Visitors

We had some visitors this week. My mom (Cindy), my sister Kaylee, sister-in-law Whitney (Colton's wife), and her daughter (my niece) Andee. Chris just happened to have some days off the same time Kaylee did, so Kaylee did some organizing and they arrived Monday night. On Tuesday we went out to McNary Dam to see the fish ladder and the wildlife area/nature trails. Wednesday we went to Pendleton and did the Underground Tours and also went out to Tamastalikt to the Cultural Institute. We didn't get any picts of Tamastalikt because there's lots of artwork and copyright restrictions, so we just didn't worry about it--but we got everyone in with a family rate for just $12. The Underground Tours were extra fun because Chris' friend Monte is a tour guide again, we went on the tour with just us so we could take the kids and kind of screw around and take our time. So the pictures are kinda out of order, but you get the idea!

At the Underground Tours--thanks for taking the group picture Monte!

Baby Andee putting up with us, she's too cute and so easy-going that its a little too easy to take advantage of her!


Dallon buddying up with Monte's wife Misty, and their very cute baby girl Paige.

Nice picture of Monte telling us about the prostitutes trying to get the cowboy's attention.
Starting the tour, original signs for the underground card room and laundry.
Chris straining to use the "gent's toilet" in the brothel.
Chinese jail...Jace went in there willingly, he's just playing it up for the crowd.

Jace giving us "the ugly face"...we had a hard time not laughing hysterically.


Gotta take a sucker break from that ugly face!
Kaylee trying to look Chinese...nice try! They don't normally let you participate in the tour like this, but Kaylee can't help herself sometimes.
Me and my boy, he just held this face when Chris pulled out the camera, he's such a ham!

Baby Andee, still trying to sleep at the fish ladder at the dam.
Frog spotting. This frog was HUGE! He was probably bigger than my hand.
Turtle spotting. There were several more turtles, but they didn't all fit in one picture together.
Pretty scenery at the wildlife area. The weather was great! No wind, mid-70s and not a cloud in the sky!

Dallon and Jace watching the fish.

Throwing rocks in one of the creeks on the nature trail.

Jace and Andee shared the stroller. We forgot to grab Jace's shoes on the way out of the house, so he was unhappy about having to ride most of the way, but he got over it when he tried to walk without shoes in the bark dust and rocks!

Baby Andee at the Rodriguez house on Tuesday night. After dinner we went out to Ben's parent's house for some roping. The horses didn't really appreciate all of the little people. But we had fun playing with the dogs, watching Chris and Ben get really dirty with the calves, and watching the boys get roped and covered in dirt!
Jace trying to act like he doesn't know he's getting his picture taken.
Sooooo filthy!
All worn out.
Kid roping, too much fun. Everyone enjoyed it, especially the boys.

The boys love dogs, and Laddie is such a good dog with them.
Ready to get out and get to work.


Striking a pose for the camera. Kaylee took the camera and went crazy, we ended up with over 200 pictures from just this roping adventure!

Everyone headed off toward home this morning. We had a fun couple of days, and I'm sure we're all ready for some rest.

Before and After

March 22nd, Jace's Birthday. We were having a little party. Notice the ugly carpet, dark trim and the late 1980s style cabinets!
This is today! New trim, painted cabinets and new flooring.
Almost done! Still need to do the pantry door, and the trim around the window. Sooooo much better!
Before backyard, also on Jace's bday.
After, new sod! No more super ugly multi-colored old rock! We'll be adding some foliage to the fence-line. Probably some small shrubs and some quaking aspens.

NEW FLOORS!!!

We put down new flooring in our living room, kitchen/dining/family rooms! It looks like wood, but it is actually a rubber floating floor that was very easy to install. It looks and feels like real wood, and the only tools Chris needed to lay it down was a carpenters square, measuring tape, and box cutter. There was no glue and we could walk on it as it was laid down--much easier than tile! Please disregard the mess in the room, we were still working on the room next to it.

This is what the flooring and base molding looked like when we moved in.
VERY dark trim moldings, and the carpets had been there for at least 15 years, probably longer!
The carpet in the dining/family area was GROSS! Whoever thought of carpet in a dining room didn't have small children. We couldn't believe how much sand had made it to the subfloor.
This is the new floor and trim! So pretty, though it really makes me want to update the cabinets today!
Chris doing what he does best! He is our resident handy-man, and we don't know what we would do without him!

Potty Success!!!

I can't believe it, but Dallon is almost completely potty trained, and it has only been 11 days! He slept in underwear for the first time last night. I was worried because he had something to drink right before bed. But he not only held in all night, he didn't go until 9:30! He held it for over 12 hours! I can't even do that. So he's still having occasional accidents, and needs to be in the nude most of the time--but he goes by himself, I don't even have to tell him to go.

It seems we waited long enough, and although the first couple of days were rough and messy, he definitely likes being without diapers and wants to stay that way.

Potty Progress

Potty training has begun, and though we were easing into it over the weekend, today is our first day of all out effort. We had a little success over the weekend though which is very encouraging. On Saturday we got started, and we had accidents all day--although he can hold it for 4 to 5 hours so not too many accidents. That evening Chris and I went out on a date and left the boys home with Gpa Charlie and Gma Sally. After a couple of attempts Dallon finally went in the potty for Gma before bed. He had never gone in a toilet at home before. He had gone a few times at school, because he was watching the other kids go. Sunday we took most of the day off because of church. Then yesterday we went for it again--accidents all day and Dallon was not happy about going to the bathroom. Then last night I took him in knowing he had been holding it for a long time, and sat him down. Then I gave him my computerized Yahtzee game to play with. He was fascinated by the sounds, and within a couple of minutes he went! I was absolutely extatic! That's the first time I have ever witnessed him going in the toilet! I went out and bought a few $1 games that he can play on the potty to help him relax and pass the time. Hopefully that will help us reach our goal.

This morning Dallon had been holding it. We tried a couple of times with no success. Then I heard him going in the other room. Before I could do anything he ran to get a towel, tracking his wet mess all along the way. I think he is starting to get the idea a little bit. And he wants to wear underwear instead of a diaper or pull-up. We'll keep you posted, and hopefully we'll survive the next few messy weeks!