Well that is all for us this week. Perhaps this next week will have some more stories!

New Year

2009-01-06T20:14:00.001-08:00

First of all, Happy New Year! I can't believe it is already 2009! When I look back I remember thinking I wanted to at least have one child with one on the way when I was 25. So since I turned 26 this last year, I squeezed that in by the wire! As for New Year's resolutions, I usually have the same goal... become a better person. I haven't always succeeded, but I do try every year.

Well our week this past one was the fastest long week ever! Time seemed to slide by slowly while I was in it, but looking back it seems like only a day or so ago all our family left. I've used this week to clean, clean, and clean some more. Today I think it finally irked Justin a little how much I was cleaning. He is usually the one who picks everything up, he likes things neat. And with me being prego, he did a lot of the deep cleaning that I couldn't do (using chemicals, trash, dishes) for the past nine months. Well now that I am able again, I seem to be on a cleaning spree. Not that Justin did a poor job, quite the opposite, but I just feel it is part of my duties since he works and goes to school full time. I have also tried cooking a few more meals here and there too. Justin loves to cook, so he still does it as well. Anyway, back to my cleaning... I decided today to put away all the laundry, pick up the house, clean the kitchen, vacuum the floors, clean out the car, and re-organize the outside storage shed. When I informed Justin of this he plopped down on the couch and told me I wanted to do too much. So I simply told him he did not have to assist me in any of it, and I was happy to do it myself (this was not a guilt trip or ploy to get him to help, I was being honest). He was grateful for my offer and for the most part took me up on it, but he did lend a hand here and there. I did most of what I planned, but once I finished the outside shed I was exhausted and decided to clean out the car tomorrow.

On a cleaning note, our vacuum as of the last several months has had almost no suction. We have been making due, and done everything we could think of to get it back to normal, but to no avail. We've had it for almost four years, and it was a cheaper vacuum (under $100), so I figure we got good use out of her. So my parents were getting a new vacuum, and I decided to take theirs. They warned me it was a bit loud, but the suction was fine. So I threw ours out and took theirs. Well in my test run on Sunday I discovered it sounded like a jet engine starting when you turned it on, and the suction was not good at all. Justin and I literally took the entire vacuum apart before realizing it was the motor and there was nothing we could do to fix it. So we threw that one out as well. Then Justin noticed that our dust buster plug was looking a little broken, so he tried to unplug it and see if he could fix it. Well, the whole plug came apart in his hand and the prongs we no longer attached to anything. Yet another thing we couldn't fix. We've had that dust buster for almost four years too, so I guess it was just their time to go! But what a day, we lost both vacuuming items in one day! My mother graciously took me to get another vacuum today, so I now have clean floors... yea!

Justin started classes this week, and he is not only excited about his schedule (which allows him a lot more time at home), but he thinks these classes will be much easier than ones he's taken in the past. So I am really excited about this new direction we've taken!

Now I know most of you read this for the stories of the kids, and not so much for news of me and Justin, so here you are. Levi had been growing more and more fond of Hazel, and it is so sweet to watch. He sings to her, kisses her, talks to her, and tried his hardest to help me or Justin tend to her. Hazel's first real smile was even for Levi, I wish I could have captured it. She was a little fussy and Justin was holding her. She turned her gaze to where Levi was standing and got the biggest grin, her whole face lit up! She has since smiled at me and Justin, but I will always remember that her first smile was for her brother. The photo just below is one of my favorite. Hazel is stretching, and I didn't quite capture it, but she makes such a cute face when she stretches, so I think the picture is sweet!

In other Levi news, we are still working on listening skills. I think part of it is he isn't fully understanding what we ask of him, and the other part is that he is practically three, and what three-year-old listens all the time! He has also decided to give up his nap, something that is not okay with me! I'm not ready to give up his nap time. He has a one-hour quiet time no matter what, but he is falling asleep at 5 PM or later, and I have to wake him up shortly thereafter so he sleeps at night. Our church switched to 1 PM, so I guess it is for the best. I cut Levi's hair this week, and it ended up shorter than I wanted. I was just about done and Levi jerked his head, causing me to take a chunk out of the back. So, shorter and shorter I went until the chunk wasn't noticeable. Hence his "high and tight" haircut. Normally I would not cut it this short in the winter, but it'll grow!

