Sisters

Just two of our fabulous trio.



4 Years.

It's been four years since my mom made a blog post. So..... Guess who gets to make a post?

Chloe.

This guy.

....Four years later.

 

As you might guess, a lot can happen in four years, and I get to tell it all in one blog post! Here I go.....

 

2013

We buy a house in Bothell

Lots of work is done on new house

We move into new house

We get a cat, Bella

Idaho trip

We go to Yellowstone for a family reunion with the Utah Barons

 

2014

I went to Disney World with Grandma and Grandpa Baron

A Café Rio opens a few miles from our house

Idaho trip

Utah trip: Park City, Provo, Vernal

Mom remodels the laundry room

Camping

 

2015

Cooper turns 8 and becomes a baptized member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

Cooper becomes a Cub Scout

I turn 12 and go into Young Womens

Spring break trip to Utah

Idaho trip

Backyard remodel: took out a shed, built 5 veggie garden beds, put in a wooden swing set

Baron Family Reunion on the Oregon coast

I go to Girls Camp for the first time!! (At Cascade Park)

Camping

Dad coaches Coopers soccer team for the second year

Piper starts kindergarten!

Cooper starts 3rd grade

I start 7th grade and middle school!

Mom and Dad tell us that we're going to have a new sister in May!

I throw a Halloween party

Thanksgiving trip to Utah

 

2016

Weekend Portland trip

We get a kitten, Jay
Dad builds Cooper's new room

Quinn Harper Baron is born on 5/1, 6 pounds, 13 pounds

Idaho trip

Utah trip, including hiking Mt. Timpanogos

I go to Girls Camp!! (at Ensign Ranch)

Camping on the Olympic peninsula

School starts

 

 

Congratulations! You now know what's been going on for the last 4 years. I'm 13, Coop is 9, Pipes is 6, and Quinny is almost 5 months old.

I hope you look forward to my posts, more are on the way!!

 

 

 

Oh, and I look like this now (and Quinn):

 

 

 

 Oh yeah.....
I GOT GLASSES in fourth grade.

 

 

 



Hello!

I'm still here! Life is moving along quickly with lots of exciting things happening.  The kids went back to school this past week, Chloe started fourth grade and Cooper started kindergarten.  We had an amazing summer with lots of fun activities, experiences, outings, and even some camping!  A goal that we've been working towards for quite a while is coming to fruition and I can't wait to share it... but you'll have to be patient!

The part of my heart that walks around, outside of me.

Fun at Grandma and Grandpa's

Monday Morning

Justin works late on Mondays, so he goes in a bit later than usual. This means that our Mondays are slow to get going and it is a nice way to ease into the busy week!  The little kids have been working hard, doing their kid job (playing) this morning and I've been trying to pick up the house a bit.

btw, I'm loving this blogger app... Maybe it is just what I need to get blogging again!  Oh, and Instagram?! Love that one too! I'm meloneeb on there, find me!  Can you tell I got a new phone that is much better than my old one (which met the fate of the washing machine)?

Blogger App

Just downloaded the Blogger app onto my phone... Testing it out!

And a pic of Justin, we've had a wild and crazy Saturday evening, watching The Vow and folding laundry.

Its no wonder...

that I feel like I can never keep my house clean.  This is what I'm competing against: 

Toys, toys, toys everywhere... and she is playing with the dvds!

Nom Nom Nom

Strawberries were on sale last week and we were all out of freezer jam, so I took advantage of the sales and made some!

So easy and so delicious!!

Be My Valentine

Happy (belated) Valentine's Day!

We had a great one and hope you did too!

ps- I love cute, simple Valentine-y decorations! The "kiss me" and "Be my Valentine" ones were new this year... and my new love is using scrabble tiles for cute seasonal messages!

The folks.

The kiddos and I spent Thursday evening over at my parent's house.  It was a fun, relaxing evening... with yummy dinner!  Thanks Mom and Dad for letting us crash your house and hang out!

Five Year Check-up

Cooper had his five year check up this morning.  He is very healthy and almost square, weighing in at 39 pounds and 41 inches tall.  He had fun pumping up the blood pressure cuff himself and listening to his heart beat through the stethescope.  He had one immunization today and was very brave, but broke down afterwards.  He doesn't handle pain well :(  I tried to cheer him up by telling him that most kids get 3-4 shots at one time (we delay and selectively immunize), but that didn't help.  So, we hit Target afterwards and a new Cars race car for his collection seemed to help put the pain behind him.

He actually took his Cars collection to school this past Wednesday to share with his class.  It has been fun to see what all the kids have brought in on their "collection day".  Everything from crystals to Barbies!

