Ranch, Oregon, and All the Places in Between

Well, I took my last week of vacation time for this year, and to Oregon we went. On the way, we stopped at Nate's family's ranch. It's a real working ranch that two of his uncles and their families live on. Pretty out of my box, but fun to be in for a while. Jack loved EVERYTHING about it, and Nate got back in touch with some of his roots. After two days, we made our way to Meford, OR. The kids did pretty well. We made a few stops on the way to get them out and moving every now and then. While in OR we had a fabulous time. Nate's parents had a ton of fun things lined up for us. We headed to the coast after a few days and spent some serene time on the lovely beaches of OR. After a fantastic week, we headed out on our way home. It's been nice to be getting back to our routine, but we miss Grandma and Grandpa. Thanks Mom and Dad for all you do for us. We had a GREAT time! Oh, and the pics are in backwards order, because Blogger and I don't agree with how easy putting pics up SHOULD be. So, if you want the proper effect, start at the bottom and work your way up. Cheese!

Winnemucca, oh Winnemucca. There's not a whole lot in Winnemucca. BUT... We found a veterans memorial with some retired awesomeness. Here's a retired fighter jet and my boys. It was a random find, but Jack thought it was pretty sweet.

Redwood trail on the way home from the coast. AMAZING! Huge, crazy huge. It was pouring rain which another hiker only told us made them more beautiful than usual. I just can't believe how big the roots are. Sheesh!

Ocean World. We got to pet sharks and watch a seal/sea lion show.

Jack LOVED the waves at the coast. We brought our weight in gold home in rocks. That's right, beautiful, unique rocks. Hand picked by Nate.

Crater Lake, OR

The Vortex House

Burney Falls... SO gorgeous!

Some ruins up above the ranch. "Jack, just look, don't touch!" No need to ruin the ruins ;)

On the porch at Uncle Ralph and Aunt Patsy's house.

Jack on his first solo horse ride at the Ranch. It was love at first horse.

Eureka, NV on the way to the Ranch. Fun old stuff to look at, but literally, the town, in it's entirety, is maybe a 5 minute walk.

Bonding Time!?

I just wanted to take a second. You know how some days you just wonder if you're the only one who feels the way you do? The days where you feel like your eyes are so tired that they burn with the crying sensation? The times you just want to sit on the shower floor, let the hot water sprinkle all over you, as you just let out the tears you push back... you know, because you're tougher than that? The times you look in the mirror and think, life is so crazy. Crazy in a good way, but crazy. You look at how different life is than how you imagined it 10 years ago, but yet, you embrace it, because in a weird way, it's better than you could've imagined, but at the same time, how did life happen while you weren't looking?

Do I make a good enough effort everday? I swear I try, but could I be better? I'm sure I could. Motivation... inspiration... goals are set and schemes are made. And yet, I don't know how good I am at making them all come to fruition. I've decided that life, a quality one, is a choice. It's a hard one to acknowledge and achieve. I can live life, or I can liiive life. Am I okay with complacency, or am I trying to be better than I was yesterday, last week, month? I honestly don't know why I'm rambling like a mad lady, but I was just thinking, and wondering, am I the only one? No, I know I'm not, but sometimes you just reach out. For a sense of human contact, emotional support that sometimes we just stop nurturing. Yes, I'm slightly crazy :) And oddly, I do feel refreshed. Oh the power of prose.

Summer Has Come and Gone

Today was the first day of school, for most kids around here. I just can't believe how quickly time seems to go. I'm excited for a little work relief. Back to School is one of our busiest seasons. *Deep sigh*

Other news... Ethan turned one last Saturday. He had his check up this afternoon. 18 lns 14 oz, 30 in. He's defintely the bigger of my 2 small children. 9th percentile for his weight, and 50th for his height.

Jack is potty trained except for bed time, has a curiosity for everything in life, and can light up any room with his over the top personality. One set back to being almost 4...he thinks he's soooo independent, and to let him get there I've realized I have to let him be and do exactly what he thinks he is and can. It absolutely kills me sometimes.

