theBunchBunch

2011-09-15T15:11:00.000-07:00

We officially have a kiddo in preschool now. Today was Jack's first day without us there. He was so excited before we left and after I picked him up I could tell the day didn't disappoint. His summary was that he got to play cars, practice standing in line (he added that several kids didn't stay in line, but he and Abby did), go to the gym where he played with bouncy balls and bear feet (I don't know on that one), and have goldfish for a snack. He also remembered his spot for carpet time and found his mailbox A-OK. He told me that daddy even came by for a hug. Mike and I missed each other at drop off, but he found Jack in his class to send him off on his first day. Jack can't wait to head back, and I'm so thankful. I will admit to a few tears in the car on the way there as we prayed for his day. They were really just tears of joy as I thought about what an amazing little boy we have. Thankfulness took me over, but I got it together by the time we got to his room. We also had a cheer leading section in the church office ready to hand out tissues if needed. Love those people! And now onto the pictures:

A few before school

Yeah for school!

Someone else wanted a pic too. She found her backpack and lunch pail herself. She wanted to be just like big brother.

We ran into some cousins we know on the way in. Can you see them literally running to the doors?They were all so excited!

Stopping for another quick shot

Backpack time

Jack quickly went to the cars again

Time for pickup. Guess who still had her backpack on?!

Running to see me at pickup

And then practicing walking to see me

Checking his box

And the preschool gang

A few bonus shots

"You wanna come to preschool?"

I call this "hi"

Pure joy

Back at home

We did it!

2011-09-13T15:55:00.000-07:00

Today Jack had "Meet your Teacher" day at school. Meaning no tears for this mama since we got to stay the whole time. No waving goodbye yet....that comes later this week. Look for another post to follow. His first official day is this Thursday, but he's been looking forward to today for a long time. Most of it began when he got a letter from his teacher this summer. He decided right away that he wanted to write her back. He wanted her to know that he got a snorkel mask this summer, he likes having fun, and his cousin would also be in her class- you know the basics. You'll see him proudly displaying his letter below along with a picture for her.

Backing up a bit, while still in the car this morning, Kaitlyn and I prayed for Jack to have a great day. Jack joined in the prayer as he likes to do and also asked God to help him make great choices. I was really proud of him, and it was another reminder that he's growing up.

Here we are on our way to the classroom.

Delivering his card and meeting his new teacher.

Jack immediately found the cars

and Abigail.

Hugs from daddy.

His first official project was to make a hand print.

He was very excited to show his teacher his red hand.

The end result.

Some special block time with his teacher.

Another special friend. Jack was thrilled Kaydee was in his class too.

Baby washing station. Jack displayed his sensitive side.

Some of the spectators. :)

Finding carpet spots.

Criss-cross applesauce was a new one for Jack. He said it was his favorite part of the day.

The attempt

and success!

After school, Jack wanted to share his new knowledge with his sis. Here is his criss-cross demonstration for her.

Two preschool buddies plus a little stowaway.

When we were walking back to the car after class Jack looked up at me and said, "That was really fun." I agreed. It was a good morning, and I think it's going to be a great year!

2011-05-11T08:15:00.000-07:00

Jack: Kaitlyn is crying. I think she's ready to wake up.
Me: I don't hear her buddy. I think she's still sleeping. Why do you want her to be awake?
Jack: Because I love her.
Me: (Cue heart melting)

There is nothing better than seeing these two love each other so much. I love watching big brother Jack protect little Kaitlyn. She does everything he does and takes her role of following him around the house very seriously. I was looking at some pictures the other day and these just seem to fit this post. They're from that one snow day we had several months ago. Special thanks to Ethan and Carson for lending us their snowsuits. I think he was trying to find her hand to hold in the first shot.

2011-04-25T08:47:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter!

We had a blessed day celebrating the resurrection of our Lord! He is risen!

We had some Eugene family join the celebration. Here are a few pics with Grandpa and the kids.

Some egg hunt fun...

The best part of the day was getting to talk with Jack that night more about what Easter means. We had a set of resurrection eggs that he opened as we shared the Easter story. Having him ask, "But why did he do that" and simply saying because, "He loves us"...well it was a good reminder to us too. What a Savior we have!

2011-04-07T08:03:00.000-07:00

Kaitlyn got her first official haircut this Tuesday. Nina and Poppie met us for the fun and to allow me to take some pics. I had them just take a little bit off the back to even if out and then we went for the bangs. Here are a few pics of my cutie pie.

Here she is before with a granola bar in her mouth

Post bangs

Big brother cheering her on. He loved sitting in his own ride.

Pigtails for dada and a sucker for a wiggly gal.

A little shy about sharing her new look with the world

Ok..not really. She was playing some peek-a-boo with Nina

One happy girl!

2011-03-07T15:07:00.001-08:00

Happy 93rd Birthday Grandpa Jagger! We are so blessed to have you in our family!

Love,

and

2011-02-25T21:11:00.000-08:00

And some more cousin fun. Carson and Syd came by before their Disney trip and we got to spend some time together. We made cookies and played hard. Fun was had by all. I'm so thankful that my kiddos get to grow up with their wonderful cousins. I love them all to pieces!

