they're pretty good waiters

Today we had to go back to the doctor for Andrew's asthma. Last night he started up with his shallow, quick breathing and just like last time, his inhaler didn't help much. I was glad to be able to get an appointment with his doctor first thing this morning to get him fixed up. And because this seems to be a reoccurring thing, we also came up with an action plan this time. It's nice to have a plan to hopefully keep the attack from coming, or at the very least, hopefully not have to go back to the doctor every time this happens.

The plan includes evaluating how bad things are. And of course it has to have a 'red zone' at which point I would call 911. There's no saying we'll ever hit this point, but the fact that it even has to be discussed just sucks!

Taking two boys to the doctor is a bit of a bummer, mainly because of all the waiting... We waited to be called back, we waited for the doctor, we waited for our number to be called at the pharmacy, then waited (and waited, and waited) for our prescriptions to be filled. We were there for 2 hours this morning, but fortunately (or unfortunately...?) I've spent enough time at the docs to know how to pack for survival. And when all else fails, the camera becomes a toy. :)

bye for now restaurants, see you in July

I set a challenge for myself to not eat out for any reason* during the month of June. I'm doing this for a few reasons, in this order:

1. It has become way too easy for us to go out to eat lately. I'm hoping by taking a month off, it will be less of a habit.


2. To be healthier.


3. To be save-ier. Turns out we can't really afford to eat out, so we should really stop doing it.

Our send off lunch was at McDonald's - Andrew's choice.

* We have a tradition to go out for breakfast on the boys' birthdays - I do plan to go out for Mason's birthday on the 28th. I also will not turn down any free dinner invitations or lunch meetings. :)

the money pit

Last spring we had to decide if we should re-side our shed or buy a new one. After seeing how much those suckers cost, Matt decided to re-side it.

This is Andrew enjoying our strawberry plants in front of the shed. You can't really tell in this picture, but the siding was rotting out. It was also ugly.

Then, this winter, Matt noticed a leak. We went high class and covered it with a tarp until we could fix the roof - which thanks to Matt's dad was this weekend!

Then, as Matt was reorganizing the shed, he stepped through the floor. Seriously - this stupid thing has cost us a lot of money! The good news is it didn't rot anywhere other than this area of the floorboard, so Matt was able to cut it out and just put a new board down.

Luckily we've still spent well less than the cost of a new one, although then we would've had a new one... but whatever. Hopefully we're good for a while now!

it's like riding a bike

We took our bikes to the trail for the first time today! Andrew did great on his own and even learned the best way to walk his bike for the big hills (one hand on the handle bars, one on the seat - in case you didn't know there was a best way). We pull over for a quick lunch and then headed back and ended at the park.

He loved going down hills. Here he is doing some trick riding...

And for those of you who didn't know what an underdog is - this is an underdog! Andrew learned about this the last time we were at the park and today he taught a girl swinging next to us. We totally paid it forward. :)

thank you

I thank my lucky stars, to be living here today...

...because the flag still stands for freedom, and they can't take that away.

s'mores

even the bottoms of their feet are cute

May flowers

I thought the flowers around our house looked exceptionally pretty today... I love springtime.

he's a man

Andrew used his first public bathroom on his own today. (Yes, this is him posing in front of the men's room). It was nice and safe (we were at the bookstore, the bathrooms were small and I could hear him singing the whole time) so I thought it'd be the perfect test run. He did great and was very proud of himself. :)

grandma & grandpa

Grandma & Grandpa Dyk came over last night to visit and apparently to spoil us. These are just a few cute pictures taken during their visit. Grandpa's shoes and their dog Maggie are evidence of their visit...

VIP

Blazing Onion is one of our favorite restaurants, and tonight we got VIP tickets to the new Alderwood location for their training night. We got free dinner and a chance to see the (beautiful!) restaurant before they open. To top it off, grandma & grandpa watched the boys so that we could enjoy a night out!

jump

The weather has been driving me crazy, so in an attempt to keep me sane, Matt suggested we head to our favorite bouncy house today. I haven't gone alone to a place like this with both boys so I was a little nervous, but it couldn't have been better. Mason loved it and Andrew was fine hanging out on the same 'ride' (that's what they call them) until Mason made his way through. They've also upgraded since we were there last so almost every ride has a slide which is so awesome (for the boys, of course...).

They even have a really cool one geared toward the smaller kids. Mason could do the ladder on his own on this one. He loved climbing up and had no fear going down the slide.

This is the slide on the toddler ride. Andrew liked to go down the slides with Mason - it was so cute how much fun they were having together. I grabbed my camera and tried to get one of them sitting on top the slide with their big smiles, but my camera sucks. So instead, by the time my camera took the picture, this is what I caught... Andrew pulling Mason down by his foot on his stomach. It freaked me out a bit but they were laughing the whole time.

The best part was when I was holding Mason and a stranger commented on how much he looks like me. She told me there is no confusing if he's mine. :) Love it.

the day has come

The last few days have been filled with lego building and little legos spread all around the floor. Yesterday, Andrew told me he doesn't love superheros anymore, now he loves legos. Which could be why I love this picture so much ... notice Batman hanging out in the pile? :)

fun with picnik

I love this editing site - picnik. It's a little tricky though because some of the things they offer are free and some (that they conveniently mix in with the free stuff) are included only if you pay for a yearly subscription. I've resisted the subscription so far, but the more I play, the more I want access to everything!!

I was having fun playing around with pictures from our trip to the park today and decided to put up a fun little mix of my editing skills. And just to be clear, by 'editing skills' I mean by pushing a button...

front porch

I'm not sure what was more fun, taking these pictures or editing them. :)

come on tomatoes!

Matt and the boys did some more work in the garden today!

Andrew tried to lock us in the secret garden. We got out though, don't worry. :)