Well that is all from us for this week!

Holidays

2008-12-31T15:39:00.000-08:00

So there is much to catch up on, and I hope I remember all of it! Most of my stories will be told by pictures and their captions though.

Earlier in the month we got a professional family photo taken. And here is the pose we chose. We really like it and are pleased with how well it came out given the circumstances.

All family arrived safely this past week, although most went through hairy moments trying to make it safely. (They all made it home safe too!) On Tuesday we spent the whole day over at Justin's parent's house. His sister and her family as well as one of his brothers and his wife were in town. The boys played basketball, which they all love to do. The whole day was wonderful and we were so happy we could spend that time with them. We also had a few other moments to spend with them while they were here, as well as all the time we spent with my family too (since my sister and her family were also in town and Christmas was "with" my family this year). It seems that from last Monday thru this Sunday we were with one family or the other the whole time. It made for a busy and hectic week!

Hazel has been more colic lately, mostly gassiness and such. She is still our little sweetheart, but unfortunately dealing with some intestinal issues. Before I get tons of mail from all you moms out there about things to try, know I have tried and am trying various things to help her out. Nothing is working yet, but it may just take time for her body to adjust.

Now for Christmas photos. These first ones are from Christmas Eve at my parents house. The kids all put on their pajamas (it has always been a tradition in my family that we all get new pajamas every Christmas Eve, I made our sweat pants this year). We then let them preform the Nativity story. Levi and his cousin Ashlie were Mary and Joseph. Then when we were all singing Levi decided he was the music director and stepped up to direct. It was so adorable!

Levi conducting music

Levi and Ashlie as Mary and Joseph

Our Pajamas this year... the pants were made by me...

Christmas morning was fun and Levi even let us sleep until about 7 AM! He loved all his presents and was even reluctant to go see his cousins and NaNa because it meant leaving his toys. He got a bunch of race cars and even a remote control car in addition to a cool dinosaur and a BBQ that makes sounds and lights up. He loved every one! At one point he had all toys going at once. Some other sweet gifts we recieved were from Justin's parents. We got some recieving blankets that were used for a couple generations; there was some outfits that his youngest sister wore when she was little; a book that was his youngest sister's favorite; and there was Justin's baby blanket. Hazel has used my baby blanket a few times, but it is nice to have both Justin and mine. My sister made a beautiful blanket for Hazel as well, that I am sure will be passed down too.

I was babysitting my nieces and nephew one night and had this exersaucer out for one of them. The next day Levi decides it is his toy and he hops right in. He played in there for about five minutes before deciding he didn't really like it.

My niece Chelsea (I met her for the first time this trip, she is my sister Mirinda's youngest)

This past Sunday Justin was able to bless Hazel at church. It was wonderful that both our families were able to come. My grandma even drove up from Roseburg for the event. Hazel slept through the whole process, which was wonderful! However I missed most of what Justin said because Levi was acting up and I had to hold my hand over his mouth just to keep him relativly quiet. The dress Hazel wore was made especially for her by my sister Mirinda. I told her what I had envisioned and she made it. It looked amazing! Hopefully an heirloom for Hazel to hand down.

Now for the classic Levi stories! Due to the high volume of visitors, lack of quality nap times, and attention being distributed to others, Levi acted out much more than usual. Every day he had several time outs due to hitting, biting, punching, pushing, pinching, or some other violent act upon a cousin. Now the cousins typically were doing the same thing back to him or had instigated his actions with their own, but there were several that were unprovoked. Justin and I were at our wits end by Sunday night. Luckily it all subsided and went back to normal once everyone left and he adjusted back to normal life. However, in typical Levi form, last night while at my parents he got too comfortable with the fireplace and burned his right pointer finger. He has a nasty blister on the pad of it. We tried wrapping it up, but every bandage we put on he pulled off, including just a band-aid. Finally I did some tapping and wrapping that worked for the night and he kept the bandage seen below on. I did have to redo it today though.

