It's freezing. . .

Okay, so it is cold out there! I know that this is nothing for some people who have snow on the ground, but we had frost. . . and that's just about as close as we get most of the time. This morning was such a beautiful morning. We woke up to the sun shining and ice and frost on the ground. I decided to take Ethan out to explore the frost and frozen leaves before they melted. He had so much fun that he got so mad when we had to go in. It is supposed to continue to be cold and rainy later this week, so maybe. . . just maybe there will be snow on the ground?

30 years!

I (Jolie) am officially 30! Yikes! I had a nice day celebrating my 30th year with Ethan, while Jon went to work. Ethan and I walked our annual walk to Starbucks (mmm. . .pumpkin spice latte) and spent the day relaxing at home. The real celebration didn't begin until later. . . when Jon got home.
Jon planned a nice quiet dinner to celebrate my 30th birthday at Claim Jumper. He arranged for our friends, Josh and Steph to feed Ethan dinner so I wouldn't have to worry about that on my birthday. It seemed like a nice date night to me! When we went to pick Ethan up, I was blown away by a surprise party! Jon had been planning this for months with his co-conspirators, Josh and Steph. I was completely caught off guard, but am very grateful for my friends and family for giving up their Wednesday night to come celebrate my birthday!

My cake and I. Happy Birthday to me!

Josh and Steph's Foosball table was put to good use! Cooper, Logan (his head is peaking over the back of the Foosball table), Jeff, Jon, and Carolyn had fun playing. I think that Rich joined in too.

Everyone dressed in black and white to mourn the loss of my 20's. Goodbye decade.

I thought this was nice picture of Rich, Carolyn, Cooper and Jeff. (I wonder where Logan and Kelley are?)

And this is my amazing cupcake cake that Monica made. . . with her amazing frosting!

So, this is NOT the first time that Jon has done something sneaky. Although it drives me bonkers, I feel so blessed that he loves me so much to plan things (behind my back) for me. I always tease him about how I am unsure if I can trust him, but honestly, he is such a gift from God and I love him so very much. His sneakiness usually results in an awesome blessing for me. . . so, thank-you Jon!

And thank-you Steph and Josh. . . for all that you did, including opening your home. You guys are such a blessing in our lives and we are so thankful we have such great friends like you!

House Update

Many of you have been praying for us as we have dove into the prospects of purchasing a home last June. It is hard to believe that almost 6 months later, we have finally purchased a home. We don't get to move in yet, as we agreed to let the now, former homeowners stay up to 30 days so their escrow can close. Hopefully, we will get to move in with plenty of time to decorate the house for Christmas and do some painting. Thanks so much for your prayers and support. . . it has truly been encouraging!

Fall Escape

Last week, we had the awesome opportunity to run away. . . really! It was so very nice to get away and do absolutely nothing (except watch the entire season of Man vs. Food) before things get crazy with Thanksgiving, Christmas, and moving. We even got to go with our friends, Josh and Steph.
Jon, Ethan, and I took off Friday morning (Jon had the day off. . . Yeah for saving the air!) and we headed up early to spend a couple of days just the three of us before Josh and Steph joined us. It was so nice just to have some uninterrupted, quality family time. We took that opportunity to walk around and do some geo-caching. Our geo-sense is improving because we found some Awesome caches (hence. . . me holding a screw . . . it really serves no purpose!). We walked around Morro Bay, Cambria, and the neighborhood around Morro Strand. We even took a night walk out to the beach. The stars were so bright! Unfortunately, after searching for a lost flip flop (Ethan's), our flashlight almost going dead, and an unexpected mouse, we headed back home for bed. Josh and Stephanie joined us on Sunday. Monday morning we all woke up, packed a picnic and headed our for our BIG adventure of the week (this is literally the most any of us did the whole time. . so nice!). We headed out to Pismo to see the beginnings of the Monarch Grove season. There were so many there in November. . . but even more later on. It really is amazing to see all these monarch butterflies in one spot. Rumor has it that it's the largest grove of monarchs in the country.

