Blog Catch Up- Lake Chelan 2010

This past August we went with the ENTIRE Rogers Family to Lake Chelan, Washington. It was the best weather ever and Savannah loved being with her cousins. Brian went earlier to go fishing with all the guys, and then Savannah and I flew out. The first night we got there we drove all the way to Yakima. I then had a TRUE all-nighter and finished a paper on Feminist Standpoint Theory and Capitalism (which I ended up getting an A!). My wonderful Brother- and Sister-in-law let me take over their office.

Highlights of the trip- Tony came, I finished that 30-page feminist paper, Jayce celebrated a 2nd birthday, Riley celebrated a 3rd birthday and Mel made this incredible cake, we went to see a movie at Ruby's Theater, and MEL found out that she was pregnant! It was so fun because she found out on Riley's actual birthday!

Savannah was able to spend quality time with everyone, but we loved playing with Grandma. Jane is a pre-school teacher and you can see how much she loves all children. I enjoy watching Jane look at all the details- like look at each one of Savannah's toes and oooo's over them.

Jane made some type of rolls that Savannah just couldn't get enough of.

Of course, Mickey Mouse was there too.

On the way to Chelan is a SUPER AMAZING town called Leavenworth. It is like Santa's Village. My favorite store in the WHOLE world is there, called Kris Kringl.

Then we ate some German food and got full on pickles!

We stand at The Grand View and shared a two-bedroom room with Mel and Russ- who are awesome roommates.

PIZZA!

The Chelan Museum- Aron always takes the kids and plays the scavenger hunt.

We did a painting activity with the kids one day when it was a little cloudy. Kaylee is such a good artist.

Aunt Lisa loves holding and playing with all the babies.






Savannah and Riley playing with their sunglasses.

These picture were after a bath. Since I didn't have Savannah's normal hooded towel I wrapped one around her head. Brian and I thought it was funny since she looked like a nun.

NOTE: There were 21 people there, but it's hard to believe from photos. I tend to take a million pictures of Savannah. For more check out my sister-in-laws blog post about Lake Chelan http://melrusstanner.blogspot.com/2010/09/chelan-2010.html.

Halloween

For Halloween this year we went to Las Vegas for Aron's Annual Halloween Party. If you recall last year Brian was Michael Phelps, but this year he took it to a new level.

Yes, Brian is wearing a women's Big Bird costume, I am FLO the Progressive insurance girl and Savannah is the cutest Monkey ever! Savannah loved dancing to the music and fell in love with this random guest at the party dressed up as a bumble bee. When she walked in Savannah run over to her and gave her a big huge.

I was in North Carolina for business and flew into Las Vegas to meet Brian and Savannah. When we got to Aron's there was two surprises... Stephanie (my sister-in-law) and her 1-month old baby boy Jayden. I was shocked and excited they were in Vegas. It took a white to process all of it, but it so incredible. I held Jayden for hours. What a doll.

On our way back to Orange County on Halloween we stopped at the outlets to use the bathroom and saw that all the store were doing trick or treating. So we put Savannah's costume on went to about dozen stores. Savannah looked like she was really enjoying it so we rushed home just in time to stop at my Aunt's neighborhood to do some trick or treating. It was really fun since my Aunt's neighborhood goes all out for decorating.

Lily's back!

When Savannah was bout 6 months old it became too difficult to keep Lily, but I couldn't imagine giving her away. My Mom and Dad took her for a semi-permanent sleep over status, but now that things are settled and Savannah can with stand Lily's playfulness SHE'S BACK!

I love Lily. She is such a happy dog and loves to love us. It's so nice to have her back apart of our little family.

Lily is actually a lot more calm now and sleeps all the time. However, if the someone tries to enter the house she barks like crazy. Although it can be annoying, when I am home alone with Savannah I really appreciate her guard dog traits.

Savannah's New Room

Since July I have been working on rearranging our house so that we could squeeze two rooms out of our 800 square feet. Our dinning room is not Brian and my room and our old room is Savannah's. It feel like everything was moved around. There are still a couple things I need to do (including a new couch that I have been saving for, patio furniture, a espresso color kids table in Savannah's room, re-painting the bathroom and having the tub and sink re-surfaced). The only major structural changes has been the addition of a beautiful new glass shower door and a ceiling fan in the dinning room (aka our bedroom).

Here are a couple photos to show the transformation.

The eight foot tree took forever, but I absolutely love it. Savannah likes to count the leaves and show me the sun/clouds all the time. She started sleeping in her big girl bed on Monday and it's a little bit of stress, but thanks to the Super Nanny we are both doing better at going to sleep.

I got a this growth chart and measured Savannah for the first time last night... WOW she is 3 feet tall!!

It's Official

About 4-5 months ago I was offered my dream job from my dream school. However, I wanted to wait to share the good news until I knew it was official, and it's now OFFICIAL!

