Has summer arrived in Portland?

We have been waiting so patiently, 9 months of waiting for the rains to stop. We thought they had stopped last month, because we had a week of good weather before our vacation to Kansas. But we came back to cold temps and rain, at least rain 5-6 days of the week. We have seen a few good days of sunshine, but they have been few and far between this spring. And when June arrived, temps were in the 50's everyday with rain. Quite depressing. In KC, Woogy's birthday was always celebrated in air conditioning with 100 degree temps. Two days ago, it was 50 degrees at the park and cloudy. But it's Portland and people came to the party anyway.

Yesterday, the forecast was for 5 days of sunshine and 70 degree temps. Dare I say summer has finally arrived and the rains are stopping? I am almost afraid to because as soon as I do, we'll get rain. But I can't stop hoping. Now I know why Portland schools just got out two days ago and doesn't start until after Labor Day. Because summer hasn't started so why not keep kids in school.

I know this comes as quite ironic considering that most of my readers live in the Midwest and are being barragged with rain and have had record flooding. That is an interesting comparison. We are entering the dry season and they the rainy season. Well, let's hope that soon, we will take off the jackets and strangely, wear shorts or even short sleeve shirts. And what about sandals? I don't miss the air conditioner running all the time, but I do miss wearing short sleeve shirts. If BB starts blogging about hikes every weekend, you know summer has begun. We shall see.

Nibbles and Ear infections

This is the second double ear infection Nibbles has had in two months. And the fevers she has had, 104 degrees! Last month and this month. She had such a high fever Friday night that she had a seizure and hallucinations. They are called febrile seizures and commonly recur after appearing in your child.

Yesterday was her birthday party and she stayed somewhat well for the party, but immediately after got very fussy, vomited and ran a fever again. And the coughing. I haven't slept well in days and days. I don't know if we should take Nibbles to an allergist to determine what may be setting off the symptoms that cause these infections. An allergy test is painful, especially for a child Nibbles age.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

DO NOT READ THIS IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO KNOW THE STORY !

It has been so long since I blogged that I had to write about something. I did get to see this movie over memorial day weekend. That is huge because I never get to go to movies, ever! But I had to choose Indy or Prince Caspian. I choose Indy. I always loved these movies growing up. I was a huge Star Wars fan so anything with Harrision Ford was a must see as a young girl. I had been warned though, that this movie was very different. My sister had told me not to waste my time with it, she regretted even going. But I decided to go anyway. And the theatre was so packed, people were standing in the back. I only know this because Woogy had to go to the bathroom.

I liked it. It was different, it was unusual, and it was daring for Indiana Jones. BB was not that impressed with it though, he kept going "Indiana Jones and Aliens?" Yes, there are aliens. BB thought this was too far-fetched for an Indy movie, but it reminded me a little of Last Crusade, where the german Nazi scientist loses herself trying to get the grail. There is a similar situation with a Russian scientist trying to find the crystal skull.

Most of the movie, in my opinion, followed the "Indy formula". It had the basic beginning where Indy is in big trouble. Then he gets out, finds a new artifact to find amidst great danger, lots of chase scenes and fights, then the bad guys catch up in the end. The only bizarre thing was the aliens and of course, reuniting with Marion from Raiders. I really thought it was pretty good though.

Latourell Falls Hike

Nibbles and I went hiking by ourselves yesterday. Normally, BB and I don't split up like that. This was unusual. Woogy had an early afternoon t-ball game so if we didn't leave really early, we wouldn't make it back in time for the game. So Nibbles and I left at 8:30 and headed to the Columbia River Gorge to a very difficult hike, one we couldn't do very well with Woogy with us. We did it last year with both kids and it was tough on them. The first half of the trail is all up the mountain and it was rocky and very muddy. It was very challenging pushing the stroller up that, but it was a good work-out.

And the mountain was covered with wildflowers, as you can from the pictures. It was beautiful, and so peaceful without the normal mountain full of hikers. The only other people there were the park rangers when I arrived. I think I like hiking with my whole family though. BB said we could go today, but I am glad I didn't wait because Woogy says his ear hurts, he has a fever and a bad cough. So BB will be going out with Nibbles without me today.

Eastern Oregon

BB didn't post quite a few pictures from our trip. And I have been thinking of our trip this week at work alot, remembering the beauty. FYI, when we come to Kansas next month, I no longer have to drive up to Iowa, my dad is coming down. So I can come to church and see everyone that Sunday, May 18th. I know BB talked to Forest, but are Golden and Dust going to be there??

My hubby the polar bear

It has occurred to me lately that if I am an animal, I would probably be an ant or a bee. (Deborah means "Busy Bee" in Hebrew) I work hard, keep to the task, like warm weather, have little sense of humor. But if BB was an animal, I would make him a polar bear. He is like those bears at the zoo who just swim around and play, enjoy life and love the cold.

There have been alot of things in my life lately that have reminded me of how blessed I am to have my husband. Actually, Dust's blog about words our spouse use was one event that got me thinking. BB uses words in a whole new context that most people would find bizarre. But I would miss it if he didn't come home and call the dog, "the animal", say he has to play "legos star wars heehee" with Woogy, call Nibbles "Nipplious Nipplin". To an outsider, our homelife would seem a little bizarre, but I can't imagine it any other way. He helps me to appreciate the day to day routine.

I think about how I balance the checkbook, do the taxes, pay the bills, organize and plan our vacations and weekend getaways. I am so organized and scientific and BB is so totally not. He is laid back, he actually has a sense of humor, he hates all the taxes and bill stuff, and he is perfect for me because we are so polar opposite. Without the bees in life, all of the flowers would die. Without the polar bears, I am sure some ecological disaster would occur because of too many seals, blah, blah, but they are sure fun to watch at the zoo. And my kids would grow up too serious, like me. I love you BB!

Nibbles and Talking

I am getting quite frustrated and worried with Nibbles. Her older brother has been influencing her alot. This is very apparent if you ask her, "who is that?" She replies, "Poopee". If you ask her, "What is that?", she replies "Butt". By this age, Woogy had learned his colors (mostly), his shapes, alot of his numbers and letters, and he knew most people's names.

Nibbles doesn't even talk coherently yet. She has never really liked us to read to her. She has only let us start reading to her about 3-4 months ago, but she doesn't really pay attention at all. Woogy let me read to him starting at age 1 and he let me read 20 stories at a time. He also worked with me when I was trying to teach him shapes and colors. Nibbles shows no interest when I try to teach her anything, unless it's on the computer. She can almost navigate the computer by herself. She can start her favorite Dora CD and start the internet by herself. When she learns how to type "Nick Jr", she will be unstoppable.

So last night, we were at home group and the couple whose house we meet at has a little 1 year old girl. She can say almost anything. The dad sat there quizzing his daughter about tons and tons of stuff. She is amazing. So I told them what Nibbles can say, her two favorite words, and not 2 minutes later, she comes out and calls me, "Pooppee butt". Need I say more!