From there, we headed up a steep hill (driving, of course!) for a picnic lunch overlooking the town of Pismo. It was a beautiful view along with a great park. Jon attempted to do some caching, but due to safety issues, decided not to dig through trash to find it. The kids had some time to roll down the hill, swing, and play. We spent the rest of the day at Avila Valley Farm and San Luis, before heading home to continue vegging out.

Tuesday, we did absolutely nothing for most of the day. It was so wonderful! We took naps and rested up before heading for a walk to a nearby neighborhood park at the Cloisters (a Morro Bay beach community). We all had fun playing and geocaching before we split up. Steph and I took the kids for a walk into town to the quilt shop, while Josh and Jon headed back home to get the cars to pick us up. It ended up being a LONG walk, including a rather steep hill. We had a blast, especially since the guys beat us to the Cotton Ball.

Wednesday came far too soon (Sniff sniff) and although I was ready to sleep in my own bed and sew up my new fabric, I was sad to leave the peacefulness of the beach behind. Before leaving, we went to the beach for some fun play time and an attempt to get our Christmas picture taken. Ethan was very hard to contain in his nice clothes that it wasn't long before we stripped him down and he darted for the water. He didn't have the patience to wait for his swim shorts . . . he wanted to play! He had so much fun frolicking in the sand and water! He loved feeling the sand between his fingers, throwing it, and in fact, tasting it.

The week was great! I can't wait til' our next adventure (which. . . just may be moving! We'll keep you posted!)

Night at the Museum

A new tradition was started last month that we continued in November. Free admission to the MET on the first Thursday of the month, compliments of Fresno's Art Hop. This month we had the opportunity to experience their newest exhibit on Dr. Seuss. Although this was not a child-friendly exhibit (as in not very much hands-on activities), we still had a blast! It was fascinating to see Dr. Seuss' art and writings as he worked as an editor, author, advertiser, and WW2 propaganda-er. I think the one thing that caught my attention the most, was his ability to not give up. It took 27 rejections before his first book was ever published and now, more than 100 years after his birth, he is one of the most popular and celebrated children's authors. Such a neat story!
They had a neat little (and I mean little) area set up for kids to read Dr. Seuss books and color Dr. Seuss pages that Ethan loved "stealing" the crayons and carrying them around. They had these cool mirrors that they could become characters from his books (see top left hand corner), and a giant kaleidoscope for them to play with.
When we finished with Dr. Seuss we went down to the Ask Reeves Science area where they had some cool puzzle games on loan from a museum in Oregon. Jon was very proud of the one with some math problems. We were NOT going to leave until he figured it out. . . he put his Math degree to good use, because we were able to leave before they closed! If you want to try it out, comment the answer and we will let you know if you're right. You can only use the digits 1-9 each once. Good Luck. (Oh yeah, the puzzle is at the bottom of the picture second to the Right. )
We are looking forward to seeing the Christmas trees this coming December. . . if you want to come along, let us know. The MET is open from 5-8pm.

Halloween

I just realized that I had not yet posted pictures from our Halloween festivities this year. We had such a busy weekend with the zoo on Friday, home inspection, retrieval of phone in Reedley (I had lost it at the zoo), and then Trunk or Treat in Hanford with Grandma, Grandpa, and Zoe. We had so much fun! Zoe couldn't stop eating candy (I think she's a fan of Hershey's miniatures! . . . mmmm. . . chocolate!). Ethan loved saying hi to all the people at the different cars, although he got terrified at a car with people dressed up as gorilla's. He got over that quickly, though. The candy called! He carried around his pumpkin with great pride (thanks Great Grandma and Grandpa Raineri!).
The next night (Halloween), we went the Bridge for a few games with Ethan. Most of the things were a bit too old for him, but he did get to feed a bear, play basketball, golf, and thrown animals into Noah's Ark. We didn't stay too long because we were all incredibly tired from Friday's activities and Ethan and Jon were both suffering from colds. We did however take time to wrap ourselves in foil for free Boo-ritos at Chipotle. That was fun and well worth the foil wristbands that Jon molded for us.
It ended up being a really nice Halloween. We had some crazy adventures but they all ended with relaxing at home. . . just the way we like it!

