Homecoming

(Lt. Commander Scott Smith, XO of the Warhawk squadren. Photo taken by a photographer aboard the Stennis last October, posted via Facebook)

After a 7 month tour, Scott is scheduled to fly off the USS John C. Stennis today! His squadren (the Warhawks) will be flying into their home base in Lemore welcomed by family and friends. Our thoughts and prayers will be with them today for a safe return.
Thank you Scott for your service.

Big girl!

Katya has really sprouted up lately! Her 5 T dresses have gotten quite short on her. Here she is modeling a new shirt and sweater I bought her.  Her eyes were really blue that day in that lighting.  So pretty!

We visited two schools and so far are we are more interested in Portland Village School (PSV) than Peninsula.  There is a much better chance of us getting into Peninsula though.  PVS has anywhere from 85-130 applicants for about 10-15 Kindergarten spots.  We are keeping our fingers crossed.  PVS is a VERY non-traditional style of education but we think it would fit our kids and family well (it would definitely not be suited for some).  And it is the only school on our list that has half day Kindergarten, which I really like.  I don't think five year olds need to be in school full time five days a week.  Peninsula was okay.  Small school, small class sizes but overall it felt to mediocre to me. 

I am sorry to say that Katya and I have only been on two night walk since Christmas.  We really need to get back into the habit because she has been getting really wound up in the evenings.  We have been playing games during the half an hour between R & K's bedtime, which is really fun.  She is quite good at Crazy-8's (I can't wait to buy her UNO Attack!  for her birthday:-)).  We also play Skip-Bo, Old Maid, The Lady Bug Game and even Rummy tile.  Obviously she needs more help with some games than others but she does great!

Our week

Is it only Wednesday?  Because I am exhausted!  I have continued to fight the strange virus I picked up from Katya for several weeks now.  My symptoms are vague and mild but anytime I get less than adequate sleep it flares up again.  So annoying.  It reminds me of something my Microbiology professor said, way long ago when I attended PCC.  She predicted that we will see a major increase of very virile bacterial and viral illnesses in the future.  Pandemic flu's and such are not necessarily a thing of the past. 

Anyways.  Katya and I had a movie night on Monday evening at St. John's Cinema's Family Matinee.  We saw "Happy Feet 2" which was really good.  It was so fun to get out with just her.  I am hoping to plan a 'Reagan only' date soon.  This morning Reagan, Elsie and I attended the Ash Wednesday Mass at Katya's school.  It was so fun to see her with her class.  It gets me all choked up seeing her outside of my direct guardianship.  She is such a great kid and she makes her parents so proud.  After Mass we went to her classroom and signed her out early.  Then off to a camera repair shop to pick up my camera (just getting the sensor cleaned) and on to the dentist.  Katya was a bit more scard of getting her teeth cleaned this time but she got through it.  Reagan allowed the hygentist to floss all her teeth but only clean two.  She didn't want to push it so she just did a flouride rinse and the dentist counted her teeth.  Overall I thought they did great. 

Tonight is the 'Kindergarden roundup' for Peninsular Elementary.  It is a Portland Public School, though not the one we were super excited about.  That one is not accepting transfer students.  Our school search is currently between Peninsular (public), Portland Village School (public charter) and Holy Cross (private).  We have deiced not to persue Holy Redeemer for K-8 due to their large Kindergarden class size.  I breifly looked into Trinity Lutheran, which I hear great things about, but they are several grand per year more than Holy Cross so we won't be going there.   Thursday night is info night at Portland Village School and on Sat we are off to Seattle to celebrate the Ross boy's first birthday.  Busy, busy!  No time to be sick.   Love and blessings to all, Brenda

Elsie 7 months old

Miss bright eyes is now seven months old!

She is sleeping through the night (5:30pm-6:30am), working on her third tooth, pushing up on her arms and pivoting. Miss Elsie is super smiley and LOVES her dada. She doesn't show much preference between Craig and I (just like Katya. Reagan was a mama's girl for the first year). She is showing stranger anxiety but warms up if you give her some time. She is the size of a large 12 month old or a small 18 month old. She favors Craig a lot in looks but definitely has her own sweet face.  She loves laughing at her sisters! 