On my own.

I know there are lots of strong women out there whose husbands travel for work often.  These women amaze me.  Fortunately for me, my husband does not have to travel for work more than once or twice a year.  When he does, he is gone for 5-6 days at the most and then he returns home to us.

I used to really stress out about him leaving.  Justin and I co-parent and share all the responsibilities, so when he is gone, it adds a lot to my work load with the kids.  Last week was a really rough week for me, I was PMS'ing, Piper wasn't feeling well, so she wasn't sleeping well at night, and I was just stressed out.  Justin was apprehensive about flying to Atlanta this week.  I think he feared for my emotional well being.  Of course, he had to go anyways and leave his unstable wife behind to fend for herself with the kids :-)

This week, while it would have been nice to get a break (especially since I've been sick), has gone really smooth.  Children (and mom) were fed, bathed, and where they needed to be- on time!  The dishes have been done, the garbage has been taken out, and homework has been completed.  I've survived.  I've come out alive.  And, I'm not even stressed.  I've missed Justin, don't get me wrong.  He is my best friend, my partner, my lover, but I've realized that I'm stronger and better at this parenting thing than I give myself credit for. It feels nice to know, for myself, that I'm capable. I guess it is time to stop doubting myself.

Five!!

Cooper turned FIVE last week!

 We had a small party at Chuck E Cheese for his birthday.  Just cousins and family friends.  It was very laid back and relaxed... just my style!

 Piper and her BFF Keri saying "cheese!"

 Fun for the whole Duncan Family! 

Cooper with all his loot!  It looks like a small toy store!

The progression of a popsicle

Chloe's Bakery

We gave Chloe a donut maker for Christmas and she has been putting it to good use! Last night, she made about 40 mini donuts to sell at her third grade student market*.  They were glazed Funfetti (cake mix) donuts-- so yummy!! This is the recipe we used- although we decided not to frost them, they were already a total sugar rush! http://cookiesandcups.com/double-glazed-funfetti-donuts/

*All the third graders at her school earn "money" from their teachers for doing different things.  They have a school bank that they can make deposits and withdrawals from and on the last day of each month, they can bring in homemade items that they've made and sell them to other students, to earn more money.  They seem to have lots of fun shopping from their peers!  It is a good lesson in money management and business.

Treat night!

We don't have many days, especially Saturdays, when there is NOTHING on the calendar.  Today happened to be one of those gloriously relaxing days!  It was so nice to have nowhere that we needed to be or be needing to watch the clock to make sure we get a kid off to their scheduled activity.  We had a relaxing day together, ran a few errands, played outside for a bit, had yummy meatloaf for dinner (made in my new Perfect Meatloaf pan that I got for Christmas), and then went out for a special treat of dessert at Dairy Queen!  Everything was half off for "Customer Appreciation Day," which made the treats even better!

Two of the cutest!

My week hasn't been all bad...

Cooper goes to preschool Monday through Thursday in the the afternoon.  Chloe is also in school at this time, so that means that I get to have one on one time with my fabulous Miss Piper!  I know that both she and I enjoy our alone time to hang out with no other kids around. Some days, we even luck out and get to go out to lunch with Justin, just the three of us!  She revels in her alone time with us, walking between us, holding both of our hands and having our undivided attention.  It is fun to watch her be her own person, without her siblings around. I'm so grateful for her and her gigantic personality!

Hanging out, chatting with me, in the front seat of the van while we waited for Cooper to get out of school yesterday!

Argh.

Last weekend, I developed a cold sore.  Now when it comes to cold sores, I don't get them like a typical person. Mine explode into a huge nasty sore within a day.  Normally, I can sense them coming and ward them off with L-Lysine supplements and Abreva before they manifest, but every once in a while I get one that is resistant to my cold sore fighting efforts.  When this happens, I have to go to the doctor and get a prescription for an oral anti-viral medicine... Valtrax.  Yup, the same thing you'd take for the OTHER kind of Herpes.  Lucky me, right?!  So, I have a lovely cold sore healing on my face.  On Monday, I slipped in the snow at Cooper's preschool and ended up with a nice stiff neck and sore upper back muscles.  Thankfully I have a husband that is willing to rub my back and help me take it easy (as easy as a stay at home parent of three can take it without interrupting life).  Today, Wednesday, I broke a tooth.  I have major anxiety about going to the dentist and now I can't put it off. While the tooth break is a whole corner of one molar, the upside is that it doesn't hurt, but the downside is that the break looks severe enough that I'll probably need a root canal on the tooth plus a crown and not just a crown alone.  

It just isn't my week.  It can only get better from here, right?!