2011-02-25T20:41:00.000-08:00

Last week Jack got to invite Ethan and Abby to come to our house for a sleep over. He was so excited! We began the night by heading to an indoor play park.

The play place happen to have a reptile show that night so the kids got to touch some interesting animals as a bonus. They did great! They even asked questions by raising their hands. Mike and I were very proud of how well behaved they all were. And we're not sure why there was a bunny at the reptile show, but it was a crowd favorite.

Later we had a picnic dinner and then enjoyed a show. Ah pillow pets...we love ya!

It was a great evening. The girls slept peacefully in Katie's room and the boys in Jack's. One of my favorite quotes of the evening was Ethan. "Jack, that's a lot of questions. It's time for bed now. Love you." So they stayed up a little late, but that's what sleepovers are for. I'd say some good memories were made. Looking forward to more!

2011-01-14T17:24:00.000-08:00

Last month we had a fun time celebrating Jack turning 3 and Kaitlyn 1. Time sure flies! It's hard to believe that a year ago we were knee deep in Thomas cake astonished Jack would be turning 2 and waiting to meet our sweet Kaitlyn. This party was a little busier since it involved two cakes and two celebrations. It was more work but was definitely twice the fun! Everyone pitched in and helped. A special shout out to my cake makin' teammate Sarah. She's a pro! Here is another little helper. He was enjoying making the ladybugs for Kaitlyn's cake out of red velvet...yup...it's definitely red!

Here's the crew enjoying their food.

Kaitlyn checking out her cake.

Clearly she did more than just check it out. :)

Jack loving his Handy Manny cake and good friends. Thanks for supervising Jenna.

Enjoying their Happy Birthday songs. Yup...we sang it twice.

Jack enjoying one of his gifts.

My sweet sis.

Some pretty amazing ladies. Note the cute Birthday shirt passed on from her opera singing cousin Sydney.Some lovely behind the scenes helpers making some hammer sandwiches.

We also had fun decorating some gingerbread houses this year. We're hoping it becomes a new tradition. I didn't get many pictures of the kids working on them, but here are Jack and Kaitlyn showing their work off.

Yup- it was a good day!

2010-12-20T18:13:00.001-08:00

Happy 3rd Birthday Jack! It's so fun watching you grow and learn. You make us smile daily with the fun things you say and do. We're so proud to by your mama and dada. Love you!

2010-12-10T21:09:00.000-08:00

Happy 1st Birthday to our sweet Kaitlyn! You bring us such joy with your precious smile and joyful heart. We're thankful everyday that God blessed our family with you. We love you so much!

And one bonus of the big brother. We sure love him too.

2010-10-27T22:17:00.000-07:00

OK I may have a few random posts in between my summer catch up posts. And here is a random one for ya.

Jack is my question guy lately and I love our little talks together. Today we got into a discussion on energy while driving in the car. I think the conversation started with him saying something about Mike being old and I said something about him not being old (because I know I'm young and we're the same age) and that daddy has a lot of energy. That led to what gives us energy and then we talked about healthy foods and what energy lets us do and so on. After that beautiful lesson, here is what my boy took away:

Jack: Carrots give us energy
Me: Yes, that's right.
Jack: Apples give us energy
Me: Yes (Feeling pretty proud that my lesson was productive)
Jack: I want to eat a house and get lots of energy.
Me: What?
Jack: Mama, you had energy coming out of your nose yesterday.

As you can see...the focus got a bit lost, but he was pretty entertained with his comments.

Then we went to an indoor bounce place for a special treat with Mike. Jack introduced himself to a little girl while bouncing by saying "Hi, I have energy!"

And here he is...refueling himself for a whole pile of questions tomorrow and dreaming of new ways to let that energy out. I can't wait!

And something extra for those who might be interested... while at the bounce place walking around in socks, I stepped right into an accident a little girl had apparently had. The socks are no longer with me, but I did take advantage of the large hand sanitizer bottle they had.

2010-10-05T15:05:00.000-07:00

Wow! So we have a few things to catch up on. Looks like we left you at Kaitlyn rolling over...oh my, that feels like forever ago. A lot of great things have happened since then, Disney, my cousin's wedding, Sunriver fun, Kaitlyn crawling, Jack just being his funny self. I'm determined to at least touch on all of the above in the next several posts so stick with me. I think I'll start with my cousin's wedding back in August.

I love how weddings gather people. As our extended family keeps growing, it's pretty fun to get everyone together at one event. The kids had a ball and we had a great time too.

Here is my beautiful cousin and her groom.

I love this one of grandpa praying over Seth and Jennifer during the reception.

Dancing the night away. Nina and Jack on the floor. This is one of my new favorite pictures with Jack. The boys showing off their dance spin moves.

And finally... a pic of a good group of guys who got to go golfing the day after the wedding.

2010-06-28T11:20:00.000-07:00

The Saturday before last, Kaitlyn picked up a new trick. Poor thing doesn't get any encouragement from her parents. :) We're amazed at how quickly she's growing and showing more and more of her personality. She's our joyful girl and we love her!

2010-06-07T15:39:00.000-07:00

Pigtails have arrived!

