the great and spacious room

Here is a look at our room. I think we were both a little surprised at how small it was, but it is working out just fine. We also have a walk thru closet that takes us to the bathroom. The sofa pulls out to a bed and that is where Jake sleeps. He gets excited at night when it is time to pull out his bed and also enjoys making it back into a couch in the morning.

I am taking this shot from the door...you can see more of the kitchenette in this shot. The kitchen isn't very well equipped, but it is definitely nice to have at our disposal. Pretty much the only time we spend in the room is mornings, while I'm getting ready, for nap time and in the evening. It may be cozy, but we are just grateful that we get to be together.

They have organized some different activities for the spouses to participate in, if they choose. We were given a packet and calender with all information and if you want to join in, you meet others in the parking lot and caravan together. It has really helped to pass the time and it is nice having other kids for Jake to play with. Brooke is busy all day with classes, and then comes back "home" to do reading or different assignments. He is definitely ready for the weekend. Here are a few of the things we have done this week.

Wednesday was our outing to the zoo. Here is Jake with a couple of his new friends. It was pretty cold and windy outside that day, so we kind of hurried thru, but the kids all enjoyed looking at the animals

Here he is looking at all the cool kangaroos and other animals from Australia. I don't take many pictures of the animals because I think Jake is cuter and more fun to take pictures of.

Thursday we went to downtown Montgomery where there is a trolley ride you can take to all the different historic sites. Sorry, no photos, we didn't get out anywhere, we just went along for the ride and listened to the audio tour guide they played. We will probably go again with Brooke sometime, so i will snap a few shots then. Did you know the first confederate white house was here in Montgomery? This is turning into quite the educational trip!

Today we went to a little coffee house that had an indoor play area, so all the kids could let off some steam while the moms chatted nearby. We all are from different places, so it is fun to talk to them and see what you have in common. One girl was in England at the same time as us and we have a few common friends...small world!

I have to end today's post with a recommendation. When we first arrived here, we went to the commissary to do some basic grocery shopping. As we were walking up to the cash register, we had to walk by all the candy (which is SO strategically placed). I saw these and thought they looked fun...

...and boy was I right!! Yum! I'm not a huge jelly bean fan, but in less than a week, I have managed to eat most they bag on my own! So, if you are looking for a fun Easter treat, I highly recommend a bag of Sweetart Jelly Beans!

road trip!

So, after 3 days and nearly 20 hours on the road, we finally made it to Alabama. It wasn't too bad and Jake held up pretty well. We started off small Friday afternoon with a short 3 1/2 hour drive to Amarillo TX.

The next day we were off...a little later than we wanted, but still on our way. We went thru Oklahoma (the sooner state!)...
...and then Arkansas. There wasn't a good place to stop at the roadside state sign, so we stopped at the welcome center just a few miles from the border. They had REALLY nice bathrooms.
After 11 hours in the car, we stopped in West Memphis (which is still in Arkansas, not Tennessee) for the night. This bear was outside the restaurant where we ate breakfast Sunday morning. Jake got a kick out of it, but would only take a picture with the bear if one of us was standing with him.

Then just a few minutes into our drive on Sunday, we crossed over the border into Tennessee. We couldn't drive thru Memphis without making a quick stop at Graceland. So, we made a little photo-op stop.

Brooke and I actually made our first visit to Graceland about 5 years ago, but this was Jakes first visit:)

This is a shot of the museum that is just across the street from his house. That is one of the 2 planes that they have on display...the Lisa Marie. We walked thru it when we were last here and it was pretty pimped out!
We weren't in Tennessee too long before we crossed over into Mississippi. I think at this point, Jake was pretty sick of us dragging him in and out of the car to take pictures at the side of the road.
Unfortunately, when we got to Alabama, we weren't paying attention and we weren't able to get off to the side of the road to capture our final border crossing. Bummer! This was another short driving day...4 hours...so we made it into Montgomery by the early afternoon. We were grateful that our trip was safe. I have to end the post here because Jake is about to wake up from his nap but, i will write more soon of our Alabama adventures!

We got the bug...

For the past 2 weeks, the cold/flu bug has been making its way thru our family. It started with Brooke and now it has landed on me. Brooke and Jake got it much worse than I did, but we are all on the mend and hopefully the last of the coughs and runny noses will end soon. Tomorrow we are leaving for a month long stay in Alabama. Brooke has a class to take out there, so we are all going to drive out and hang out there. The drive is about 20 hours, so wish us luck! I figured i would post a few pics before we left. I don't know what kind of internet access we will have there, so it may be a while before I can post anything new.

I think I mentioned before that Brooke had joined a hockey league. He plays every monday night and Jake and I enjoy going to watch his games. Here are a few shots from his last game.

And here are a few shots of Jake going to town with his markers. He has to be in the mood for coloring, and this day he was definately in the mood!