A trip to the zoo

Last Friday, Ethan, Stephanie, Abi and I headed for a morning at the zoo. My mom's first graders were going to be there, so we thought we would say hi. Another friend, Dorothy (we used to be roommates) and her son were also there. So, it was a great morning to hang out with friends! We had so much fun!

Here are some highlights:

:: Ethan got to pet his first llama.

:: He enjoyed walking around the zoo for the first time.

:: He really likes the orangutans.

A quick trip

My friend Stephanie and I were able to join our women's ministry director on a quick trip to scope out Sugar Pine Christian Camps for an upcoming women's retreat. We enjoyed the much cooler temperatures and the opportunity for Ethan to wear his new winter hat! It gave me a chance to get some more cute fall pictures. I have to say (and not just because I'm his mom), but Ethan is a prize! Jon and I feel so blessed to have him as our son. He is all smiles and giggles, despite the fact that on this trip his teeth were bothering him and he had cought a cold and was suffering from a stuffy, runny nose. (poor guy!).

Pumpkin Patch - take 2

Ethan joined our friends, Stephanie and Abi Mikow, last week on an adventure to the Pumpkin King Pumpkin patch. We had so much fun getting out of the house and playing in the straw amongst rows and rows of various sized pumpkins. There was a lot of laughter between the two as they played throughout the whole patch! Ethan kept wanting to join a call of preschoolers on their field trip. We had so much fun!

Rumor has it. . .

that we are buying a house! So. . . I think it is true. Our house buying saga has been very long and anything but boring. We thought we were going to get a different house, but God had a different plan. Here's the front of the house we are currently in escrow for (it's only day 4, so try not to get your hopes up too much!).

You can check here for the website for the house with about 20 other pictures and other details of our future home to be (we hope!). Please excuse the horrible carpet and white walls. In due time, that will all be replaced. Let us know what you think. . .

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NOTE: If you click on the word "here" in the above paragraph, it will take you directly to the website. Same goes with most other posts. Linked sites are usually in a different color. Thanks for looking at my blog. :)

Pumpkin Patch Fun. . .

Wow! What a difference a year makes! Last year Ethan slept through the whole thing and this year, he couldn't stop playing with the straw! He was so very proud of his tiger pumpkin that he picked out with daddy's help. We went to the Pumpkin Patch last weekend and just had a great time watching Ethan try to roll pumpkins over and cover them with pieces of hay. In fact, we had a hard time getting him to leave. . . but it was so warm that day. . . we were ready to go home to our cool apartment!

Fall Pictures

We took advantage of some great fall weather and freshly fallen leaves to take some fun fall shots of Ethan. We had so much fun . . . and we think that Ethan did too! We just love our little cutie!

Fish Taco Night

Tuesday nights mark $1.25 fish taco night at Rubio's. Last night, despite the downpour of rain, Josh, Steph, Abi, Chris, and Amelia joined us for dinner (this isn't the first time, either!). We feel very blessed to have such great friends in our lives and some mid-week fellowship is just so refreshing. The rain was nice. . . but the lack of Farmer's Market was missing.

Family Time

This has been a great week! We kept very busy and got to have some great family time both with just Jon, Ethan, and I and also a nice picnic with Jon's family. I love capturing these moments. . . they are just so nice!