2010-05-21T08:07:00.000-07:00

So much to catch up on. I'm not sure how time is passing so quickly, but we're trying to enjoy every moment. It's hard to believe Katie is 5 months old and Jack is looking more and more like a little man everyday. Here are a few recent photos.

Our girl on her 5 month birthday

Jack enjoying a delicious smore courtesy of an impulse by his mama, a quick trip to the grocery store, and a lovely fire by his dad. Sure the sun was out and it got a little toasty inside our house, but it was all worth it!

OK...she didn't really have any, but we wanted to include her in the moment.

My boy looking so handsome even with his black eye from his run in with the futon. What a tough guy.

Enjoying every bite!

Speaking of bites (nice transition right) Kaitlyn got her first taste of rice cereal this week, and Jack got to give it to her. She wasn't as sure about that idea.

"Open up sister. It's delicious."

"Hmmmm."

"Are you guys sure about another bite...."

"...cause I'm not so sure."

"This is actually pretty good!"

"Yeah, I like it!"

"Hey, how do I get more of that stuff?"

Pretty soon she was reaching for the spoon and trying to feed herself. Next up...avocado.

2010-04-12T17:36:00.001-07:00

So our little girl is growing! It's hard to believe she's already 4 months old. I took her in today for her checkup and shots and got her new stats. She's 24" now (49th percentile), has a head measuring 16.5" (75th percentile), and weights in at 15 lbs. 3 oz (81st percentile...yes that's right...81 and we love every little roll!) She's healthy and happy and we have so much to be thankful for. Here is a picture of her from today.

And a few other shots for your amusement:

Katie's scalp was dry so after some great advice from my mom I decided to put a little bit of baby oil on it. It definately did the trick, but I took mom's advice to the next level and decided that if a little was good...more was better! I slathered it on her little head and here she is after two attempts to wash it out.

After 5 attempts. Looking happy, but still oily. :) I finally gave up and we got it out the next day. I still claim it as a victory becuase her scalp is looking lovely! Next time..less oil for sure.

On another note, I was so proud of Jack today. He got a surprise booster shot at the doctor's during our visit and he was a champ. He went before Kaitlyn and I told him how he could show her how to be brave. He totally did. Cried for 30 seconds and then said, "I'm brave!" One more Jack story since I have a captive audience. I was busy on the computer the other morning and heard Jack playing in the kitchen. I went to check on him and found this:

What a little organizer I have! Now if he could just get to my closet.

2010-04-04T20:47:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful Easter weekend with family and friends, and are so thankful we got to celebrate this special day with those we love. Thompsons, we sure missed you, but can't wait for our belated Easter celebration with you. Get well soon! We didn't get many pictures, but here are a few. :)

2010-03-29T09:55:00.000-07:00

Joy in the Bunch house!

2010-03-03T10:08:00.000-08:00

So the last few posts have been about our new little lady so I thought I'd post one about big brother Jack. We sure love him and so does his sis.

Here are a few shots of him performing some "Big Brother" duties.

Feeding Kaitlyn a bottle

This one was when she was a few weeks old. He found this book and asked me what it was. I told him it was to help Kaitlyn sleep. Being the helper that he is, he immediately brought it to her. Looks like it worked! :)

Giving a kiss and telling her all about Bob and Larry.

I found this one day. Of course she wanted some bowling pins...what newborn wouldn't?

Some video of our two together.

2010-02-04T15:22:00.000-08:00

Another photo session with mom. I'll admit that most were out of focus, but even those made me smile. It's hard to mess up a photo when you have such a cute subject.

And here is a little video I like to call Contentment:

2010-01-29T15:32:00.000-08:00

A couple cute pics. Jack enjoying some time with Bapaw and Carson and Kaitlyn sportin' some adorable jammies from Kristen and the girls.

2010-01-21T15:59:00.000-08:00

Kaitlyn got all dress up to visit daddy at work today so I took a few pictures. See if you can figure out which is my favorite. :)

2010-01-19T09:02:00.000-08:00

Time for a few Kaitlyn photos. We've sure been enjoying her and fall more in love with her daily. It's been fun to watch her already changing and see how sweet Jack has been to her. The other day I told him that I needed to get her dressed and when I turned around he had gone to her room and brought out some pants and a dress for her- not the most coordinated outfit, but what a great kid. Kaitlyn has been blessing us with several 5 to 5 1/2 hour stretches of sleep lately and we are lovin' it! As a result, you may see some more blog posts from these more rested parents. :)

Not super excited about this photo session, but cute outfit from the Marr's.

Her first Sunday. Thanks for the dress Aunt Sarah!

Hello dimples!

Hello double chin! :)

Our little sleeper. We sure love her!

2010-01-04T13:31:00.000-08:00

New pictures of our sweet Kaitlyn to come, but I wanted to be sure and get these Christmas photos up before too long. Sadly, we neglected to take out camera to our wonderful Salem Christmas, but here are a few shots from Christmas day..complete with our new little girl, matching jammies, and a visit from Grandpa Jagger. It was a great day!

Grandpa and Kaitlyn first meet. :)

This year, my mom and dad surprised us with a live nativity scene staring our kids. It was a great present and they were adorable! Picture silent night playing in the background while these cuties entered. What a fun new tradition.