Sad, sad, sad is the blog situation. Ethan is just a wee kid in my last post. Good grief! I will have to get some pics up ASAP. Sorry for all the boring letters and no amazing pictures.

We ARE alive!

Hello, all who might be concerned as to where the heck we've gone. Life is pretty much a crazy blur. Between adapting to 2 kids and being the busiest season of my retail life, well, the blogging has been benched. But, I just wanted to quickly say hello and Merry Christmas to everyone. We are doing well. Ethan is already 4 months old and chunkier than Jack has ever been. He's officially blue eyed...what!?!?! That's right, with auburny brown hair. So crazy the rioulette of the gene pool. Jack is a busy as ever 3 year old. He's so fun and inquisitive. The novelty of his little bro has worn off ever so slightly, but he still does SO well with him. And Christmas is such an exciting thing this year. I promise to try to be a better blogger, but for now, here's a hodge podge of pictures for ya. Miss you all!

I now have kids....kidzzzzzzz! What!?

Well, sorry for my total lack of picture taking while I was preggo. Here are some current pics. For all of those who might doubt, here is a pic of pregnant me right before the action started. Plus some of our newest edition, Ethan Scott, and his big brother Jack. Ethan came into town 8.14.09 weighing 6 lbs 5 oz, 18.5 in. We are adjusting just fine, and remembering how precious of a commodity sleep is. Jack has acclamated super well to his big brother role. He was crazy excited, if you can't tell by the enormous grins he's sporting.

Easter Pics and a Little Comparison

So, I thought that I was an insane amount bigger with this round 2 baby, than I was with the first. But to my disbelief, pictures seem to be saying otherwise. The first pic is with Jack at around 6 months. I am supposedly 24 weeks this week. So the picture with boy #2 should be around the same time. What do you know? I'm not that much bigger. I'm totally shocked. I swear I feel like I'm way bigger this time around. Oh, and it's time for a hair cut. My cut is way outgrown. YIKES!The pic below is not my favorite, but it'll do for all those I am way overdue to send a picture to.

Easter was a lovely, peaceful holiday. Jack finally got it. Eggs have never been so exciting before. Then again, they aren't normally plastic with candy inside. Here is a pic our neighbor boy, Parker, was so kind to snap for us before we changed after church. I loved Jacks little linen suit. He was so excited to have a jacket like dad.

We are doing well. Jack still has an unexplained lymphnode on the back of his neck. His blood work came back negative for crazy things like cancer and mono. I don't recommend telling moms that their kid potentially might have leukemia or lymphoma, and then not getting the results to them ASAP. Even I, who am typically very polite and patient, got a little pushy. When the nurse told me she'd have to call me back, for the 3rd day, on a friday, before the weekend, I wasn't so obliging. We had played way too much phone tag. She told me the Dr. was busy. I told her I would hold until he had a second. She was kinda taken back, but put me on hold, and came back in minutes. I was so proud of myself for being so full of obnoxious persistence. For now, everything seems fine. The bump hasn't shrunk with his anitbiotics, and as much as I would hate to have them do it, a biopsy might be next. We'll call this week to see what the Doc recommends as the next step. We'll keep you all up to date.

We really are alive...REALLY!

So, enough time has gone by, and I have no idea where it went. Life just flies by. I tried to catch some of it on film, so I'll post what documenting I've taken. In other things, work is keeping me busy. I'm getting what I would call huge. I don't know if any of the upcoming uploads of pictures will show my belly or not. If not, I'll work on it this week. Jack is seemingly healthy, but he's been in and out of the Dr.s office and hospital having tests run to explain a lymphnode on the bak of his neck. We'll keep you posted with that fun;) Nate turned 29 on the 13th. Happy B-day, Babe! That's about the most generally brief synopis I can give you. All is well here at the Dyal home. Thanks for still droppin' by.