Today brought the OSU Sun Bowl game (Oregon played their Bowl game last night and won). So of course the kids had to dress for their support. Hazel doesn't have too much OSU gear, but I managed to make her look adorable! I had her laying on her blanket and Levi came over and tried to play with her, it was so cute! Moments like that make you realize why you wanted to be a parent. Oh, the Beavers won too (most boring game in the history of football!! They won 3-0).

The last bit of news is sort of major. It was a huge decision that actually came very easy to Justin and I. Over this past week we had joked about Justin owning his own fast food place. Then after a comment I made at church, I realized Justin was not pursuing a career he wanted. So we talked a lot about it, and prayed too. Justin said my advice for him to start his own business was very inspired and right on target. It now seems so obvious of a choice I can't believe we didn't come to the conclusion sooner. So Justin has changed his major to business and will graduate from OSU June 2011 with his business degree. He plans to open his own business. We are still talking about what specifically he will do, but we have several good ideas. Justin has so many good contacts already, and he is so good with people that I think this is the best option for him to succeed. As I said this choice feels so right and seems so obvious now, I know we made the best choice. It even made it more clear when we dropped his science classes and registered him for business classes. He was able to get into every class he needed and his schedule still works with his work schedule! Everything is just falling into place. I am excited about this new path, and not just because we'll be done sooner.

That's all from us. Long, I know... sorry! Next week will be shorter I promise! Happy New Year to all!

Pre-Christmas

2008-12-21T12:57:00.000-08:00

Our weather this week has been frigid and white. I used to joke, when I moved here from Nebraska, that I was always "dreaming of a white Christmas." Now, for the last three years, I have had a white Christmas. Justin says to blame global warming! Either way, the snow is beautiful! It pales compared to the drifts and feet upon feet of snow Justin and I would get in Nebraska and Wyoming, but it has a different beauty.

Justin has been able to take Levi out in the snow quite a bit this week, which has made Levi the happiest little boy around! He's eaten snow, made a snow man, gone sledding, accidentally white-washed himself, discovered snow is actually cold, and learned ice is very slippery. He will wake up every day and yell, 'It's snowing', even if its not. We went out and bought him a new coat and snow pants since K-mart was having a sale and he needed the pants. Hopefully both will last him through next winter too.

Hazel discovered the snow too. I took her outside for a brief moment to get a picture and then ran back inside for warmth. She did quite well, and didn't even squeal once. I went out to run errands a few times during the week and she did well on those occasions too. As I mentioned, she is a very mellow baby. She's had some bad gas lately so she's cried a little more than usual, but I'm sure she'll be back to her usual peaceful self soon.

On another note, our family has been sick sick sick. Well everyone except Justin, thankfully. I've had a cough since before Hazel was born, and Levi has been on and off sick for longer than that. I started getting sick again yesterday and Hazel started getting the same symptoms as well. We would have stayed home from church today but it was the Christmas program so we stuck it out as long as we could. We made it through half of the first hour and headed home. I think we spent more time getting ready than we did at church. But we did our best and that's all we can hope for. I think Levi is getting hit the hardest, as he seems to be the grumpiest about being sick. He goes from super grump to super sweetheart and back again in two seconds flat. But at least we get the super sweet moments too.

That's all the pre-holiday stuff from us. We look forward to seeing all the family coming into town on both sides for the holidays! We are just so excited to see everyone! My sister has already encountered aftermath from the winter storms, as her flight from Chicago was cancelled. Portland airport is pretty much shut down, so no flights in or out. She managed to get a flight into Seattle and then will drive down with her family. Hopefully the drive will be safe, for her and our other family members driving this upcoming week! We love you all and wish you the merriest Christmas!