I will be PART-TIME FACULTY at CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY starting Spring 2011. I will be teaching two classes: FIN 207 Personal Finance and IES Non-Profit Management. I will still be working at CCCS-OC since this is only two classes, but hopefully after my Ph.d. I will be looking for a tenure track position.

I was so excited to see my name on the course offerings that I had to take a picture to remember the moment.

Savannah's First Day of School

Today was Savannah's first day of school. It is a pre-primary program (like pre-preschool). It is called IvyCrest Montessori Private School and you can check out the school by watching the video at this link: http://www.ivycrest.org/page.php?i=23. We love the school and Savannah did so well on her first day. She didn't cry, she participated and she is already impressing her teachers. Savannah is advanced in certain areas, but she does need more social skills building. It was funny because we met with the teacher in the afternoon and she told us that she is the youngest, yet tallest child (by many inches) in her class. She will start just two days a week T, Th and then starting 2011 she will be going 3 days. Until she is potty trained she doesn't wear a uniform, but I can't wait since the children all look so cute.

I am really looking forward for Savannah to grow and learn at her own pace. We were really lucky that there was a spot available for her. The admission process was difficult, but totally worth it. All the staff are so friendly and truly care about the children's individuality.

I wish I was able to take more photos on her first day but I was so caught up with excitement I only got the ones walking to her class.

My Aunt's ALS Blog

My Mom wrote a very special letter my Aunt and posted it on her ALS Journey blog. I did not include the actual letter on my blog since it means more reading it striaght from the ALS Journey site. Everyone can read it on her blog here, and I encourage people to follow it. It is full of inspirational stories/thoughts and details about her ALS. I am so glad Auntie is sharing this time of her life with everyone.

Pumpkin Patch: Tanaka Farms

We started going to this SUPER cool pumpkin farm in Irvine called Tanaka Farms. You get to pick your own pumpkin, take a tractor ride and pet all kinds of animals.

We got a baby pumpkin for Savannah and she LOVES it. She walks around the house with it saying, "Pumptkin, Pumptkin, Pumptkin!"

Conversation

(Brian sitting on the couch with Kelly's laying down with her legs on Brian's lap)

Brian: "Wow... what happen to your feet?" (pointing to the multiple band aids)

Kelly: "Oh, my shoes cut them up".

(Kelly pulled off all the band aids)

Brian: "I don't see any cuts under the band aids... oh... I understand, is that what we call 'Kelly Cuts' (said with heavy, heavy sarcasm referencing Kelly's possible hypochondria)."

Kelly: "Brian! It was a preventative measure so I wouldn't cut my feet on new shoes, but thanks a lot!"

Little MeMe

Savannah has a favorite stuffed animal. It's a monkey that she calls MeMe. She loves everything monkey. When it's time to get dressed she looks for her shirts that have monkeys on it or her Pjs that have them all over. So, it was only fitting that she would love the monkey Halloween costume.

Our friend, Jill Brady, took amazing photos of Savannah in her costume. She took the Halloween photos last year as well. It was fun comparing how much she as grown. THANKS JILL!

(There are a ton more, but I am going to spread them out in many posts since the files take so long to upload)

If you want to see last years photos' click here http://kblrogers.blogspot.com/2009/10/priceless-gift.html.

YMCA

Last night Savannah and I dropped by Auntie's house with dinner. Her living room was full of genealogy stuff that she is trying to finish. While she works on it she listens to her iPod- which I have to say I like Auntie's taste in music. While I was packing up all of Savannah's stuff to head out I could hear the song YMCA. I walked over to the living room where Savannah and Auntie were and they were dancing. She was showing Savvy how to do the Y-M-C-A. It was so cute. Savannah loves to dance and Auntie was a bundle of energy. There were spinning, clapping and waving their arms.

I have been showing Savannah photos of all our family members trying to get her to memorize everyone's names. I have been pointing to Auntie's photo saying "Aunt Grandma". However, last night Savannah just kept calling her, "Grandma". She would say it over and over and over again.

After I loaded the car with our stuff I walked back to the front door to get Savannah. When I looked up I saw Auntie and Savannah just sitting on the top step of the brick stairs going up to her door. The only way I can describe it was precious. I wanted to take a mental image of that moment forever- it was just so sweet.

Date Night

Brian and I had a date night last night. We went to a movie and walked around Downtown Disney. We almost went into Disney (since we have passes now) but decided to walk through California Adventure's Hotel. We have never stayed at a Disney Hotel since we are so close. It looked like a huge log cabin (which made me happy because it makes me think of Christmas). Then we saw the pool and hundreds of padded lounge chairs. The door to the pool was open so we just went in and laid there for about 15 minutes. It was so nice and so relaxing. We just talked about the future (careers, more kids, moving to Ladera Ranch).

Kelly: I want to have a backyard like this- with a pool and big comfy lounge chairs.

Brian: I want a bedroom that doesn't include a refrigerator and sleeping schedules around running the dishwasher.