2009-12-15T16:37:00.000-08:00

I'm a bit of a softie, so it doesn't take much, but there have been a number of wonderful moments in the last few days between Jack and his little sister that have choked me up. On Sunday, after we had been playing, he ran into Kaitlyn's room and wanted to just look at her in the crib. Unfortunately, she was in the other room with Beck, but we found her soon. Yesterday he was so excited to help give her some milk, so he got to hold her bottle for a few minutes. Today I found him in the bedroom next to her swing (with her in it). He had brought in his Thomas coloring book and crayons, and just wanted to be near her. He keeps asking after her..."Kait-yn sleeping?" "Kait-yn crying?" "Where's Kait-yn?"

I'm glad we're seeing these great moments! He is doing well, but I can tell he's a little in shock with the whole situation. He's just a little more fussy and dramatic than usual, but we're trying to give him space and not force him into a relationship with little Katie. We know it will develop in time, and we are feeling blessed to be parents of two kids!

Here are some pics of our return home.

Right before leaving the hospital...very much looking forward to seeing our boy!

Becky being assisted out by transportation. They said she could have walked, but who can turn down a free ride :-)

Kaitlyn getting used to the carseat. (it probably didn't help that it had been in the car for 4 days of sub 20's)

Jack first laying eyes on his sis.

The requisite kiss on the forehead (more to come of course)

Jack "giving" Katilyn her pink Minkee. I guess he thought she wanted it on her face.

What is this crying purple thing leaning on me?

Jack valiantly sharing his most prized possesion with his little sis (unprompted!)

another kiss for pictures.

Big bro checking out sister's soft hair.

Checking out her "too tiny" toes.

sporting Best Big Brother and Little Sister duds.

2009-12-12T17:23:00.000-08:00

2009-12-12T14:57:00.000-08:00

Kaitlyn is a joy! She is also a sleeper, which is great for mom and dad. Becky is recovering well, and we'll probably go home tomorrow, if the ice storm doesn't prevent it. We can't wait to introduce Jack to his little sister! Today has been very quiet, the checkups are less frequent, and the strict hospital visiting policies have kept our guests to a minimum. We're getting a chance to rest and enjoy our little baby girl!

Both of my girls are sleeping peacefully right now, and I'm enjoying hearing their duet of restful breathing. until we get to see you all again, please enjoy a few more pictures of our Katie.

2009-12-10T16:53:00.000-08:00

I have a daughter! Kaitlyn Ann. She is amazing! Becky is doing wonderfully recovering from the surgery. Baby and mom are bonding like crazy. these pics are out of order, but I wanted to get some up soon. enjoy!

ah yes...9:30 am, 8lbs 5oz, 19.25in long.

2009-12-04T08:04:00.000-08:00

Since our little girl will be arriving soon, we decided to celebrate Jack's birthday a little early this year. It was fun to be able to host is at our new house this year. It all came together and Jack had a great day- thanks to all the help. Here are a few pictures leading up to and at the party.

The making of the cake. Sarah was a dedicated helper. The face was definitely the hardest part, but it turned out great.

The final product!

A super cool birthday sign handmade by my sweet sister.

What...and Sarah also made a little train out of the juice boxes for the kids! She's pretty awesome.

One of my favorite pictures of the day. What a happy kid!

The boys having some lunch. Thanks to mom for the train shaped sandwiches.

Little Syd working on creating a distraction while Abby made a quick getaway to.....

do this! Doesn't she look innocent?

Jack got a lot of great gifts. I still don't think he realizes that they all get to stay here, but the timing is great with baby sister coming. All of the books and toys will sure keep him entertained while we're changing a few diapers,etc.. One big surprise gift was a train table that everyone went in on. Mike and I didn't even know about this one as you can see by my bewildered face. It's been a two-fold blessing- Jack loves playing with it and it makes a great coffee table!

After presents came the cake! Jack was so excited about his Thomas cake. He kept wanting to look at it the day before. You'll notice a small moment of sadness when Thomas made his entrance at the party...maybe it was the fact that he now had flames coming out of him, but Jack made a quick recovery. Blowing out the candles was just too much fun and then came the eating. He took his time with that part- he sure made it last!

After all of the party fun, a few stuck around to help put the train table together. Jack was so excited and of course, several had to help him test out the fun.

Notice the relaxed pregnant lady sitting in the background. Oh..the train table has been good to me! He wakes up everyday asking to play trains.

Very focused on making the "choo choo" sounds for the trains.

Thanks to all who brought and made food, helped decorate, came straight from the airport to attend, called to wish Jack a special day, offered to do even more, and gave Jack and our family such a special day. It was so much fun.

2009-11-24T15:44:00.000-08:00

Minky decided to steal the spotlight in this one, but I love this picture anyway. This is the day we got our keys!

2009-11-16T20:49:00.001-08:00

WHAT! A POST ON THE BUNCH BUNCH! I know. We have a few good excuses, but mostly we have been busy packing, moving, unpacking, etc. I thought about posting a few pictures of the new place, but figured a video tour would be even better. It got a little long...but I hope you enjoy. We can't wait to have you all over sometime soon. Here it is!!