Christmas Spirit

2008-12-13T19:38:00.000-08:00

So we have had a full week, as can be expected with a new little one at home. However, I have never felt overwhelmed or like it was too much. Maybe that's because Justin was home to help, but even when I had both kids to myself I felt alright. We did have help with dinners at the beginning of the week, which was very nice. Both of my visiting teachers are pregnant, and one of them went into labor two weeks early and delivered her little boy the same day I did. My other visiting teacher was great, especially since she has three girls already at home! Our home teachers were nice as well, they took Levi one afternoon for a play-date with their 3-year-old boy. All in all it was a good but full week.

We have been doing our best to curb Levi's acting out, which dramatically increased when Hazel came, as expected. We have been trying to give him the attention he needs without missing Hazel's constant needs. I even had a moment today to take Levi to run some errands with me one on one. He seemed to really enjoy his mommy time too, and I think it helped his behavior the rest of the day. He does love his sister though as he still showers her with kisses and cute comments like, 'Don't be sad Hazel.' and 'Oh, poor baby Hazel.' Even when we had our one on one time today he asked a few times, 'Where's baby Hazel?' He is a very sweet older brother! One attention getting antic was tonight when he found the jar of Vaseline I'm using for Hazel and smeared it all over the front of him, literally from head to toe! His socks were covered, and it didn't end until his hair (which had a few globs). I was in the shower with Hazel at the time, and I'm not sure what Justin was doing, but I know we've all had those moments where we look away for a minute and a disaster happens. Unfortunately for him the hot water was almost gone so half his shower was in luke-warm water. He was not happy. I just reminded him that this is what happens when we make such big messes. I think it'll still take a couple more showers to get it all out of his hair though.

Hazel has been a complete delight and joy! She would be classified as an 'easy' baby for sure. I am not trying to brag, and please remember that I did have a fussy and harder baby with Levi, so I'm not without sympathy for those who have hard babies. She is eating about every three hours during the day, and sleeps anywhere from 4-6 hours at a time at night. Levi was up every two hours on the dot, so I know those nights! She doesn't cry much, and when she does it is the sweetest little cry. I don't know if its because I see it differently because she is a girl or what, but it seems everything she does is sweet and precious. As I said she is an absolute joy in our home, and has made the transition for us so easy. She lost her umbilical cord remnant yesterday, so she got her first bath. Unlike Levi who screamed the whole time his first time, she loved every minute! I didn't even have to use a towel to keep her warm. She sat and licked at the water falling down during the shower and fell asleep during the bath. She must be a woman! Justin says its because I took at least one or two showers a day when I was pregnant with her, but who knows! All in all she is more than making up for the hard pregnancy that I had.

We have been out and about a little this week, and even made it to Christmas Storybook Land in Albany twice. Essentially it is a large display of a vast variety of small scenes from children's stories; from Disney to Mother Goose. They have lots of Christmas trees decorated with lights, and a model train display. I'll give you one guess at to Levi's favorite part! Trains! It is something he asks for every day. He's a boy, he loves trains! At the end is Santa. Levi sat on his lap without crying, but this year he played shy. Another thing Levi is enamored with is Christmas lights, so we have been taking him to the Pepsi plant here in Corvallis that has a big light display. There is a radio tower right by it that they turned into a huge tree with lights. Levi calls it the volcano. So every day he begs us to take him to see the volcano. We've indulged him many times, but I can't seem to do it every night.

We went and had a professional photo taken this week as well. My mom got a coupon for a free sitting with one 5x7 photo free, and she gave it to us. Levi, who usually loves to have his picture taken, was shy the whole time, and we had to bribe and prod to get anything out of him. Luckily my mom was there to help, I don't think we would have got even one shot without her. I'll post the picture when we get it back, but we don't even get to see the pictures until next week.