Thursday night, we headed to the Met so Ethan could have see Bob the Builder before it leaves Fresno. The first Thursday night of every month it is free to get in, because of Art Hop, so we took advantage of this great opportunity! Ethan had so much fun! He wanted to see everything and it was hard to keep him in one place. We decided he really isn't so much a builder as he is a destroyer! He really would rather knock things down than build them up! Jon had a blast playing with the ball exhibit. I think the first Thursday of the Month is now our Met Night. . . A new family tradition! We had so much fun! In fact, Ethan came home so very tired, but he couldn't fall asleep. He just sat in his bed with his Bob the Builder book flipping the pages back and forth. I finally had to take him to bed with me to lay down and get him to relax. He had so much fun!

Saturday we met Jon's family at the park by Fresno State for a picnic lunch to celebrate Rich's birthday. We had fun watching the boys play some football and watching Ethan and Logan play in the grass. It was a lot of fun! Happy Birthday Rich!

A quick post

Just a quick post. . . . because i thought this was cute! Enjoy!

This picture of Ethan was taken at Abi's first birthday. I think Stephanie's mom, Debi, took the picture because I don't remember Stephanie walking around with her camera (she was a bit busy!). Thanks to Steph for sending me the pic!

Ethan's Birthday Party

Saturday afternoon, we gathered our friends and family and celebrated Ethan's first year of life. It was so much fun watching Ethan play, eat cake, open presents, and just basically look cute (which isn't very hard for our little cutie. . . and I'm not just saying that because I'm his mom, either!). We celebrated at Jon's parent's house, since we are still in our apartment and there is just now way we could fit everyone comfortably there! (Thank you Thank You Thank you to Rich and Carolyn for that!!!!)

We had so much fun hanging out with everyone! Before the party, Ethan got to play some Ladder golf with Grandpa Rich and daddy (it was a beautiful morning!). Ethan loved to look at his scrapbook (or just flip the pages. We even fit in time to get a 5 generation pic with all the Klassen men! Such an awesome opportunity!

There were many gifts for Ethan to open. . . all of which are proving a lot of fun at home! He loved the gifts, but I am sure that the paper was his absolute favorite item of all!

Ahhh. . . what birthday isn't complete without cake? We really weren't sure how he was going to like cake, since he hasn't ever had cake and frosting before, but after he had a taste, he dug right in and ate almost all of it (all he left were some crumbs!). I think he is going to be a cake boy!

We had a blast with everyone celebrating Ethan! Thanks to everyone who made Ethan's day so very special!

Cayucus 2009

I can't believe that Cayucus has come and gone. Just a few weeks ago, we were talking about how we couldn't believe how quickly it was coming. . . and now. . . we are recovering from this annual retreat. Each year, Jon's family gathers at a beach house in Cayucus (this has been going on for a LONG time), and spends Labor Day weekend as a family.

Jon's grandparents give each of us 10 dollars to go to the Peddler's Faire and find some sort of fantastic deal. It is incredibly hard for me because I just can't stand buying trinkets and junk! But, it is fun. Usually, I come back with some children's books, marbles, or something. This year, I settled on some cinnamon coated almonds and pecans (they are awesome!) and Jon got a model sail boat to go with our nautical stuff. Ethan was able to get a sand castle building kit and bubble wand kit that came together in one package. Then we treated ourselves to a scrumptious peanut butter cookie from the Brown Butter Cookie Company (Delicious!).
Jon and some of the men went to Los Osos on Saturday afternoon to play some golf - John Dooley won and Jon's grandpa recieved the pink tee award (had something to do with him hitting a really bad shot into a street that bounced into a neighborhood and endangered the lives of many - or so goes the story!)

Saturday night was a night of Rock and Roll. . . literally. We experienced a 4.0 earthquake and then played some American Idol Kareoki on the PS2. It was a blast watching everyone sing their duets together. . . even Cooper and Logan got into it! It was great - and incredibly hillarious!

