What we are up to

marlie was very adamant about pulling her own wagon when we went to pick out pumkins!

ok so not the BEST picture ive ever taken but i was trying to be fast. here is marlie with ken in her costume!

we havent really been up to much lately. ken has just been working, and i have been hanging out with marlie at home. we went trick or treating on halloween though! we hit up the rich people up at persimmon golf course cuz whenever i went trick or treating there as a kid, they gave out whole candy bars! and they didnt disappoint this year either. marlie was a cow but she didnt like the part of her costume that goes on her head because it kept falling into her eyes so everyone thought she was a puppy haha. so we had a good time with that. ken has been working on getting his internship finished, and hes done everything he needs to do hes just waiting to hear back from the school. i havent been up to much. i have done a few photography jobs but its starting to slow down now that the peak wedding season is over. so i go riding on the days ken is home which is fun. we just got a new horse out at the barn and hes going to be my new project. so i will be working and training this horse with a friend and it should be really fun! other than that we arent up to much. we are hopefully going to california after thanksgiving to visit my dads side of the family. so that will be lots of fun since ken hasnt met hardly any of my dads side of the family. we are going to my grandmas house for thanksgiving and we will probably stay here for christmas too. marlie is learning a lot these days, she knows all of her letters and can count to 10 by herself. she LOVES the moon... yes, i said the moon.... everytime we go outside and its dark she wants to find the moon and then she wont stop talking about it until we get back inside... i have no idea where she learned what the moon even is but she freakin' LOVES it. anyways, thats what we have been up to lately. enjoy the photos!

Time for an update

So as you may have already noticed.... i am REALLY bad at blogging now. So i will update you on whats been going on around here. July was pretty uneventful. We watched fireworks from Crown Point which sounded like it would be an awesome location but it really wasnt that cool. August we didnt do much either till the end of the month and me and marlie went to idaho to visit my parents. i photographed a wedding the day before we left and then while i was in idaho i did 4 photo shoots so i have been really busy editing photos this week. i dont know if i have mentioned this in earlier posts but i found a lady back in march/april who lets me clean stalls 2 days a week in exchange for riding privileges. so i have FINALLY gotten back into riding horses which is absolutely divine! this lady's name is amy and she just graduated med school and now she is a naturopathic doctor and when she starts up her practice she said she is going to hire me (shes not sure what she will have me do yet but i will have a job nonetheless) but in the mean time she is letting me work with one of her younger horses who has just been started under saddle (or "broke" for all you non horse people haha) so its been fun to be getting back into what i love to do. marlie is growing up like crazy. she really likes to play with her daddy and i love hearing her giggle when she plays with him. she is very active and we are going to start potty training here soon (ugh). its been really hot here in portland the past week so we really havent done anything that requires us to go outside cuz its just to darn hot....of course i will go ride horses in the heat but nothing else. ken is doing well. we were able to use the job he is doing now as his internship so he can FINALLY get his diploma!!! YA!!!! we are excited for him! he has been working out a lot trying to get back in shape. overall we are all doing well. just not a whole lot of anything super exciting. i would write a little more but theres a little girl saying "mama omeer" (mama come here) cuz she wants to take a bath. :)

Busy Busy Busy!!

Holy cow we have had a busy summer so far!! In a nutshell, we have been able to see most of mine and kens immediate family in the last 2 months without having to leave oregon. Kens sister Joy and her 2 boys came at the end of May to visit Ken's OTHER sister who lives in Seattle who had just had a baby at the beginning of May. So to give Ruth and the baby a rest from 2 rowdy boys, we had Joy and the boys come down here to Portland to hang out with us for a week. They were able to play and get to know Marlie, we went to the zoo, rode horses, saw some waterfalls, ate lots of food and just had a really good time. A couple weeks later, my brother Dan and my sister Anna drove out here for a visit, Dan only stayed for a few days but Anna stayed for a few weeks. We just hung out and had a good time. About a week after Anna got here, Kens parents and 2 brothers came out for a visit. They were here for about 4 days and we were able to take Ken's brother to Burnside Skate Park (its world famous... but its perfectly normal if you didn't know that haha.), Ken worked on the car (which he LOVED doing....just kidding), we went to the oregon coast aquarium, the tillamook cheese factory, and devils punch bowl, then we took them to the columbia river gorge to see the waterfalls which was fun. They left on a thursday to head to Seattle to spend time with Ruth, Shem, and the new baby and then we met them up there for Asher's baby blessing. We had a couple weeks till my parents finally came out but they were able to hang out with us for a whole week which was so much fun. Marlie got to spend lots of time playing with grandma and grandpa. Me, Ken, Anna, and my dad did a lot of hiking while they were here. We went to Astoria, and Canon Beach and we actually enjoyed some nice weather while we were there. Thats about all we did but it was fun to just relax and hang out. Anna went back to Idaho with my mom and dad so now we are getting used to our apartment being so quiet again! Tomorrow my room mate from college will be here with her husband but they are only going to be here for one night. But you can bet it will be a fun one!! i will add pictures later. the computer isnt wanting to cooperate :)

kickin' it white trash style...