As for the happy parents, I am healing nicely and seem to be doing just fine with daily tasks. I think once Justin goes back to work I will have my real test, but I have no worries. Justin does head back to work next week, and will be back hardcore! He said he is ready to really bust it out while he is off from school. This will be very helpful during the holiday season.

Well, thank you to all who sent cards, gifts, or even just stopped by or called to say hello. We appreciate all of you and all that you do! We love you all and wish you the best Christmas!

Welcoming our Christmas angel

2008-12-08T10:05:00.001-08:00

So as most, if not all, of you know Hazel Anne joined our family on December 4th! I'll keep my labor story brief for those interested. I started feeling contractions on Wednesday at 3:30 PM. My mom took me walking around various stores in town until I went into the hospital at 9 PM. Shortly after I got there they had me take a bath, and after that my contractions became very close and very intense. In one hour I dilated 4 cm. By 10:30 I was pleading for pain meds. I didn't get them until almost midnight however. I first received IV drugs, which worked for about half an hour. They then checked me and saw I was progressing very fast and knew I would need to push soon. So instead of an epidural they gave me intrathecal drugs. Basically, I could feel pressure and sensations, but no pain at all. I wasn't numb, and mostly my body just felt very warm. I think if ever my labor progresses this fast again I will get this, I liked that I could still feel things and walk around. They came in around 1 AM to check me and realized she was crowning, so it was time to push. Hazel came out at 1:52 Thursday morning! The midwife I had let Justin help pull her out, "catch" her, and cut the cord. He was excited to do it all! He said he even got to put the two clamps on her cord before cutting it. It was a totally different experience than Levi's birth, but I guess they can all be different somehow. Hazel was 7 lbs. 2 oz. and 20 inches long. Unlike me, Justin, Levi, or most people in our families, Hazel was born with lots of hair! And its brown! We know it'll change and probably become blonde, but right now its so weird to see our baby with brown hair. I think she looks just like Levi did at this age, except the hair. Anyway, Hazel checked out fine, and so did I, so they let us go home Friday afternoon. Hazel is doing great, and although she is feeding okay, she is still not catching on as quickly as I would like her to. She wants to feed on her schedule, which can be anywhere from mild snacking to waiting 4 hours in between feedings. I was able to get Levi on an every-2-hour schedule pretty quick, so this is a bit frustrating for me. However, I know she'll catch on in her own time and I'll soon have a schedule with her too.

Levi is an amazing big brother! He is adjusting to her wonderfully. Don't get me wrong, his two-year-old attitude had become much worse and he is looking to get into trouble at every turn, which I expected. But his treatment of Hazel is one of the sweetest things to watch. He always wants to give her kisses, and he is always concerned where she is and what she is doing. He loves to hold her and he wants to help with feedings and diaper changes. Now if we can just keep his behavior in check!

As a little Christmas story for you, here's a cute moment from Levi. Justin and I have been trying to teach him about Jesus as well as indulging in his childhood joy of Santa. We seem to have a good mix right now for his age, and what he can understand. However the other night at our Stake's Creche Exhibit Justin asked Levi where baby Jesus was, expecting him to point to one of the hundreds of nativity sets around the room. Instead he answered, 'He's at the North Pole with Santa.' It was the funniest little connection he's made yet!

Well that's all for this week. Hope yours was as wonderful as ours!

Turkey and Tree

2008-11-29T20:18:00.000-08:00

So this will probably be my last post until after Hazel is born, but since it has been over a week and a holiday has occurred, I figured I should write before I have a lot less time to do so.