2009-10-24T11:24:00.000-07:00

Just a cute story....

I couple of days ago, I was headed to worship practice to meet Mike and was dropping Jack off at my mom's. He's been a lot more interested in singing lately so I was singing the oldie..."God is so Good." He mainly listened and sang a couple of "good's" with me. After the song he said, "Love God. Love God. Helps Me. Perfect. Church. Tunnel." So I think we may have lost him at "tunnel," but it was so sweet to hear. Just made me excited for when he gets to understand more and more about how much God loves Him!

And onto a random picture...here is my messy boy enjoying a new favorite of banana and peanut butter. He's a pretty happy kid.

2009-10-12T19:49:00.000-07:00

This one is for Mike! What a classy outfit our boy is in. I especially love it when he figures out where you are. :) We miss ya babe! Jack prayed for you before bed along with raisins. What a funny kid.

2009-09-16T13:55:00.000-07:00

Jack had a great day today enjoying the company of little Bella. What a cutie! Here are a few pics from the fun.

Having fun playing together

I asked Jack if he wanted to give Bella a kiss and here is the lean in....

and the gentlemanly kiss on the cheek. Not the best angle, but you get the idea. :)

And now all I hear is Bella, Bella, Bella. Jack loves to say her name. He just woke up from his nap and as I went in to get him- guess what he said in his sleepy state?? You got it-"Bella!"

Can't wait for the next visit.

2009-09-12T19:10:00.000-07:00

I guess we don't take any pictures in our backyard. If you have seen us at our most vulnerable, you know why. I've basically been ignoring it for the last 3 years. Sure, when the weeds get to waist level (I'm not kidding) I spend a few hours hacking them down, but I've always delayed my plans for landscaping. Something else has always taken priority, and the backyard stayed a jungle! A couple of weeks ago, I finally got inspired, and Jim volunteered to help me get the project going. We spent most of the day digging, leveling and troubleshooting ways to mitigate the water that pours onto our property when the neighbor's drain clogs.

I had plans to continue the project today, and my dad said he would love to come help me, and boy, we got a lot done. It sure helped to have his truck and his recent experince putting in some terracing and pathways in his own yard. The extra shovel and rake didn't hurt either. After about 8 hours, this is the current look in my backyard. Much improved, and I'd be proud to show any of you the backyard next time you're over, intead of closing the curtains and hoping you don't look outside!

Of course, I never remember to take true "before" pictures, so here are a few "in process" pictures:

We finished the terracing, and I'm going to put some barkdust and plants up in the box.

Probably some colorful plants (maybe a Hydrangea for my mom to harvest) here in the back corner.

The whole yard used to slope toward the house (which complicated things when the neighbor's lake got too full). So we graded away from the house, so for now at least the water will settle six feet away instead of up against the foundation. Then the gravel makes a nice level look when you enter the backyard.

Jack decided to help me clean up. Thanks buddy!

Since I don't get around to posting often, here's another picture of my Baby (and my baby) from our anniversary weekend to downtown Portland last weekend. Normally she doesn't let me post pictures of her belly (without a shirt over it), but I told her how beautiful she was and bartered with the picture of me you see below. I'm not proud, but it was worth it to show off my gorgeous pregnant wife!!

Tada! This is what happens when Becky gets behind the camera.

One more of my Jack for kicks. This is day one people! Can't believe how quickly it has gone.

2009-09-06T19:38:00.000-07:00

Okay, I've been a slacker about posting pictures of pregnancy #2. This doesn't make up for it, but...what a hot momma!!

2009-09-02T14:54:00.000-07:00

Jack got a fun surprise before his nap today. I captured some of it on video, but missed his initial, "bike,Bike, BIKE!" I didn't know it, but the Jagger/Thompson/Mamanina clan has been searching for a while for the perfect bike for Jack. It was so neat too because I was just saying yesterday how I couldn't wait to get one for him. He loves it, and as you can see from the video...always wants to make sure he has a helmet on with it. Safety first! (I couldn't find his fast enough so my helmet had to do for today). The best part- it fold up for easy storage and a certainly little girl I know will love using it someday too.

One happy biker!

2009-08-28T20:05:00.000-07:00

Jack and I had a great day watching Mike run his first leg in Hood 2 Coast. Eric came too and was nice enough to drive. I really enjoyed having another adult to chat with as we waited to cheer Mike on. Here are some pictures from our fun day. One quick funny story- I remembered that Mike was wearing a green shirt so we kept our eyes peeled for a green shirt coming our way. We saw one coming and got ready with our sign and camera and sure enough it was another green shirt guy. Then we saw another one headed our direction..surely it was Mike...he was even waving at us, so we waved back, took pics, had Jack posed with the "My Dad Rocks" sign and then realized- not Mike. Feeling a little embarrassed, Eric and I struck up a conversation as the impostor runner went on by. Suddenly we hear a, "Hey guys!?!" -to our surprise- we were totally wrong. It was Mike, and we had completely ignored him- oops. Somehow he had fooled us both with his headband disguise. Thankfully, we were able to explain ourselves later and got to see him at three other stops. It was a lot of fun and I'm so proud of how well he's doing. He has another run late tonight and one more tomorrow. Here are a few pictures from today..in reverse order.