Washington vs. USC

Matt, Joe and Brian went to the Husky game last Saturday and had a great time. The Husky's WON!

Minneapolis, MN

I am at a conference in Minneapolis, MN and I love it. The trees are changing colors, I get to stay up late, get a King sized bed all to myself, watch TV, shop in their beautiful down town, take baths, paint my nails, go to fancy dinners with vendors trying to get our business and... attend the conference sessions. I am the type of person that attends every session. I love listening to the speakers and getting new ideas. I also love the networking.

Today, the keynote speaker was DAVID BACH! He writes personal finance books and I have read about 8 of his 12 books.

So, I got a photo with him but sadly it turned out a little blurry :(

Brian always making me laugh

Kelly: Dang, it was so hot today.
Brian: Seriously, apparently it was the hottest day in LA history.
Kelly: (Confused look) Why?
Brian: (Confused look) Hummm... why? I don't think adults asks questions like that?

Ouch

Reading the end of Bri's post (the part about me getting off the bed to allow Lily to get out) convinced me to add an extra yoga class each week.

Observations from Home

Since I have not been feeling well this weekend I have spent a lot of time at home in my PJ's. In this time I have witnessed and experienced several things that were interesting things to share with everyone. First off this is Brian writing. So, I have been taking a medication for anxiety now for about a year. I need to take it everyday. If I miss it for more than two days in a row I start to experience little side effects that remind me to double up my dosage, and it is often Kelly who recognizes it first. One of the side effects is that I become overly emotional. Apparently I must have missed a few days, because last night a caught my self fighting back tears at three different times while watching a movie. I was shocked that Kelly was not experiencing the same emotional explosion that I was. The movie that was rocking my very foundation...Kindergarden Cop, he is in way over his head with those kids. On the third break down Kell got me a double dose of meds, and I was able to compose myself for the rest of the movie.

Since Savi was born my in-laws have been kind enough to watch our extremely hyper and chronically obese doggy, Lily. Currently Kell's parents are on vacation so we are watching our dog, which is kind of nice because Savi loves her. I, on the other hand, am not as big of a fan. When ever the wind blows, a neighbor walks by or anything else goes on in the world Lily feels the need to investigate it and bark incisively until she is within inches of being spanked, or she dodges what ever object I throw in her direction. Well, this chunky dog must be having flash backs of her smaller days, because she is constantly trying to wedge herself under our bed. She is at least 15 pounds too heavy for this activity, so she has to shoot her legs straight out and do a version of an army crawl on her belly to get wedged under there.

I noticed that when Kelly is sitting on the bed it becomes even more difficult for Lily to get out. To test this theory, and remember I am sick and have cabin fever, I would shake Lily's snack bag. Usually this would drive her into a delirium, knocking over anything or anyone that gets in her way, hence the reason she isn't living with us full time while Savi is young and not strong or fast enough to avoid Lily's clumsy attacks. This time Lily was under the bed, Kelly on top. When I shook the bag I heard grunting and I saw what looked like the bed giving birth to a dog. The crowning period was easy because she has an incredibly small head in comparison to her body. When it was time for her body the struggle really began. Out of mercy Kelly eventually got up, and Lily claw her way out to her reward. It should be noted that the treats that she gets are low fat. I know every large person says this, myself included, but her problem is her thyroid, not her diet...unconfirmed by a doctor.

Conversation of the night

Brian: "Alright!"

Kelly: Raises hand for a high five

Brian: Raises hand to complete high five

Kelly: "You use your left hand to give high fives?"

Brian: "Ya, is it weird to use your non-dominate hand to high five?"

Kelly: "I guess... I only use my left hand to high five when I give double high fives."

Brian: "WOW, things must be going pretty good at work if you are giving double high fives."

Oh Savannah!

Savannah has begun to throw full-blown tantrums before naps and bedtime. I am not prepared for this. She is such a good girl and now it's like she turns into a naughty monster when I put her down in bed. I don't know how to handle this.

Suggestions?????

My Auntie

I love my Auntie. Brian loves my Auntie. And Savannah loves her Aunt Grandma. Her doctor has been trying to figure out what is wrong with her health. They have been narrowing it down and thought it was ALS but was going back and forth with some other diseases. They told her last week that her diagnoses really is ALS.


These are some precious pictures of Savvy and Auntie. The first is at Disneyland last Friday. The whole family surprised her. Matt even came too! It was one of the most fun trips I have ever had at Disneyland. There were 19 of us and we went on so many rides, saw a parade, went on Tom Sawyer's island, meet with Mickey Mouse and had dinner in Critter Country. The picture below is Savannah and Auntie on the Jungle Cruise.

The two picture below are from Labor Day weekend. Auntie came to Palm Springs to spend time with my Mom but we crashed the sleep over. Savannah was copying Auntie lying on the ground and gave her a BIG kiss. Auntie always gives a big yelp after she gets kisses and Savvy loves it.