So for the most part, pre-holiday, we just got our house ready and cleaned (again!). Justin and I really pushed it out and crossed a lot off our to do list. The house really looked great and stayed looking great after we were done. We've been doing good to keep it clean since I think we both don't want to have to do another deep cleaning before Hazel comes (which we are really hoping for any day now). When I did the laundry this last Tuesday I really thought it would be the last I would do it before she came, and yet I have a feeling I am going to make it through another laundry day. Last night I thought she was coming, and in fact Justin got so excited he could hardly sleep (welcome to my world). I was having a lot of pressure like they were contractions, but I was not feeling a great deal of pain. They progressed steadily until they were 3 minutes apart. I called my mom and asked what I should do since they weren't painful and didn't remind me of the contractions I felt with Levi. Her answer was to call my OB, and we both thought that meant I would have to go in and be checked. However, upon calling, she told me not to worry and to just wait it all out. She said it sounded like my uterus wanted to contract but I was not dilating, so there was no pain. She didn't want me to come in, but call her back if they became painful. So I waited. No pain. In fact, they faded away like she said. I did have one contraction that was very painful, but nothing followed it up so I was left again waiting. Here I sit 24 hours later and still nothing. I think she will come within the next couple days, but we shall see.

As for our holiday it was wonderful. We spent Thanksgiving with Justin's family in a nice day at home. Justin played football with his brothers and their ward from church in the morning while his mom, sister, and I watched the Macy's Day Parade. Justin didn't know that, that was ever a tradition in my family, so he learned something new. I love watching the parade, and I hope our kids will learn to cherish that tradition too. I made orange rolls, green bean casserole, and a carmel pecan pumpkin pie to bring with us for dinner. The orange rolls didn't come out the best, but Justin said my other two dishes were the best I've ever made them. His family seemed to enjoy my traditional food dishes too. The dinner was excellent and everything I could have wanted for a great Thanksgiving meal. After pie and disappointing football games, we played a game as a family. Heading home that evening we let Levi see some Christmas lights and he has been raving for them ever since. I have a feeling we will be going out in the evening a lot this month to see the lights. Luckily we have a business in town that has a huge light display (we've been there once already).

The next day my mom and I went shopping. Usually we wake up early and hit the major sales and massive, yet horrific crowds. But yesterday we slept in and went out around 8:30 instead. We still found some good deals and just enjoyed being out. Justin and I decided we should get out decorations out and up since we didn't know when Hazel would come and we wanted to get it all up before she did. So yesterday we got all our decorations up. Levi loved it and really enjoys our Christmas lights. Today we went back to Wal-Mart and got a fake tree for $25. It is a 6.5' pre-lit tree. We enjoy it and are glad not to have to spend $30+ every year for a tree. We figure in about 7-10 years when we have the money we'll replace it with a really nice fake tree, like my parents. They bought their first fake tree this year, and it looks great! They spent 10 times what we did, but wow is it worth it! Their tree really is beautiful. They also bought a train that attaches to the middle support and circles the tree about halfway up the tree. Levi loves this and asks to have it played as many times as anyone will let him. But back to our tree, we like our tree a lot and it serves all our needs right now, so we shall stick with this one for a while. Although upon inspection you can tell it is fake, it still looks really nice. Once we got all the decorations on it, it looked even better! We tried to put up our typical Angel Moroni as our tree-topper, but it was too heavy. In fact any star with lights would have been too heavy, so we employed Levi to do some drawing and finger painting to create a star for this year. He did a good job, and it came out looking lovely! It makes the tree look even better (that's a mom talking isn't it!). Now all I can think of is how nice it will be not to have all the needles to clean and the messy water to fill every other day. I will miss picking out our tree every year, but Justin said we should come up with a new tradition to do. We thought of picking out one nice ornament each year as a family, going out for hot chocolate and sledding, or maybe both. But we'll see. So our tree and decorations are up and we really are all set for Hazel to come... in fact both of us are quite anxious.

So until she comes and we are home again as a new, bigger family, I bid you farewell!

News News News

2008-11-19T09:16:00.000-08:00

Well we have had a week full of news, but not so much events.

Last week Justin's brother Neil found out he would be going to Mesa, Arizona to serve a mission for our church. He'll leave in mid-February. Justin served in the Phoenix mission, so he is really excited about Neil's call and has been talking to him about it a lot. He even tried to teach him some Navajo words.

