Bargain Hunting!

Those of you who know me well know I love to shop. If I can find a bargain, I'm in hog heaven. Yesterday after a doctor's appointment (have I mentioned I hate my insurance?) and lunch with Russell I ran errands while Charles was at Friday Friends.

My stop was at Sam's, a favorite place to find bargains. Most of their stuff comes in bulk sizes, but sometimes they have other things that are in single packages. Usually it's random things. Like toys, baby stuff, clothes, etc. Yesterday they had a car seat at an unusually low price. It was not in a box and had no price tag on it, just one on the shelf above it. I took it to the customer service desk and asked some questions like: "is this the right price?" "Does this have an instruction manual?" "Can I bring it back if I don't want it?" "Can you lower the price?"

I found out it was the last one, a display model. It was open box and without any instructions. They'd come down 50% and couldn't go any lower on the price. I got it...$32.00! I saw the full price tag underneath and it was marked $64.00. It will be for Charles to use. The new baby can use the one Charles is in when he he gets too heavy for the infant carrier since it's both forward and rear facing.

When I got home I found the instruction manual on-line and printed it out. I also couldn't help myself and had to do some searching to see if I got a good deal. On the Target website I found the exact same car seat for $89.99. To quote Howie Mandel on Deal or No Deal, "You made a good deal!"

We're Home!

We're back in Kansas. Most people would think that's an awful place to be, but we love it here! We had a good last couple of days in Oregon. We discovered we were headed home with more stuff than we came with, so we had to borrow a suitcase from Uncle Jim & Aunt Sharon to haul home all our stuff. What do you expect? We were visiting a place with lots of outlet malls and no sales tax!

We didn't leave Dallas as early as we would've liked, mainly due to trying to stuff all our finds into our suitcases. I actually got some bedding for Charles' "big boy" room and we discovered as we were packing it that there was a hole in the quilt. So...we had to make a stop in Salem to return it. No sense in dragging it to Kansas only to return it to TJ Maxx.

Charles slept all the way from Dallas to Portland. That was all the sleep he got until he got in the car in Oklahoma City. Not a wink on either plane or in the airport. He certainly was not in the best of moods. Especially when he wasn't allowed to ride the moving sidewalk. It was his favorite airport activity! As was running!

Now we're home and hopefully back to our normal routine. Of course the routine won't begin right away. Today we're at Mom & Dad's waiting for the window installers. They were supposed to be here at 9am but called and said they'd had some delays and wouldn't arrive until 10:30. It's after 10:30 and still no sign of them. I think we'll end up being here most of the day, much to the dismay of Casey and Lillie who are looking forward to Charles & I being home and the end of their days locked in the kennel or garage.

Tomorrow will be no better...we're headed to the East Side so Charles can go to Friday Friends. I've got a doctor's appointment, they'll give me the test for gestational diabetes which means I'll sit in the office for an hour after drinking the equivalent of a flat Mountain Dew. I also got in with Marie for a hair cut, a much needed hair cut. With our humid and rainy weather you might say I have an Afro!

The window installers have just arrived. Better go answer the door and show them around.

Oregon Pictures and Video Clips

A few pictures our trip...

Walking in the "D River"

Touching a sea anemone at the Hatfield Marine Science Center

Blowing bubbles in the pool

Begging to get back into the pool

Supper at the Sea Gypsy hotel

And some video clips...

Driving Emma's Car

A Walk on the Beach

At the Beach

We've been at the beach since Wednesday afternoon. Charles loves being on the beach and playing in the water. He cries to go outside anytime anyone leaves the room. It's too difficult be on the beach with him...all he wants to do is get in the water. Mom took him in the D River and he loved walking in the water. He wanted to put his face in the water and go out into the deeper area near all the seagulls.

