The final post...

Well this has been a great way to keep up on the adventures that Ellie and I have shared in this chapter of our life. I guess we could call this chapter. Ellie and her Homeless Dad earn a Master's Degree. :)

However, as this chapter of our life comes to a close, another one starts, and with that this will be the last post in this blog. From now on the adventures of our new family will be posted on our new blog.

The last couple of years have been crazy to say the least. I know I couldn't have survived without Ellie in my life, but I also know there are a million other people that both of us are thankful for - the Dunns, the Tolentinos, the Haslams, the Hanamaikais, and the rest of my Saugus 2nd Ward family. We are also thankful to the Fenns, my CSUF family, Kim, Tom and Lois and their family, and of course my immediate family. Ellie and I couldn't have survived without you and there is no way in this world I would have been able to earn my Master's Degree and be in a position to go on to start a PhD program. So thanks all around. Ellie and I love each and every one of you.

Playground

Where do I start. I could start off with the fact that according to Nicole and Tyler I pretty much suck as a cook. Granted they didn't say that, but it is obvious I just don't live up the cooking prowess of Ben and Kristi. Thankfully Ellie doesn't feel that way. Anyway, on to the fun portions of today...

The kids played outside for most of the day, because it was a gorgeous day in the Pacific Northwest. The day actually ended with us at the playground, and I thought I should take a ton of pictures. Here are just a few.

The day actually ended with the kids falling asleep on the floor while watch Despicable Me. TGIF!!!

TGTIF

Thank goodness tomorrow is Friday! This has been a great week, but it is safe to say that I am a wee bit tired. I honestly don't know how people do this. Ellie normally keeps me busy enough, but having three more makes me want to hibernate for six months. Of course if I do that, then I will miss my graduation, wedding, honeymoon, Zach's wedding, the move to Oregon, summer fun, cooking and anything else that sounds fun. Anyway...

Yesterday was a pretty nice day, so I let the kids play in the front yard while I ran on the treadmill. Then we drove into Portland for lunch, before we took Nicole to school. Once Tyler and Nicole got home, we had white chicken chili for dinner, and then the kids played outside for about an hour, before we they got ready for bed. All in all, it was most excellent day. The weekend is upon us, which should be even more fun!

 What was the theme of Day 4? I have no idea. In the morning it was let's see how long it takes the girls to clean-up their room. The answer... a million years unless an adult helps. Seriously... how can it be so hard to clean-up a room. Granted I have different priorities than the girls, but still...

The other big thing that happened today was the fact that Noah's Ark was spotted in the bathroom around the time the girls were taking a bath. I was a little, shall we say, perplexed at the whole thing. Consequently there are no pictures of the incident. So I guess it is my word against theirs. Thankfully they aren't smart enough to realize that, and they would probably fess up to it, if asked.

As for other enjoyable things, we had leftovers for dinner. Ellie and I partook of the chicken picatta, while the rest of the gang had rice sans curry and pizza. Honestly I don't get Ellie's cousin's eating habits, but maybe it is Ellie that is a wee bit unique. Whatever the case, I am extremely grateful for her willingness to eat anything, even if she likes to partake in mass quantities.

Finally, I wanted to mention the Playstation Move. That thing is a lot of fun. Before the flood occurred, all of the kids played with it, and it was a blast. I am a champ at saving baby ducks with a fan. Until tomorrow...

How did the fireplace get started?

So Day 3 was pretty uneventful. Okay... that really isn't the case. The morning started off innocently enough. We all got up, the kids ate breakfast, Tyler went to school, and I decided to get my run in on the treadmill. The girls were having playing and they knew where I was at. So I ran while watching the latest episode of House. I came back into the house and went to the kitchen to have my post-exercise chocolate milk, when to my surprise, I saw this.

Notice that the door is open. I quickly learned that the fireplace in this house can be turned on and off with a light switch. So I went and in talked to the girls and told them to never do that again. We will see how well that works.

Anyway, the rest of the day went smoothly enough. I took Nicole to school, Tyler to karate and ate wonderful food (grilled proscuitto and havarti sandwich for lunch and curry chicken in cream sauce for dinner). Meanwhile Tori spent most of the afternoon and evening with her Grandma Lisa.

3 down, 5 to go!

Capers Anyone???

So today was the first day where we had a schedule to follow, and we managed to get it down pretty well. Tyler only walked out of the door two minutes late, but I think he was able to catch up to his friend that he walks to school with so that is great.

For the rest of the morning, the girls played until it was time to take Nicole to school. Then Ellie walked with Nicole, Tori and me to the school that is right by the house. Tori and Ellie had fun holding hands while chasing Baxter around the field. Once we got back to the house, Tori, Ellie and I went into Portland to try and find an Oregon sweatshirt for me. Why... because I will be going to school there in the fall to get my PhD. However, that is another story for another day. Anyway, we found my sweatshirt, but Ellie and I couldn't find anything we liked to give to other members of the family.

We got back to the house, I ran on the treadmill, while the girls watched cartoons. Then we had to take Nicole to karate. Ellie and I got back to the house and started to make dinner when I realized we were missing a couple of things. So I got all of the kids and we drove to the grocery store to grab those things, before heading back to karate to pick up Nicole.

Once we got home, I started making dinner and Grandma Lisa surprised the kids by showing up. Ellie couldn't understand how Grandma Lisa knew her name. Apparently, only people directly related are allowed to know her name. Anyway, I finished making dinner, which was chicken picatta and we ate. I learned that Ellie loves it (okay I already knew this), but that Tyler doesn't like the lemon on the chicken. When it comes to lemons he only likes lemonade, and his mom apparently makes better garlic bread. Nicole and Tori didn't want to try it, but they finally did. Nicole said she liked it, and then I had all the kids try a caper (FYI Ben and Kristi- I didn't force them). Ellie enjoyed  them, which I knew she would, but the others didn't like them. From that moment forward, Nicole decided she didn't like the chicken after all. Oh well, their loss and Ellie will have some good leftovers for the next day or two.


To end the night the kids cleaned up the house and played Wii for a few minutes. Then they went to bed, I did some research, watched some television before crashing for the night.

Day 1 in Rainy, no Sunny, no Rainy, No Sunny... Vancouver, WA

It's official... I am crazy, but I am also still alive! I survived the first 24 hours of watching Ellie and her three cousins by myself. Ben and Kristi asked me what they could get me for watching their kids. After one day I am thinking they could get me a saucier, a saucepot, or pasta press. Do you think I like to cook? But I digress...

Ben and Kristi left yesterday morning without even saying goodbye. I was up... kind of, so what was up with that? Not too long after they left, I was surrounded by 4 kids and a dog (aka Baxter). So we all had breakfast, and because I don't feel up to the challenge of taking 4 kids to church by myself, I just let the kids play for most of the morning. After cleaning up, we played Wii for awhile. My favorite game was Just Dance 2 (consequently the song "Walk Like An Egyptian" has been in my head for nearly 24 hours, but the kids are big-time fans of Wii Party.

Next up was a lunch of leftover pasta alfredo, before the kids watched Tangled, while I tried to relax. At the completion of said movie, I thought it would be best if we got out of the house, so we drove across the river and watched the planes land at the airport. We did that for about 30 minutes, before coming back home where we had homemade pizza for dinner. Then everyone bathed, we played a little bit of Wii, and then it was bedtime! What does that mean? We all survived. It was a lot of fun, and yes I was a little worn out at the end of it, but that what having 4 kids does to a person... right?