Party at the Fire House!

This past weekend, we went to a birthday party for Abigail's "boyfriend" Nolan. It was held at the Fortuna Fire Hall. For those of you that don't know, Fortuna has a 100% volunteer fire department. Nolan's dad Nate is one of the volunteers. The kids were able to sit in one of the fire trucks. They also had some relays with the fire hoses. As you can imagine, most of the kids were completely soaked by the end.... and it was probably 62 degrees, at most! Here are some photos from the party.

JT stayed dry, but Abigail was soaked!

Willing subjects?

The other evening I attempted to practice some sunset shots in preparation for our Hawaii trip. I am hoping to get some fabulous sunset shots while we are in Hawaii, but I need to practice my settings before we go.

I had to recruit some new subjects. Here is one shot of Andy, Molly, and Belle. Even though, photagraphically speaking, it isn't the best shot, at least everyone is looking my direction!

You can't really tell that it is sunset in the photo, but I like this shot anyway. I guess I need to keep practicing.....

We need pictures!

The last few of my posts haven't had any pictures in them, so I thought I would put some on today. This meant bribing JT into going outside for a few shots this morning. This is how it went....

I really don't want to be doing this.....


JT, would you like a treat after this? You can pick something out of the treat bag....


Mommy, please take my picture...


Okay, I am not going to look at the camera now....


I'm outta here....

Beautiful blue sky

Today is a big change from my last post. The sun is out, the sky is blue, the breeze is light, and it is a whopping 62 degrees! I just took advantage of our spring weather and headed out for a 3 mile walk. How come it is so easy to forget how good exercise feels? Not only is good for my body, but my mind sure enjoys it as well. The kids are both at school today so I had some quiet time for myself.

I even wore shorts... as far as I know I didn't blind anyone with the starkness of my legs! Time to start that sunless tanning lotion. I am actually trying a new product called "Tan Towels." They are supposed to work really well without that awful smell that most sunless tanners have. I will let you know how they work....

Yucky day outside

You certainly wouldn't know it was Spring when you look outside. It has been rainy and windy all day. Since we didn't have any plans for the day, we decided to stay inside where it's warm. I can't remember the last weekend when we had NOTHING planned... it's a nice change!

The kids stayed in their jammies most of the morning, watched cartoons, made a disaster out of the living room, and had a veg-out day! Everyone needs a day like that everyone now and then...

My day wasn't quite as relaxing, but I did get some things done. I did three loads of laundry, cleaned out all the bathroom cupboards in the master bathroom, and made some cookies. I had to hurry up and bake the cookies while Andy was at the ranch because he likes to come steal the cookie dough.

It is just about time for naps. Today is a great day for a nap....

Update on Drake

A few of you have asked so I wanted to post a quick update about Drake. His second round of chemo went well and he is now home with his mom, dad, and little sister. Drake's aunt said he is starting to act more like himself, and seems to do so much better during the times that he is home. I don't know the exact schedule of his future treatments, but I will post more when I hear. Thanks for the prayers.

Today was a busy day

This morning I was able to wear my photographer's hat! I took individual and class photos for my friend Kim's preschool class. I bet I took 35-40 shots of the class picture and I got one that was okay. Boy is it tough to make sure that 9 three-and-four-year-olds are looking the same direction, keeping their eyes open, that no snot coming out of their nose, nobody's hands in their pants, etc. The kids look cute, though. I wish I could post the class picture, but I don't have permission from the pre-schoolers' parents.

The individual pictures turned out well. I was happy with them and I hope the parents will be too. I really enjoyed being a photographer today. Someday maybe I will have more time do it professionally. Until then, I will enjoy these little jobs that I get.

Abigail's "boyfriend" Nolan rode the bus home with her today and stayed for the afternoon. They had a great time playing cards, watching a video, having like 14 snacks, and playing outside on the swingset. They got along pretty well, but there was a little drama.... something about someone being bossy, some hurt feelings, a few tears, a little bit of silent treatment.... and then Abigail got over being upset. You can tell that Abigail and Nolan are great friends, though. He may come back over tomorrow.

Time to get ready for bed.... Good night!

