busy days and heavy hearts

So, it's been awhile since I've blogged. I could blame it on the fact that i've essentially been a single parent for the day-to-day stuff lately as Jeff is working his hiney off in Washington, but really, that isn't it. Maybe it's a I've-got-too-much-to-say-so-instead-I-say-nothing kind of thing? Life has been full of some ups and downs lately. 
First, Jeff's grandma lost her short battle with cancer right before baby Avie's birth. We were hoping she'd make it to meet her; she's always loved seeing pictures and hearing about the kids. Luckily we were able to make it down to Oak Harbor a couple of times, (including the infamous Andie-on-ketamine-and-versed trip) but we wish we'd gone more.
Then, Avery was born. One life leaves and then another enters. It's funny the way that works sometimes; my grandfather died right before Andie Lu's birth. Wonder if everyone met up in heaven before our little ones entered this world...

And then, we had a heartbreaking family tragedy, where my cousin desiree lost her husband, Jesse, on June 30 in a wildfire. Jesse was a hotshot and one of the bravest and most inspiring people you'd meet. Everytime I saw him I was resolved to run more, laugh more, and spend more time with family. I have so many awesome memories of him, these are some of my favorites:

* His dancing. He rocked the sprinkler and lawn mower
*Playing crazy taxi in the den
*Stealing grandma's meat pie and eating the whole thing, and then trying to start the dirt bike to ride down the sidewalk (alchol may have played a role here...)
*Him running 26 miles to Cambria...and me running the last 6, and then losing him, and finding him pacing on the side of the road. When I found him he was next to roadkill and a tarp, his plan was to use the tarp for shelter and eat the roadkill for dinner ;-)
*Glamis. Him forcing me to stay awake all night after driving from SD so we could party
*His impressions of desiree and I on a drive back from Phoenix...soooo insulting. So funny.
*Sun bathing on his truck...and then borrowing it to go for a hike. Sorry about that, Jesse.
*Sword fighting at the Tacoma pt defiance zoo

There are so many more, but these all make me smile. In a family that sometimes got too serious, he helped keep things light and made room for fun and pranks. I can't believe someone so larger than life is gone, and my heart aches for my beautiful cousin. She is also one of the bravest people you'll meet, and I know that she will do the best job of honoring his memory for their children. 

Here is a link to a clip about Jesse and the hotshots, there are tons of videos and news articles on mine and my family's facebook pages as well:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JiApVzJkbGY&sns=fb

In other news, we have been busy having fun in Paso this summer. It didn't quite go as planned, I made a couple of trips out to Arizona obviously that were very last minute, and now we have been relaxing here. Well, as much as you can relax when you've got three young kids to entertain while the husband's home in washington. We've been going to the pool almost every day, we've had swim lessons, gone to the beach, lots of park trips, the farmer's market, Avila barn, lake nacimiento/boating, the fair, and more. Still left is Steph and Ari's trip, disneyland, big sur/monterey/carmel, the waterpark, and maybe if I can squeeze it in some CE (nursing continuing ed, but that would probably have to be in LA/SF/or SD, so we'll see). I have a million photos, all of which I downgraded the quality to upload quicker (hey, I wanna go to bed), but you can get the general idea. 
I had some goals for maternity leave:

Lose baby weight (uhh...no comment. can i just say that taking care of kids mostly by yourself leaves little time for work outs? I know, I know. No excuses!)

Potty train Andie (FAIL. She is crapping anywhere and everywhere. My kids humiliate me publically so frequently I practically have no shame, but when she pulled a diarrhea diap off in target and started walking down the aisles flipping up her dress with her nakey poo butt exposed, even I wanted to hide. And there has also been pooing on the patio and then running the stroller through it, pooing and wiping her bum with objects such as chalk and shoes, pooing at the pool....need I go further??)

Get Aili Swimming (Doing pretty well. Yay aili!)

Get Aili taking more responsibility for herself- showering herself, dressing herself in appropriate clothes, etc. Doing pretty well.

Ok, So it's August and I have some work to do. Oh well. At least we're all still alive and the kids are having fun, right???

 

Yeah, the quality of those emailed iphone photos is terrible and I DON'T CARE. I no lovey photography enough tonight to fix it, I LOVE SLEEP MORE. You get the idea...fun times. Minus the poo thing. 

Pictures from the Arizona trip: Below, outside the hotshot's fire station: 

Burned landscape near Yarnell:
 

 When ya Gotta go, well...

 Everyone else in the car was excited to drive through this...I was having visions of Dorothy and Toto:

Needles, CA- The girls really wanted to stop and swim (and, ahem, me too)
 

We received roses at the memorial, and once they'd wilted, I didn't have the heart to throw them away. So instead I decided we'd toss them out somewhere pretty on the way home. This is where we chose, while driving, it looks kinda like what I'd imagine heaven looks like...
 

Some late-night snacking...
 

 

 People always say "RIP" when people die, but if I know Jesse, he's not resting. He's probably staying plenty busy up there in heaven helping people, motivating people, and having fun. Kinda like in life down here. See you on the other side, we'll miss you dearly.