Sunday marked Ethan's very first birthday! We decided that it was the perfect time to take our little water boy to the beach. It was the perfect day for it, too! The sun was warm and the breeze was nice and cool - so cool that Ethan even shivered for a bit (that didn't stop him, though). He even got to play with his cousins. Cooper got burried and then he went exploring for crabs. He did a great job finding some live sand crabs and then set them free with his Uncle Jon.

Sunday marked Ethan's birthday, as well as Wanda's (Ethan's great grandma), so we celebrated with some presents, cake, and ice cream. We also let go of some balloons in memory of Jon's cousin Mike, who died several years ago. It was so much fun!

Monday, we packed up - ready to leave, yet sad to go. It is always a fantastic weekend, but like most vacations, it is always nice to go home and get back into routine. Before we left, Jon went and did some last minute geocaching, while I took Ethan down to the pier and treated myself to a tea. Ethan had a blast on the swings! We are are very thankful to Jon's grandparents who put together these fun family weekends!

Spaghetti Night

Last night, we enjoyed some yummy spaghetti for dinner. For the first time, Ethan got his taste of the yummy noodles lathered in delicious tomato-y sauce. At first, he was a bit concerned about the worm-like noodles. In fact, he was very cautious about dinner. But, once he had a few bites, he couldn't stop stuffing his face with it. It was so good, he had spaghetti all over the place! The only thing we could think of was strip him down and stick him in the bath tub -which he absolutely loved (he just loves his water time!).

Millerton

This past weekend, I had planned on taking Jon to the coast for the day, but after much consideration we decided that we didn't want to make the drive. So, on Saturday morning, we got in the car and headed to Millerton Lake to have a picnic lunch and hang out. Jon and I hadn't been there is so long (which just a note is much more fun when your on the water otherwise. . . it's just plain blah!). We really wanted to do some geocaching, but there weren't any in the park (bummer!), so we ate our picnic lunch, explored the courthouse, and headed back to Fresno to hang out at the mall and enjoy some free air conditioning. It ended up being a really nice day just hanging out together, as a family.

Weekend Fun!

Last weekend, we had so much fun being lazy and relaxing (well, I did. . . Jon had to go to work and take care of our air). But, we were able to have some fun (for free!) Friday and Saturday nights (we like free!)

Friday night, we took Ethan to his first Shakespeare Play at Woodward Park, As you Like it. Jon and I have been going to these plays since we got married and haven't missed one. Ethan did really well and was even able to get some sleep during the play.

Saturday night, Jon was able to win tickets to the Grizzlies game because his work was sponsoring it. We had a blast sitting up behind home plate. Ethan (and his monkey) had a ton of fun! Ethan enjoyed clapping for each of the players and meeting some people Jon works with.

It was a great weekend!

What has Ethan been up to lately?

We have been so busy that I don't remember when the last time I posted an update on Ethan, so here goes:
Ethan is 10 1/2 months old. . . kind of hard to believe we will be celebrating his first birthday soon! (I should probably start to plan that, huh?) He is also as busy as ever! He definitely does not stay in one place for very long. His favorite toys right now are our remote controls, an empty Huggies box, and board books. He is still very happy (although, is much happier when well slept . . .aren't we all?)
He has done a fantastic job adjusting to life at home and not in the car. I think he is very happy to wake up and not have to go very far, if anywhere at all! He is standing up and serenading us with the sounds of mama and dada. We are soaking it in! Ethan continues to be a joy for us!