Katya and Reagan

Here is the full sized version of a Katya picture included in the photo collage. The composition is much nicer here and she is so pretty!   I have been seeing more of her daddy in her face lately.  School is going well and she continues to impress us with her thoughtful questions.  She is seeing shapes and letters in all sorts of things like the play structure at the park and the refridgerator ("That looks like an H!" "Is that shaped like a rectangle?").  She is so smart and sweet.  She always shares her goodies from school with her sister without my asking and they have been having a blast together.  We are blessed with such great children. 

Miss Reagan is starting to go through some nights without diapers.  Way to go Reagan!  I can't believe she is going to be turning 3 pretty soon! 

I LOVE this old picture of Reagan.  I was pretty excited to find a folder of images shot in RAW format which enables much better post processing adjustments.  Before I had Photoshop it didn't make much sense to shoot in RAW but now I am learning when it is useful.  It is fun to look back and see how she has changed and how she is the same.  That darling little mouth is so the same and the funny way she sets it.  Though I am pretty postive that our little dirt eater was chowing down in the picture below.

Ft Vancouver location scout

The girls and I went over the river to Ft Vancouver on Thursday to scout locations for the Ross family photo shoot. Later that evening Ryan called and cancelled their trip down due to his crazy new work load. I was disappointed but I understand what it is like to feel overwhelmed. Here is a little photo collage of our outing.

Achy achy

Katya came down with the flu last Saturday morning.  Poor little thing fell alseep on the couch a few times in the morning and this is a kid who hasn't slept between the hours of 6:30am and 6:30pm in years.  She was so weak and achy she couldn't even listen to a story without whimpers.  She spiked a fever and went up to bed were she eventually fell asleep.  After a two hour nap (and some ibuprofen) she woke up happy and ready to play.  These kids sure recover quicker than us old folks.  She seemed fine for the next 24 hours but we laid low knowing she was still contagious.  Then after going to bed on Sunday night (right at the last 40 mins of the Super Bowl, boo!) she started throwing up.  A few rounds of barfing and baths later we had her back in a clean bed and asleep.  Needless to say she stayed home from school on Monday. 

I got the same virus though my symptoms were less.  Sunday was my worst day.  I was tired, achy and weak but never spiked a fever or threw up.  I was dizzy and queasy on Monday and Tuesday but never too bad.  Funny how the worst flu I can imagine (and this was not) is not even a fraction of the horror, curl up and want to die, nausea and vomiting that plagued my pregnancies.  I think it is what all future illnesses will be measured against.  So far Craig and the other girls have not come down with it.  We were disappointed that our weekend plans got canceled but it was nice to spend a quiet weekend as a family.  We cherish these times together.  Love to all! 

And PS, the nurse in me has to say:  If you get the flu stay home and don't invite people over.  The young and the old are especially vulnerable but remember that even healthy adults have been known to die from influenza.  This is not a virus to be taken lightly.  

My Aunt Chris

Aunt Chris is a forest green Volkswagen bug with a dilapidated interior that I rode in as a child.
Aunt Chris is a trip to Disneyland with us 'cousins;' glow necklaces and Thunder Mountain.

She is great movies that I watched as a kid; still favorites. "The King and I," "To Kill A Mockingbird," "The Parent Trap," "Breaking Away," "The Sound of Music" and "The Trouble with Angles."
She is the corner room at the Romelle house, always known to me as "Aunt Chrissy's room."

Aunt Chris is the best ever Thompson party, CC 50, looking stunning in a gray/silver suit.
Aunt Chris is family camping in Tuolumne meadows....chili cook offs and 'Toddy time."
 
She is taking her younger siblings to the movie theater and to Disneyland on her own dime.
She is 'Next town money' when I was young...'Walking around money' (WAM) when I was older.

Aunt Chris is outreach to the elderly and a strong sense of family, exemplified in her actions.
Aunt Chris is the creator, chief editor, publisher, financial backer and executer of "Cousins" newsletter.

She is yard clean up day at Mrs. Muzzy's house in LA. I remember the day fondly despite the work.   
She is "Oh God, how can you live with yourself?!"....coming out to us cousins; us not caring, Aunt Chris is Aunt Chris and we love her to death.

Aunt Chris was the unfortunate recipient of a poorly aimed rock thrown by my father when they were kids camping in the Sierra's.
Aunt Chris is bribing my teenage dad with taquitos to accompany her to LA to interview some elderly folk.

She is cards, notes, gifts, WAM sent to MY children....she is thoughtful beyond words.
She is a reminder of what an amazing human being looks like.

My Aunt Chrissy is a tie that binds our family together.
She is an inspiration.