In front of Mike's team van

His "green shirt buddy" who Mike ended up passing. Yes- it does seem obvious that he isn't Mike, but from a distance- you can see how we might be fooled.

a quick high-five

pointing out Mike to Jack

Jack feeling quite proud of his sign

a pic from the car as we drove by

2009-08-18T08:03:00.001-07:00

This past Monday was a great day! Mike and I celebrated 8 years of marriage together with a date night out-thanks mom and dad! We had dinner, went to a movie and watched a beautiful sunset together. It was so much fun and the best part is- we're celebrating more next month with a mini-trip to Portland made possible thanks to some Jack-sitting from the best in-laws ever! So we are certainly thankful, and as we reflected on our eight years together at dinner, we couldn't help but smile at how God has blessed us beyond what we ever imagined when we said I do. Now- I'm not just talking in each other...although we are pretty awesome :)...I mean at how He's provided for us with jobs, places to live, friends, family, a church we love....and the best part- our two amazing kids. Sure- I know we haven't officially met the girl coming, but we have a pretty good idea we won't be able to get enough of her. So as I wrap up this babbling I just have to say that if you're reading this, you are on the list of blessings we've been given so thank you and know that we love ya!

Now one of my favorite moments from this past week. Jack has been going nuts for guitars lately. Every time Mike gets his out, he want to play like Dada. So the other day, we busted out Mike's Ukulele....it doesn't get busted out very often people, but Jack was thrilled. Here is some video and a picture of his first lesson.

2009-08-05T19:32:00.000-07:00

We had a great trip to the coast last week with the Jagger fam. Nina, Poppie, Eric, Sarah, Ethan, Abby, Mike, Becky, Jack, and baby sister spend the week lounging in warm (for the beach) temperatures and escaping the nasty heat of the Valley. Woot! great timing. We played on the beach, played golf (just me and Eric), watched movies, ate great food, canoe'd (do you like the rhyme?), shopped (mostly the girls), met up with my sis and her kids, ran from the waves, splashed in the waves, roasted hot-dogs and smores, talked, laughed and had a great relaxing trip.

On the way, Jack discovered Becky's sunglasses and wanted to rock them every chance he got. This is his "yeah, I know I'm cool" face.

Jack loved all the time he got with Nina and Poppie.

We spent several hours canoeing up the creek on the north end of the Siletz (by Moe's) with Eric and Ethan. The boys did great!

Once we got back into the bay we were approached by some sea lions in the water. It was pretty neat to see them swimming about 20 feet from the boat.

Jack was obviously happy to be outside, just like his daddy. He loved playing in the sand and the wabbie (water).

It is virtually impossible to get two toddlers and a 3 year old to sit still and smile at the camera...but that doesn't stop us from trying. Even though nobody's looking at the lens, this is still a good pic of the three cousins!

A sweet little baby girl strolling down the beach!

Jack looks really old in this picture to me! I'm loving his curls even more lately. They're going nuts!

Of course, we have to put in the walking down the beach family shot. We've got such a happy little boy!

Jack, rocking the sunglasses again!

The house we stayed at fits us just perfectly. Jack even got his own "room".

Story time!

Two burrito cousins...

Jack and Abby got to ride in the canoe together too...I think Abby had more fun that her face is showing. this was a serious picture.

The beach was just awesome, and we couldn't have timed it any better!

Today the girls went blueberry picking with Poppie and Nina and the kids. According to Becky, Jack ate about 3 pounds of berries while he was filling up his bucket. I'm glad that diaper happend BEFORE I got home from work!

Ethan is showing Jack that all the good berries are just at the tip of your reach!

Way to pay attention, Jack!

Cutest berry-picker I've ever seen!

Cooling off after a hard day in the fields! I'll give you 1 guess who brought the matching alligator water bottles.

2009-07-23T21:33:00.001-07:00

And here is our baby girl! We sure love her!

Profile shot

Little feet

Being shy with her hand over her face. :)

2009-07-20T12:15:00.001-07:00

I have some picture catch up to do so here are a few to start. We went swimming a few weeks ago to cool off from this hot weather....here are a few of my favorites. Too bad Abby is so camera shy. :)

2009-07-06T15:10:00.000-07:00

...more to come from this weekend, but this is one of my favorite pictures. This is going to be a good picture to pull out when Jack and I summit Mt. Hood in 2025.

2009-06-26T20:27:00.000-07:00

Jack sure loves his cousin Sydney and wanted to wish her a happy 1st birthday!

2009-06-20T19:01:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post to share a few photos. Jack is looking sharp in an outfit from his Great Grandma Janice!

"Jack" wanted to play with shaving cream in the bathtub. Daddy did not say no.

At least he was concerned about decency.

One of these days, we'll do another content-rich post. That day is not today.

Have fun!