Vacation Days 10&11: Our Voyage Home

Well, we made it! Our trip has been long and very (and I mean, VERY) busy! We have seen so many things throughout our voyage that we are ready just to stay put for at least a few weeks until our next adventure. It has been neat to be able to show Jon all the things that I got to experience as a child growing up in Wyoming or making our annual trips back to see my grandparents. But, it has also been neat to experience seeing these landmarks through the eyes of an adult. Our trip was exausting, but completely worth it! Driving can be tiring, but there is just so much more to see than when you fly, especially through the western states.
Our last two days of trip took place between Moab and home. We enjoyed our trek through Utah and the beautifully colored red canyons, that it is famous for! We even stopped for a break at Ghost Canyon. Ghost Canyon is a beautiful canyon where Butch Cassidy and his outlaw buds used to hide from the law and the indian slave trade traveled through. We also saw the coolest road sign ever (we had seen it on the way and had missed our opportunity to take a picture)! An exit for Zzyzx Road. I am not kidding! If anybody knows how to pronounce that, let us know! We finished our day in the extreme dessert heat of Mesquite Utah, where all we did was veg out and watch cable (oh, and Jon spent a few minutes on the penny slots. . . a total of 82 cents ahead when he stopped and treated me to "half" of an ice cream). After attempting to rest (which is hard to do, when all you want to do is sleep in your own bed), we got up and headed home. We experienced the Saturday morning rush hour in Vegas and Tulare Outlets. There really wasn't a whole lot of stopping, since we just really wanted to get home. And now we are home. . . and as soon as I publish this post, our trip will be blogged!

Day 9: Vail, CO & Moab, UT

"On the road again. . . just can't wait to get on the road again!"

Today, marked the day we got to get in the car and drive. . .and drive. . .and drive WEST! We were on our way home, and honestly, we had had such an awesome time, but we were so tired and so ready to be back in Fresno! Today we drove from Denver to Moab. It was the most scenic drives of our entire trip, driving down I-70 and a scenic by-way to Moab.

We took a break around lunch time in Vail. It is such a beautiful little ski-town that is beautiful in the summer, also. We enjoyed walking around their chateau-like village filled with expensive ski-shops and Starbucks (where I stopped to get some caffeine in my body before I began my turn of driving). It was also nice and cool there, which made it really hard to get back on the road and continue our trek.
While driving through the mountains of Colorado, we reached the brilliant altitude of 10,000 feet. As we made our trek into Utah, the scenery began to get more and more red. Utah is known for its red soil, which makes it very beautiful! Our drive along the scenic byway brought us to the sad and depressing town of Cisco, where it has become a modern-day ghost town. The drive followed the winding Colorado River as it made its way through the state. It was one of the most beautiful drives that Jon and I had ever driven. We were breathless as we drove and admired God's handiwork! We finally made it into Moab, where we joined my parents camping (although. . . it was more like luxury camping because I was able to watch Food Network and catch up on my blogging from the camper!). Once we were there, we quickly gobbled our dinner and went to explore Arches National Park, before the sun set. Once again, we were memorized by God's beautiful creation! There were rock formations that looked like camels, courthouses, and even one with a large rock balancing on top of another one! It was also amazing to watch the sunset over these rocks!
It was truly an amazingly beautiful day, despite spending most of it stuck in the car!

Vacation Day 8: Denver, CO

Today was probably one of our favorite days of the whole vacation. It was the day, we did what we love best. . . just wandering around aimlessly! From our hotel room, we were right in the historic district of Capital Hill, where the oldest houses of Denver had been built. We saw the Governor's Mansion and Molly Brown's Mansion, along with several very old churches. One of the oldest churches in Denver is the Trinity Methodist Church (a side note. . . my mom got to attend a conference there as a teen). We enjoyed the State Capital where we admired many, many, many, quilts that were on display and stood at 1 mile high exactly! (Ethan slept through that!). After awhile of exploring, our tummies began to growl and we headed towards the 16th Ave. Mall for some shopping and lunch. The 16th Ave Mall is a nice LONG street that is only open to buses and pedestrians and is filled with stores, malls, and restaurants. We broke all the rules and had lunch at Chipotle, which was slightly different than ours. They have a newer much larger menu, with more options, including children's menus! I was stoked! We took the opportunity to walk back to our hotel and veg out. . . another day of being pooped! That evening, we met my friend Kim for dinner in Northglenn. It was so nice to catch up with her! We think that it had been about 10 or 11 years since we had seen each other. . . thank goodness for email and Facebook!