Today Charles was not in the best of moods. He made a scene at the restaurant and Mom took him out to the van while I finished my meal. He needed a nap. I tried to put him down for a morning nap but all he did was sit in his crib and watch PBS. We were up at 2:30 am for about an hour and then awake at 6:30, so I wanted to nap too. I thought the TV would keep him from crying and he'd go to sleep. I guess I was wrong. At least he was happily entertained bye Sesame Street while I got a cat nap. He ended up sleeping in the van while we drove to Newport.

We decided to go to the Hatfield Museum which is an aquarium that is affiliated with OSU (Oregon State University). There is no charge, they just ask for a suggested donation. Mom was hesitant about waking Charles up to go, but he woke up as we pulled into the parking lot. He loved running through the museum. He didn't look at many of the exhibits, but there is an area that recreates a tide pool. He liked touching the sea anemones but was not interested in touching the star fish (actually they're now called sea stars because they're not fish). I have some pictures but can't figure out how to use Dad's laptop to download them off the camera.

Tonight Charles and I stayed behind while Mom, Dad, Jim, Sharon, and Grandma went to dinner. Charles was in a normal mood and played really well with the toys we brought along. Of course he was up to his normal antics and crawled in the dresser drawer and stood in it, which made him 6 inches (or less) from the television. He also crawled on the bar stools and decided to finish the yogurt I'd opened for him earlier. He did a good job with the spoon, but had yogurt all over his face and down his shirt.

The most fun thing we've done since we've been here is swimming in the indoor pool. It's nice and warm--until you get out! He loved swimming. As I walked down the steps with him he was a little nervous, but as soon as we were in the water he was in heaven! It's interesting to watch him. He has no fear of the water. He dips his face in the water and blows bubbles. He wants us to hold on to him but will "jump" from one person's knees to another person's arms without hesitation. One interesting thing about his antics in the pool is that he preferred to have Grandpa hold him in the water. We can't figure out why, maybe it's the way Dad holds him or that Dad has large hands. There was no question he wanted his Grandpa.

We've been to the pool twice. We were suprised last night that there wasn't more of a tantrum when it was time to leave. This afternoon, however, was a different story. Grandma stood holding Charles while Grandpa and I dried off. Charles was unhappy and kept saying "the pool" over and over again. Of course it didn't exactly sound like "the pool" but was close. He was saying something and we knew what it meant--PUT ME BACK IN!!!

Tomorrow we head back to Jim & Sharon's house. Hopefully we'll get to hit the outlet mall before heading back. We may try to see the Friesens and Smiths tomorrow night, but plans are all up in the air.

It's a rainy Monday

It's a rainy Monday morning. But this rainy day, or Monday won't get me down. It's almost 11 am and I'm still in my PJ's, Charles and Grandpa are too. Jim & Sharon are at work and Grandma is still out with her friend Peggy. They met for coffee at 8:30 this morning and there's no telling when she'll be back. Peggy doesn't have to be at work until 4 this afternoon, so it may be a while!



Yesterday we all went to church together. Grandma Wall was pooped from Saturday's trip to the beach and dinner with the Friesen girls and their families in Salem, so she stayed home and went to the service at the Care Home. We hurried home after church so Erin could get her stuff together and be in Salem by 1:30 to catch a ride back to school. It was nice to get to see her for the weekend, even if it was a short time. Too bad Travis and Justin & Katie couldn't get back too.



Here are a few photos...

A shot of the beach. It was over 70 degrees with no wind. A PERFECT day at the beach! I think this is outside Surfrider where we ate brunch on Saturday morning.

Charles loves to sit in the driver's seat. Here he's in our rental and a chauffeur to Great Grandma Wall.

Enjoying the beach with Grandpa.

Our 12 year-old (second) cousin Logan is a drummer. Charles got to try out his drum set!

My cousin Erin and Charles' second cousins Logan & Emma were the audience for the drum solo. Second cousin David isn't in this picture but he'd been playing the drums too--in his superman cape!

It's a Beautiful Day!

I could sing the Mr. Rogers theme song or U2's "It's a Beautiful Day" today. It's about 70 degrees with little or no wind.

No, Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore. We're in the Pacific Northwest!