We went to Lewis and Clark state park today with a couple of friends and their dogs. The only thing we DIDNT expect was the trail to be flooded.... so we made the best of the situation by rolling up the pant legs and wading through the water.  Im not sure why I thought that just rolling up marlies pant legs would keep her from getting wet.... cuz it DIDNT..... so I just decided to be a little white trash and let my daughter run around in public with just a diaper. She had a great time though! And is the new baby horse not the cutest thing EVER?!?!?! Marlie loves him!

Seattle

This last weekend we went to Seattle to visit Ken's sister and to see the Detroit Tigers play the Mariners. It was a really nice weekend. The Tigers won the game! We got to walk around the waterfront because Ken's sister and her husband had to work until around the time the game started to we rode the carousel, ate some yummy sea food, went to Pike Place Market - where we saw some absolutely GORGEOUS tulips! I wanted to get some SO bad, then to kill some time we went to Mercer Island where all the rich people live (including Bill Gates) and found a cute little park for Marlie to play. We had a really fun time and got some good pictures. And as you can see we are planning on taking a picture of Marlie by a dead fish every time we go to seattle haha.

Nothin' Much

So we are still alive in case you were wondering, nothing really exciting has happened lately. We are almost done house-sitting for some friends and then we are headed up to Seattle to see my sister-in-law and go see a baseball game. The Detroit Tigers will be in Seattle on Monday so there was no question as to whether or not we were going up there to see them play. Originally I was going to ride the train up with Marlie ahead of time so I could go to Ruth's baby shower but with gas being so expensive, we decided to just leave together. We are leaving on Saturday night after Ken gets off work. So it should be a fun trip. The weather has been all over the place here in Portland. I thought it was going to finally start warming up and then the next day it was pouring rain. Then it would be sunny and then it would rain. So we are just waiting on that sunshine! This Fridan and Saturday, a choir made up of people from all over the area is going to be performing the Easter portion of Handel's Messiah. I'm really excited to go! I invited a non-member friend to go with me and she said she might come with me so it will be exciting to see if she decides to go. Other than that, not much going on. Marlie has been sleeping really well lately. She has slept through the night for the past week, so needless to say, I've been a pretty happy camper. After we get home from Seattle, we are going to try potty training, and gettting rid of the binkie, and MAYBE even the sippie cup of milk at bed time. Obviously not all at once, that would be just as fun as climbing a barbed wire fence, but over time we would like her to be able to go to sleep without any dependencies - with the exception of the blankie. That doesn't bother me too much. On another note, Marlie is learning how to say "Please." and "Thank You." and she is really good at it. She is finally understanding when to say it instead of saying it all the time. When we put her to bed, we give her her blankie and her milk and she always says "date dew" ("thank you") so its really cool to see how much she is learning now! It's crazy that she's almost 2!! Anyway, that's pretty much it!

Its about time!

So I realized that I havent posted anything in a REALLY long time so i figured it was about time for an update. At the end of feb/beginning of march we went to idaho to surprise my dad which was a lot of fun. we left on a saturday and ken left the following wednesday but me and marlie stayed another 2 1/2 weeks to hang out with grandma and grandpa. we didnt do a whole lot while we were there, just hung out. my mom had a rotater cuff repair surgery on the 10th of march so it was nice to be able to be there to help her do her every day tasks that she could no longer do with one arm. It was pretty cold there but that didnt stop marlie from wanting grampa to take her out on the 4 wheeler. So we made sure to get her a hat, scarf, and mittens and she would go out for a ride. i got to hang out with a few friends, take pictures of their new babies, and eat lots of good food. So we had a really good time but we are really glad to be home.my dad and sister drove me down to SLC where me an marlie were going to fly home. we got there around noon so we could hang out for a few hours, so we went to the joseph smith memorial building, the 2 visitors centers on temple square, the old tabernacle, toured the conference building, went to the top of the church office building, went to the cemetery where a lot of the prophets are buried and then we met up with my sister in law rachel at the gateway mall. over all we had a really good time, got to take some fun pictures and THEN... i got to go to the airport. it wasnt so bad at first. i checked my bags, so the only thing i had to take on the plane was the diaper bag and my coat... and marlie. but juggling all that crap, a child, AND trying to get through security where they make you take off your shoes (and marlies, you know, cuz i could have rigged HER shoes with a bomb), your belt, and put everything else in a little bucket... all while trying to keep said toddler from either screaming or running away. so we get through security, then head out to our terminal. we stop to get some ridiculously over priced juice and snacks, and then play at the little play place to kill some time. my plane was scheduled to leave at 7:25pm so at about 7:10 we headed down to our gate, which was only 10 miles away in the furthest corner of the airport. im all excited when we sit down cuz i only have to deal with this crazy child for another 10-15 more minutes when i over hear a lady talking to a stewardess who tells her that the flight to portland has been delayed until 9:00pm.... you have GOT to be kidding me. marlie came really close to never seeing her 2nd birthday that night but we FINALLY got on the plane and she did pretty good for most of the way until the ear popping (or lack of) and extreme tiredness kicked in. then it was REALLY fun with all the blood curdling screams and the kicking and the hitting. and then she conked out.... right before we landed. so i had to WAKE her back up and try and carry her (while she WALKED before) with the diaper bag AND the big fatty coat that i brought with me but never used. ive never been so grateful for moving sidewalks. it was so nice to feel bionically fast when i had this heavy kid on my shoulder. needless to say, ken got to carry her and the diaper bag all the way to the car, and all the way upstairs to the apartment haha. we had a good time with friends and family though so it was all worth it. then yesterday i went in for a minor surgery on my ear to get a cyst removed which was absolutely disgusting. it was on the back of my right earlobe so the doctor numbed my ear (which is still numb... should i be worried about that??) and they took me into the "O.R." which was more like a fancy dentist chair in a big room. i sat down and they laid me back and i had to have my head cranked to the left for the next hour. it really wasnt so bad since i couldnt feel anything. i think the worst part about it was since i was awake for the whole think i could hear her cutting my skin and scraping and tugging... it. was. GROSS. so now i have some really attractive stitches that extend from the back of my ear to about a cm below my earlobe. and it likes to bleed. and i cant see it which means im a walking freak show in the grocery store that the checker cant stop staring at but cant actually just tell me "hey your ear is bleeding a little bit" haha oh well. i dont really care. im just glad that nasty cyst is gone. well thats about it for us. we havent been up to much of anything else!