Feburary already!??!

It is amazing to me how fast time is flying by. It seems like it was just Christmas, and now Valentines day is almost here. The numbers on my baby countdown ticker are quickly getting lower and it is hard to believe that in a short 11 weeks, the 4th member of our family will be joining us. Speaking of the baby, here is a quick update. I just had a doctors appointment today and everything is looking good. Baby's heartbeat...good, blood test...good, mamma's health...good. She is starting to move alot more and just like her big brother, she favors hanging out on the right side of my uterus and kicking my ribs on the right side. Lets hope she is as good natured as well.

So, since I have been a bit of a slacker, here are a few things that have been going on around here. Last week we got some more snow. (and as i type this, the most recent snow storm has just passed by us and there is more snow on the ground) When it snows, we don't get lots of it, but enough to have some fun. Jake wanted to go outside, so we got all bundled up and hit the back yard for some fun in the sun...and snow.

He took one lap around the back yard on his bike, and then he was done and wanted to go back inside. I think he is ready for warmer spring weather to arrive.

Brooke thinks there needs to be more pictures of me and Jake...so here ya go!

Last week, Jake was playing in the Family Room and I was getting some stuff done in the kitchen. After a while, I noticed that he was talking quite a bit, so I looked up to see what he was doing. He had his play phone up to his ear and looked like he was in the middle of a good conversation. I noticed that he was telling the person on the other line what his favorite movies were and then proceeded to agree and disagree with what they were saying. It was pretty cute. I am always amazed at how smart kids are and how much they pick up from what happens around them. I guess i better go easy on the swearing...ha, ha!

Well, that is all I have to add today. It has pretty much been business as usual around here. I am slowly ticking off things on my list of things to do before the baby gets here. Enjoy the rest of your week!

Toe Pick

Last night we went ice skating with some friends. We told Jake where we were going and what we would be doing and he was pretty pumped. He has been to a few hockey games and Brooke has recently joined a hockey league, so Jake has seen lots of skating on ice. He is a cautious kid, so I was surprised at how ready he was to try it out.

He was very cooperative while Brooke got the little skates on him and laced them all up.

Here is his first time out on the ice...all bundled up. I was amazed that he was still fearless and excited for his adventure in skating.

He finally makes contact with the ice! He was a little nervous and not quite sure what to do with his legs, but he kept at it.

By the end of our time there, he eventually (with a few breaks) made it around the rink TWO times! Way to go Jake!! He was a trooper and we all had a great time.

One of Jakes favorite parts about going to hockey games (besides eating the popcorn and nachos) is seeing the Zamboni clean the ice. He was pretty excited when there was a Zamboni off to the side of the ice rink that we could go look at. What a fun night we had!

Aloha!

We made it back from our wonderful Hawaiian vacation. It was such a fun time and I have lots of pictures to share. I'll try not to go overboard though. Here is a little synopsis of our trip...

Here is our first day on Oahu. We didn't have be on the boat until later that afternoon, so we were able to do a few things around the island. We took Jake to Waikiki beach to get his first look at the ocean.

Later that day, we drove out to the Dole Plantation. Jake befriended some peacocks and fed them fries while we ate some pineapple ice cream.

We finally made it onto the cruise ship and Jake found his favorite play spot in our room...the window.

Our first port stop was on the Big Island of Hawaii in Hilo. It was a little overcast and rainy that day, but still lots of fun. We went to see one of the volcanoes...don't worry, we didn't have to run from any rushing lava or anything.

Here is our first day on Maui. Jake wasn't a big fan of playing on the beach. As long as mom or dad was holding him, he was fine.

This is more Jakes style of spending a day at the beach. Sitting on a mat, on the sand, with a few toys to play with....far away from the water.

In Kona, we got a convertible PT Cruiser as our rental car. Brooke wasn't too thrilled about the PT Cruiser part, but i thought the convertible was awesome!

Our first day on Kawai, we took a drive to see the "Grand Canyon of the Pacific". It was absolutely beautiful!

At one of the viewpoints, Jake managed to find some chicken to chase. They also got their fill of pineapple and crackers.

Our second day on Kuwai was only a half day, so we did some shopping and explored around the Marriott resort near the ship.

The next day, we were back in Oahu. Our flight didn't leave until later that evening, so we went out to the Polynesian Cultural Center for the day. We got a stroller for Jake, but he ended up pushing it more than he sat in it.

The whole trip was such a fun time. We enjoyed being able to spend some time with all of Brooke's family and with each other. On Christmas Eve, we took a red eye flight back to Portland and surprised my family on Christmas day. Jake had a blast with all his cousins and was constantly asking for "the kids". We got back to Albuquerque on the 29th and life is starting to get back to normal. Brooke didn't have to go back to work until today, so we were able spend some more time together. Now the next thing we are looking forward to is when the baby is born. Time sure is flying by fast!