2009-06-07T17:40:00.000-07:00

Things have been a little busy in the Bunch household lately. We finished up our Spring Cousins' Closet Sale last weekend with about 100 consignors this time. We're tired, but it's always a lot of fun. Thanks to everyone that helped- Sarah and I could never have done it without you! Roy and Jo had Jack for three days, Jen and Naomi came for both sale days, Mom watched Ethan and Abby...bundled hangers...sorted donated items..everything under the sun, Gabrielle came to watch Ethan and Abby on Saturday, Kris was our point person at BCC who helped us organize everything, Leslie and Bob came early and late Saturday to help, Katie came Saturday to help out, Penny used her fast fingers to help checkout and then even stayed to clean, Eric and Mike put up signs..made racks...checked people out...helped multiple moms carry heavy items out...and really made everything possible, and so many others! Thanks you all! Here is how it all looked before the shoppers came:

On another note- we were able to finally greet little Wyatt Paul Marr that same weekend. What a cutie pie! Can't wait to hold him again.

And finally- the Bunch family is growing! We have Bunch baby #2 due to come Dec. 17...just before Jack's second birthday on the 20th. It will be another busy Christmas season, and we can't wait! We had our first ultrasound a couple of weeks ago and brought Jack along. I'll never forget- watching Mike holding Jack pointing at the screen saying, "that's the baby" and thinking back on how we were watching Jack on that screen not long ago. We knew we loved him from the start, but we had no idea how much he would capture our hearts...what a miracle that we get to experience all of that again.

Jack has been pretty cute since then...every time he sees the ultrasound printed pics he points and says, "baby." Oh how his life will change come December and we predict a great big brother in him.

2009-05-07T19:49:00.000-07:00

Okay...blog time for Mike! It seems like a lot's been happening around our house lately, so instead of lots of posts, I going to do one full of miscellany - thanks Brad for introducing me to the noun version. Becky covered Easter and the marathon (but I'm sure I'll have a few things to say about it), I'll fill in the gaps.

Okay, one more from Easter...this is my son. Sometimes we post pictures of him sitting still and smiling, but really...this is my son. Mouth full of food, squirming like crazy, and a mischevious little smile on his face. Man I love this kid.

A couple weeks ago, for Becky's birthday, her dear cousin Ana came for a surprise visit. I picked her up at the train station and we pulled into the driveway just as Becky was getting out of the car with Jack. She looked at us like "who is that woman with my husband?" But she quickly realized who it was and we had a great weekend together as an extended family. Ana is one of the most tender-hearted people I know and she and Beck have a special bond that is a joy to witness. Jack grew quite fond of her as well!

So I had a good-news, bad-news kind of day a while back. I found out that I got to golf with some guys from work on a Monday afternoon (good news). On the way to the golf course, I got pulled over in a school-zone (bad news)! I've been ticket-free and accident-free since I got my license - never even pulled over!!! I was pretty irritated at my lapse in focus. I planned my speech for the officer, and was ready to lay on the "I'm a good person" line (a la Stephanie), but he wasn't really interested in hearing it.

"License, please"

"Here you are, sir"

"Did you realize you went through a school zone"

"No sir, I didn't"

"Is this your first time here?"

"No sir, it's not."

"Okay, I'll be right with you."

5 minutes later (and one of my golf buddies driving by laughing), and the officer handed me the $335 ticket!! Luckily, I can go to traffic safety school and prevent the ticket from posting to my record. Guess how much traffic safety school costs...yup...$335. We almost go more bad news, because the class was scheduled for the weekend we're planning to visit Wenatchee. But the Judge was gracious and allowed me to reschedule...phew!

I told you about the foam bits from work that Jack has been enjoying...here's another fun picture to make you smile.

This picture is from a few months back when we visited the coast with my family. It's an old picture, but one of my favorites. I love my fam!!

We also got to spend some time at the coast with our dear friends a little more recently. There are other blogs floating around about it, so I'll just post this picture of Jim and me climbing a rock. That's all:

So, thanks to my sweet wife for the post about the marathon. It was indeed a great experience. I'm a little irritated that my old IT Band pain has come back and is stubbornly hanging on, but I'm praying its temporary and I can get back out on the road next week. We'll see. I think the most surprising thing is that even though the pain and exhaustion (especially in the last few miles) was very real during the run, when I think back, I get excited and remember the feeling of knowing that in spite of whatever I was feeling, I could get to the finish line. I wasn't thinking "oh this is terrible, get me to the end." I was thinking "this is fantastic...with each step, I'm getting closer and closer to my goal." It was a good feeling (although I made some funny noises when my quads would cramp or my knee would lock up). Crazy enough...it makes me want to do another one. But that doesn't surprise you, I'm sure. Becky posted some nice pictures of the race, but here's how my body really felt at the end:

Well, today, we got to experience Jack's second trip to the ER!! Praise God it was much less of an experience than the first round. Just as he does a hundred times a day, Jack got moving pretty quickly and tripped up on the carpet, his shoes, his long jeans, his own feet...something and took a tumble. unfortunately, his forehead collided with the corner of a wall and split it open a bit. Becky called me at work and very calmly told me what had happend (good composure, mom!). We called the doctor, and they advised we go to the emergency room first. We decided Becky should just drive to the ER and I'd meet them there.

I arrived a few minutes ahead, but when they pulled up, I was glad to see that Jack was acting like himself and calling a cheerful "Dada...dada" like normal. Nina did a great job with the steri-strip, and once we got inside, they confirmed it was a pretty minor injury. they said we did the right thing by bringing him in, and they put on some really expensive super-glue and a really expensive band-aid and sent us home. Of course, the worst part for Jack was being held still...but that's my kiddo. Here's his battle wound all patched up.