Later in the week we found out that one of my mom's brothers was called by President Uchtdorf to be a mission president. So two mission calls in one week! He doesn't know where he is going yet, just that it'll be English-speaking. He finds out early next year, and will be in the mission in July of next year. Justin thinks it'll be funny if he is the Mesa, Arizona mission president. But I think that is a long shot.

In other news a week or so ago at my OB appointment the doctor told me Hazel felt small and wanted to do an ultrasound to make sure she was okay. I wasn't worried, it didn't sound serious at all. Its a good thing I didn't freak out either. Then at my appointment this week, the woman doing the ultrasound said that she looked five weeks too small and that they may have to induce me to make sure she is healthy. She opted to send me over to the hospital for a full ultrasound to make sure. Well, then I started to worry. I wanted Hazel to be born any time now, but mostly I wanted a healthy baby. So yesterday I had my ultrasound and they said she was measuring right on target for 38 weeks, and she looked very healthy. She was also measuring 7 pounds 3 ounces by the measurements that they took, which is very normal and sounds a lot like Levi. I did get some pictures out of the ordeal, which is nice. I've never had shots this late. However, they had to press hard in very sensitive areas to get all the shots they needed, leaving me feeling bruised and battered a little. But Hazel is fine, her head is down and she is ready to come at any point. I think it'll still be close to two weeks from now (I'm still hoping for 11-29), so we'll see! One picture is her profile, and the other is looking at her face-on.

That's our week, hope yours is great too!

Events

2008-11-11T09:56:00.000-08:00

Well not much happened during this past week, but the weekend was eventful. On Thursday however I had yet another OB appointment (they are weekly now). The doctor told me that Hazel felt small. Which I found odd because she feels bigger to me than Levi did, and during the whole pregnancy she's measured larger than normal. One theory is that she's dropped, and that is why she "feels" small. I think this is the best option because when I walk it feels like someone is pushing a bowling ball between my legs. They are having me do an in-office ultrasound this upcoming Friday (my next appointment) to see if she's dropped or if she really is small. When I asked what it would mean if she was "too small", the doctor said it could mean she is under-developed or it could me nothing at all. So then I asked if she is under-developed won't she just develop by her due date. The answer was 'Most likely'. So then my next thought was, why do the ultrasound at all. But I didn't ask that. Anyway, so I am not worried at all, instead I'll just be excited to have another look at her before she comes!

On Friday we picked my mom up at the airport. She returned from a two week trip to Peru. She travelled with her siblings and mom. They did a bunch of touring and had a fairly busy schedule. She had lots of cool stories and fun pictures to share. She brought back trinkets and such for me and my siblings. All the girls got a sweater, and all the men got a leather belt. Justin and I both like our gifts very much! Levi was thrilled to see his Nana after the two weeks. When we were picking her up he ran after her as soon as he saw her. This made him run past the 'Do Not Enter' sign at the security check point. You should have seen the reaction from the two security guards. You would have thought a terrorist was running by. They both jerked in his direction and put their hand to their "weapon", I think a stun-gun. Now granted, at times, I want to use a stun-gun on my two-year-old, but really do we need to treat him like that? It was funny to watch though.

Saturday was just some garage-sales and shopping with my mom. Catching up on the three weekends we missed doing both. In the morning we took Levi to the local library where they were having a couple model train sets on display. Levi was in heaven! He didn't want to leave, naturally. Since then he keeps asking to go see the trains again. Maybe someday Levi. We had my niece's birthday in the evening, but otherwise uneventful.

Sunday I was able to get out and take some more autumn pictures, so I hope you enjoy. If you want to see all of the shots, go here: http://picasaweb.google.com/JustDaCrooks/November2008

Hope you all have a wonderful week!

White Fleece - $4.50, An Adorable Ghost - Priceless

2008-11-03T17:53:00.001-08:00

This past week was different for us as we usually, while Justin is at work, spend the evenings with my mom. Since she is in Peru until the end of this week with her siblings and mom, I was left to my own devices. We did just fine, but Levi did miss his Nana, and still does.