for the second time.

well i would like to say that marlie getting locked in the car WITH the keys was a one time experience... but that would make me a liar. SO... yesterday we were getting in the car getting ready to come home from church. i put marlie in her seat, tossed the keys in the drivers seat so i could buckle her in and then shut the door. some how in between opening the door, buckling her in, and shutting the door the door got locked. so here i am - mom of the year - who cant seem to keep the car doors unlocked when they need to be. but heres the fun part about this situation, marlie is buckled into her carseat and cant just grab the keys and push a button like she did last time. so i run in and get a friend and before you know it we have an audience trying to make me feel better by saying "its ok i did that once... yada yada yada..." and i have to keep telling these fine people that i would feel so retarded had this been the first time it had happened. but its the SECOND time its happened... and then i ad on - THIS WEEK!! and as soon as i say that that look at me wierd and say "oooooohhh," and while walking away they say "well, good luck with that" luckily i had a few who stayed there until the doors were opened. one of those friends hunted down a wire coat hanger and 2 ladles from the kitchen...not sure what those were for.... leverage?? i dont know but after about 20 minutes of wiggling a wire hanger under the rear passenger side window trying to push the unlock button they FINALLY got it unlocked, which set off the alarm and then we climbed in and hit the unlock button. it was hillarious.

Something funny.

Most of you have probably heard about this but the other day ken and i went to my grandmas to use her driveway to change the oil in our car. he had just finished, the car was off of the ramps and ken was just cleaning up so i put marlie in the front seat of the car while he and i cleaned up....not knowing that ken had left the keys in the car. i ran inside to get the diaper bag and the next thing i know, ken comes storming in saying "NIKKI! MARLIE LOCKED HERSELF IN THE CAR!" all i could do was laugh because, come on, ITS FUNNY! but ken tried to be mr. serious and be mad the whole time but as we were standing outside of the car, i would look at him and start cracking up and he couldnt help but laugh either. hahaha. anyways, im tapping on the window saying "marlie, can you push the button for mommy??" she just looks at me with the keys in her hands and laughs while waving and saying "buh bye buh bye!" and then she would pretend to turn the steering wheel. this went on for about 10 minutes and just as we were about to call AAA she pushed the button to pop the trunk and then pushed the button to unlock the door. im just glad she hit the RIGHT button and not the button that set off the alarm. i can just see her pushing the panic button and the noise from the horn freaking her out and us being stuck on the outside with a baby locked in our car screaming. we are such awesome parents hahaha.

My friends are so smart!

First of all this is a picture update. Christmas, Peacock Lane, Marlie stuffing her face, and yes my friends - mini....cows.... those cows you see up there are the size of a miniature horse. and they. are. CUTE! On another note, im sure you noticed that i somehow figured out how to once again post pictures on my blog. im not exactly sure why the idea (given to me by friends and family) was so over the top for my brain but it was SO easy.. all i did was save all my previous entries in microsoft word and then i deleted them off my blog and now i have lots more room to add more pictures!!! you can click on the pictures to make them bigger if you cant see them very well. the christmas pictures are going to look really grainy because of dark lighting situations. but they are funny either way. enjoy!