23 July 2008

Sharing is caring!


Rosalee loves to share her pacifier with anyone, or thing, that is near her.

Dear diary,

My parents are REALLY odd sometimes, take last night for example. They thought it would be fun to mash up some boiled carrots and let me feed myself. Not only did they give me a HUGE amount, but they also left me dressed. I will admit that I laughed and squealed most of the time but I hardly count squishing carrots in my hands as my first "self-feeding" experience!

Tonight it was kind of chilly out so my dad put me in the outfit my grandma made for my blessing. The first time I wore this it was longer than my legs, it completely covered my hands, and almost two of my heads fit in the hood! Look at me in it now! I don't think mom is going to get many more uses out of this one.

My dad is always teaching my mom and me about trees, flowers, animals, etc. so tonight I thought I'd take it upon myself to teach him something... TAKE THAT DAD!!

One for the grandpas...

Both of Rosalee's grandpas are musically inclined. Jesse's dad plays piano and saxophone and my dad plays piano and accordion. I know that both of them would be THRILLED if Rosalee was at all musically talented. So while packing I pulled out some of my instruments that I used with my students and here are the results...



19 July 2008

Vacation in Utah and Idaho

The James family left the land of humidity and corn and went west to visit family. We started in Utah, drove to Idaho, returned to Utah and then went to Washington. We were gone for 16 days and we easily could have stayed for another 60! It was great to see everyone!! I really wish we lived closer so we could see everyone more often. With Rosalee being so young it's hard because she changes a lot between visits. Plus it'd be nice for her to develop a strong friendship with her cousins. I just have to keep reminding myself that Jesse graduates next April so maybe soon we will be close to family!



We had SO much fun at the zoo in Idaho Falls! We got to go with some of Jesse's family and Jesse's friend Matt, his wife and son Emerson. Rosalee LOVED the monkeys! They made all sorts of weird noises and would sit against the glass looking at her. It was funny watching my nephews because they would get so excited over the smallest things. It made me so happy to surround myself with the kids because it helps me appreciate the world better.
All of us waiting on the sidewalk for the parade to start
Jesse's dad's 1940 Chevy which Jesse and his dad drove in the parade
How Rosalee and her cousin Hudson spent their time during most of the parade...

On the 4th of July Jesse's parents wanted to take family pictures so here is a picture of them in front of the car. I had 3 pictures of the whole family taken on my camera and this is the best one. We also tried again for a family picture after the blessing of the twins. Again 3 were taken and this was the best one. Everyone in Jesse's family is in the pictures except for his eldest sister's husband who had to work (he's a pilot) and couldn't come out for the vacation.

Last year the James family had a hot dog cook off and this year the food item was vanilla ice cream. We had everything from ice cream toppings to drinks to a bacon waffle ice cream sandwich (mine). Grandma James once again won the award for best taste and I won the award for most unique.

We set off fireworks in the driveway outside of Jesse's parent's place. Rosalee had a fun time playing with her cousin Kaylee and watching the bright fireworks.

Family and friends

The best part of going on vacation to Utah and Idaho was getting to see all of our friends and family. We were able to see all of Jesse's siblings and most of our friends who live in the area and even some that live in California! We weren't able to get any pictures with Chris and Michele (from California) but we had a great time going out to lunch with them and seeing their adorable boys. It's great to see everyone, but at the same time it makes me sad because I realize how far away we are and how much we miss.

Goofing around with Charlene and her sister at Wal-Mart
Karlee with her daughter Temperance

Grandpa and Rosalee wearing Snoopy clothes

Rosalee with Great Grandma and Great Grandpa James
John w/ the twins, Jeremy with Brooklyn and Jesse with Rosalee

The blessing of the twins


While on vacation we had the opportunity to go to church and see our twin niece and nephew be blessed. The day before the blessing my sister-in-law didn't have an outfit for Hudson so I decided to make him one. My mother-in-law got it started and then while driving from Idaho to Utah I sewed it BY HAND by the light of a flashlight! The outfit was finished and ready to go at 3am for church at 11am. I was really happy to be able to help out and be a part of the blessing. My niece and nephew looked DARLING in their outfits and we were very happy to be there for John and Linz.

Cousins!




While in Utah Rosalee got to meet all 8 of her cousins. The oldest is 7 and the youngest are 3 month old twins. Her cousins from left to right (in the first picture) are Rosalee- 8 months, Gavin- 20 months, Lindy- 20 months, Jacob- 7, Hudson- 3 months, Allie- 4, Kaylee- 16 months, Tyler- 5, and Madison- 3 months

Vacation part deux- Washington

After spending slightly over a week in Utah and Idaho we traveled to Washington to spend time with my family. I say we traveled to Washington because we didn't exactly fly there. We ended up flying to Portland and then taking the Amtrak to Tacoma, Washington. At first I was frustrated that we couldn't fly to Seattle, but it ended up working out better. We were able to sit and relax on the train while enjoying the Washington scenery. The train also had a dining car full of all kinds of food. We didn't have to turn our phone off so I was able to call my mom when we were outside of Tacoma so they could meet us at the train station right when we landed. While in Washington we were able to eat at the restaurant my brother's school runs, travel to the ocean, see family and friends, and volunteer at my mom's work. Some of the things we didn't get a picture of are- *visiting our friends Anna and Alex in Seattle *the WONDERFUL food from The Rainer Room at Clover Park Technical College *the surgeries we watched at the vet office *Rosalee "playing" the piano *Rosalee and me picking raspberries. By this I mean I ate three for one put in the bucket and Rosalee smashed the berries in her hands *relaxing at home with my family
Now here are the pictures we DID take, enjoy!

Having lunch with my aunt and Alyssa Chef Brain with Rosalee The Brain family

Jesse with Rosalee and my cousin's husband Dan with Alyssa
Rosalee fell asleep at my mom's work so the only place we had to let her sleep was in one of the kennels!

After eating lunch at The Rainer Room one day we drove to Point Defiance Park and walked around the rose gardens. Rosalee had fun grabbing and smelling the flowers. Jesse also had fun teaching my mom about trees (see the above picture) and she taught him about herbs.

Rosalee hanging out and playing at grandma and grandpa's house