I took the extra time given and tried to get a lot of things put away and cleaned that have been piling up around the apartment. I was able to get all but one task completed with an immense help from Justin. I find I am out of breath and exhausted long before I would have ever been before. I also had to realize my limitations since my back and knee were still sore, which is aggravating since I don't like to let anything impede my tasks, even injury. Unfortunately I could not ignore any of these things and therefore had to rely a great deal on Justin.

Speaking of which he is doing well with his sciences. He constantly challenges me with questions regarding things he has learned. I almost always know the answer, which seems to only fuel his determination to ask me a question I don't know the answer to. He did get some joy in quizzing his 13-year-old brother yesterday and had fun explaining several "laws" he has learned in physics, which seems to be his favorite class. This term is different from the rest though, and he has found many struggles with certain areas. But I know him, and his determination, and I know he'll succeed.

This last week we had a great deal of sunshine before the typical Oregon fall began mid-week. I was able to take a few pictures of the sublime array of colors on the trees in the area before the rains came. I hope to get out soon and take more. Every time I pass a tree of wondrous color my heart leaps and I yearn for a camera worthy to take the picture. But alas I digress. Here are some shots I was able to get though.

Well as we all know, Friday was Halloween. The original plan was for Levi to be Old MacDonald, me a pig, and Justin a cow. However, although all costumes we already there and ready for us, I decided I didn't want to wear a costume at all. So I went and bought some white fleece and made a quick ghost costume for Levi, since he seems to be in love with ghosts. It turned out great, and in the end Levi enjoyed being a ghost. We took Levi downtown for some trick or treating after his nap. We showed up around 4 PM, when it began at 2 PM, big mistake. We found half the places were already out of candy. No worries though, so many people thought Levi was so adorable they gave him two or three pieces of candy. I've never gone downtown for this event before, so I didn't know what to expect. I was surprised by how many kids were there! Next year we will have to be a little more prepared with timing. Next we took him to our church's trunk-or-treat. Again, I was surprised, only this time by a lack of turn out. It seems over the past few years the idea has faded and people aren't as apt to join in. I remember a few years back when the whole parking lot would be full. Now, between two wards, there was maybe twenty cars there. Sad, but inevitable I guess. We then took Levi into the neighborhood above us. It is a very wealthy part of town and Justin was sure we would get "the good stuff". Levi actually did the best up there and we stayed longer than we had planned. He really got into it after the first few houses and was running from door to door. Then he would stand on the porch and say to his dad, "Wa-a-a-ait, then say Trick-or-Treat." Basically he was repeating what we had been telling him all evening. It was adorable though, and again he received extra candy from some people because he was so cute! I found it interesting that when some people saw my belly they offered me some candy as well, saying I probably needed it. I laughed and told them just some for Levi. We got some glow-lights for Levi and us to wear while trick-or-treating, and we had fun with them later that evening! All in all it was a good evening, Levi earned his keep this year!

Saturday Justin headed out in the morning to his brother's football game with Levi. This gave me most of the day to do as I wished. Unfortunately half of it was taken up by things I would have rather not done on my day off, but they needed to be done all the same. However, I did get about a third of my scrapbooking done that needed to be. I'm going to keep working the rest of this week to get all caught up if I can. I still have remnants from last year and all of this year to scrapbook. Normally it is a fun and enjoyable time for me, but when I am so far behind it only makes it daunting. Still, a profitable day. However, when Justin dropped me off at my parents that morning, I headed inside only to slip on my parents front porch (it was raining). I didn't fall on my back again, but I did twist and land on my bad knee. So now I am convinced it won't heal for a long time, if ever fully. I know I didn't tear or break anything, just strained it bad. I feel like such a clutz!

Well I suppose that is all from us here in rainy Oregon! Hope you all are enjoying whatever weather you are having!