Meet our new lawn mower

We have a new lawn mower. Well he really isn't new, but he has recently taken up the task of helping Andy keep up on the mowing. The grass sure grows fast this time of year! This is Salty and he seems to like living here... He didn't even mind the rain we had today or the hail we just had a few minutes ago...

The kids really like having him here too. Salty is, by far, their favorite horse. I hope he keeps liking it here...

Spring break is over!

Today was Abigail's first day back to school after Spring Break. It will be good to get back into the routine. We had a great week though! We went to Santa Rosa for the day on Saturday the 7th for a friend's 1st birthday party. Happy Birthday Sydney!

Sunday, of course, was Easter. We had a nice morning with Andy's family (see previous posts for pictures). The kids received so much candy... I don't know what I will do with it all! Save it and gradually give it out, I guess.

Our week started out mellow and relaxed. We stayed home on Monday and Tuesday so we could all have a break. Plus the weather was a little on the rainy side. On Wednesday the kids were able to go to "Open Gym" at Healthsport and had a great time! They were able to burn off some of the extra energy they had saved up from being inside for three days. And I got a much needed break!!

On Thursday evening, the kids went to Pam and Charlie's (Andy's mom and stepdad's) house for the night. Andy and I had a nice quiet dinner at home on Thursday. I went to Eureka on Friday morning do some errands and shopping. It was nice to have some time to myself. Thanks to Pam and Charlie!!

The kids got to go to another set of grandparents' house for the night. Thanks Mom and Dad!! Andy and I went out to dinner with some friends and enjoyed some kid-free conversation. I picked up the kids on Saturday and then we headed to the skating rink for a friend's birthday party.

Happy 6th Birthday Isaac! JT didn't want to skate, but Abigail did really well. She only fell down a couple times and is getting more confident! JT was just as happy running around the skating rink, hitting the pinata, and having cake of course! He was just happy to be there.

Last night (Sunday night), we did something a little different. Andy's dad, Chet, took JT for overnight and we had a "special" evening with Abigail. We let her pick where we went for dinner and she got all the attention for the evening. We went to Round Table Pizza. She got to order her own personal pizza. We gave her some quarters to play video games, ride the dinosaur, and get a sticker from the vending machine. She was pretty excited to have us all to herself. Thanks to Chet for having JT. I am sure they had a great time too!

It was a great week! The four of us Albins are very lucky to have our parents and grandparents live nearby. We are even luckier that they want to spend time with their grandkids! It gives a much needed break, and besides the grandparents are more fun anyway!

Drake: chemo round 2

Thank you again for all your prayers for little Drake. He was able to come home for Easter and stayed for a few days. He is back in San Francisco now. He starts his second round of chemotherapy today. Please continue to pray that things go well. He will probably be down there until Wednesday. Thanks for the continued prayers. I will update as I learn more.

A few more from Easter

Here are a few more from our Easter activities yesterday...

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter everyone! Hope you all are having a great day. Here's a couple photos we took this morning before leaving for Andy's grandma's. I will post more later....

Drake's coming home!

I don't have many details but I heard that Drake was released from the hospital and is coming home today! What a great Easter gift for him and his family! I will post more when I get some more details. Thanks for the prayers!

Update on Drake

For those of you that are keeping good thoughts and prayers about Drake, I wanted to post an update. Drake had to go back down to the hospital in San Francisco. While at home, he came down with a rash that was probably caused by the sterilizing soap the doctors use. In addition, his white blood count had dropped to zero. It was expected that it would drop, but not this low. He also spiked a fever, which is probably a sign of infection.

Drake and his family could really use your prayers right now. He can't receive his next dose of chemotherapy until the fever breaks and his white blood count comes up. Please continue to think good thoughts for them. Thank you so much.

Andy's birthday gifts

Tonight we had a family dinner to celebrate Andy's 33rd birthday (a day late!). We were finally able to give him the pictures we took a couple weeks ago. This one is from Abigail and I:

J.T. and I took a few pictures and I put them together like this:

If you want to see the pictures individually, here they are:

J.T. really liked the idea of putting on Daddy's cowboy hat and boots. Future cowboy?