Today we went and had lunch at Surfrider. At least for us it was lunch, we've been up since 5:45 PDT. Charles and I had a little breakfast, watched a little PBS and then called Mom & Dad at their hotel to see if they were up and about. Sure enough they were so they came to pick us up and we went for a walk in downtown Dallas. We walked about 8 blocks downtown and Charles walked the whole way. We took the stroller "just in case" but he had lots of pent up energy after being cooped up yesterday. Then we got some breakfast and went to the hotel so Mom & Dad could get ready for the day.

At 9am we met Jim, Sharon, Erin, and Grandma and headed to Lincoln City. The Pikes ordered breakfast at Surfrider, but the rest of us are on Central time and were ready for lunch! After our meal we drove to Depoe Bay and stopped to get Tillamook ice cream--chocolate peanut butter and Marion berry some chose one flavor, some the other it's not a good combination for a double dip. Charles even got a jr. scoop which they were kind enough to do half vanilla bean and the other half orange sherbet.

We drove to the public access to the beach next to Sea Gypsy. The weather was georgous and we had to wait in the parking lot while all the beachgoers waited for parking places to open up. God is faithful even in the small stuff and a car was leaving just as we rounded the corner--a place facing the water! Grandma Wall could sit and watch everyone from the car.

I stayed in the car too. Sand is not my favorite spot and I defiantly don't want to be covered in it when I have to get back in the car. Plus, I wasn't dressed for beach going. Platform clogs with a heel just don't work on the sand.

Grandpa and Grandma took Charles to the beach. He loved it! I wish I could've been down there to see his face. He did NOT want to get in the car when it was time to go. Sadly Charles missed seeing the couple sitting on the bench in front of our car with their parrot. He would've been fascinated by such an exotic bird. He chased birds in the jungle when we were there last Saturday.

Tonight we are getting together with our Friesen cousins and Uncle Elmer and Aunt Jean at Jerry and Andrea's house. There will be 3 little cousins plus Logan who's quite a bit older at age 12. They'll have a great time playing together.

Another Entry...Finally

I get so frustrated when I check my friends' blogs and they haven't updated it in ages. But, I find myself being guilty of the same crime.

Spring (although you couldn't tell by the weather) is going by so fast. In March Russell and I left Charles with Grandpa & Grandma Goentzel for a long weekend while we attended our friend Joel's wedding. Russell was the best man so it was nice to be able to participate in the activities without constantly worrying about Charles. I'm sure Charles got spoiled over the weekend and had much more fun than had he been in Texas with us...he would've heard the word "NO" all weekend long!

Some pictures...

Stacey with the Best Man & the Groom.
The happy couples.

Russell & Stacey.

Joel and Amy Aupperlee.

We got home and the next weekend it was Easter. We hunted Easter eggs with our Wall cousins which is exciting for both kids and adults because they contain both candy and money. Mostly just coins, but we each had an egg with our name on it which held a crisp, new $5.00 bill.

Dyeing Easter eggs. We only did a few because Charles is the only one who'll eat hard boiled eggs.

Charles caught on to hunting eggs after Grandma showed him the first one.

Opening an Easter present from Uncle John & Aunt Lola.

The Easter basket from Mom & Dad wasn't very interesting. The ball was exciting, but there was no candy.
Charles in his Easter outfit, the only pose we could get was him with empty Easter eggs. He opened the eggs with his teeth.

Time has flown by, but I can't really tell you what we've been doing. Saturday morning Aunt Christy & I took Charles to the Zoo. It was a little chilly, but we wanted to get some exercise.

We usually don't make it to the petting Zoo so this time we started there. Charles liked feeding the sheep.

The chicken coop was very interesting.

We were in luck, the feeding station for the giraffes was open and there was one giraffe who was hungry.

Feeding the giraffes was my so much fun, the best thing I've ever done at the Zoo. What made it even more special is I know the lady who donated the money to build the stand, she loves all animals but giraffes are her favorite. She gave us the opportunity to do something fun and memorable with an exotic animal.