2009-05-05T12:30:00.000-07:00

For those of you who haven't heard how awesome my husband is...let me tell you- he's amazing! This past weekend- he ran a marathon! That's right...a marathon, and Jack and I got to cheer him on. We were and are so proud of him. The race was in Northern California at the Avenue of the Giants. We made a quick trip of it by leaving early Saturday morning and arriving back home late Sunday night. Does that sounds crazy? It was, but totally worth it. Jack was a great traveler. It certainly helped that he was entertained by Uncle Jim and Uncle Trent who also ran the marathon, and the DVD player we borrowed from Carson and Sydney certainly came in handy on the drive home.

So I'm sure Mike will post more on the details of the actual race, but here are a few highlights from the trip.

First of all- I've always loved the men that Mike has surrounding him, but this was certainly a much closer look than I've gotten before (We missed you Eric- the guys sure felt your support even though you couldn't be there ). I learned a few things about these boys..some I already knew, but it was nice to be reminded:

1) They're really funny! I found myself laughing a lot- even had tears one time- the good kind!
2)These men love meat...sausage, bacon...really any kind. They get downright giddy when they talk about it. Jim found a tiny piece of sausage hiding under his toast after eating his meat lovers omelet Sat. night and the joy expressed by all was quite impressive.
3) They love their families. After the race- they kept talking about how thinking of their families helped them going during the more difficult parts of the run and how they couldn't wait to see them when they got home.

4) They are willing to hang out in a lame hotel lobby for an hour just to make sure a certain boy named Jack gets to sleep.

5) They are self sacrificing. Jim drove the entire way there and back!

6) They aren't fans of unsalted peanuts! I really thought they were salted- oops!

7) Trent's dream meal would include a double whopper from BK and chili cheese Frito's.

8) I think they secretly liked it when I played the Wiggles for Jack. They won't admit it, but I saw some head bobbin' and toe tappin' taking place during the songs. :)
9) They really look out for each other and don't tell them I said this, but they're really thoughtful guys. They sure made me feel included this weekend and looked out for us. I'm so glad that we got to tag along.

...so I could go on, but onto the pictures and video...

Before the race

The start of the race

Half way there

Waiting for the big finish!

Crossing the Finish line!

You...yeah you...I just killed this marathon...bring on the next one!

The drive back home

Now don't you just feel like you were there!

2009-04-30T17:54:00.001-07:00

One of my job roles is to manage our custom logo golf ball facility. Some customers buy special packaging for the golf balls. We offer a 6-ball display that comes in a small box with a foam insert to display the golf balls. The foam comes with the holes (a la "donut holes") still in. So our facility punches out hundreds of these foam cylinders that are wasted...not any more!

Notice the stealth filmography. Once the subject spots the camera, all bets are off. We started small, but now have three huge bags of this stuff...here's a cute picture from the first day we played with the foam.

Last week, I enjoyed a rare moment...Jack was actually tired enough to sleep on me. Becky got him from his nap (he was about to sleep through dinner) and brought him to me on the couch (where I was about to sleep through dinner).

He was so tired that I flipped him over and he still wouldn't wake up. Finally, we offered him some food and he forced himself awake.

Two sleepy Bunch boys:

2009-04-16T14:48:00.001-07:00

We had a blessed Easter! Here are a few more pics from the day.

2009-04-12T21:25:00.001-07:00

wow...I must be getting old. It's 9:30 and it seems like midnight. So...not much talk...just a fun picture from today.

2009-03-31T18:55:00.000-07:00

Well we've been seriously derelict in posting anything on the blog. Whoopsie! Anyway, we've been having tons of fun with Jack lately. He's getting more expressive, adventurous, verbal, hungry...and many other adjectives...

Thanks to Nina, Jack got to play with his first helium balloon this evening...and yes, I misspelled balloon in the video. I'm too lazy to fix it. enjoy!

Jack has been learning to feed himself with a spoon and/or fork. Some meals are cleaner than others. Becky (obviously not hurrying off anywhere this day) let Jack try his skills on a bowl of oatmeal. Enthusiastic for sure...but I just noticed the spoon is upside down.

In other news, Jack loves him some bath time. Regardless of the time of day, the novelty of his current plaything, or his mood, the words "Jack, do you want to take a bath?" cause him to drop everything (sometimes literally) and speed off to the tub. This particular time, I decided to see if the magic words would snap him out of the fussy mood he was in. It worked, and mom and dad got a good laugh at his expense.

Everything turned out okay...

2009-03-10T16:28:00.000-07:00

Jack has been talking a lot lately and we love it! Here is a video from about a month ago when he was working on a few names.

2009-02-20T08:19:00.000-08:00

I'll admit that I'm not the best at participating in "tags" so I'm sure this may come as a shock to those who may have previously tagged me, given me a chain letter, passed on amish friendship bread....you get the idea, but I'm following through on this one! Since this one was simple-just post the 4th photo in your 4th picture folder, I decided I could take the plunge. Then my indecisiveness came into play....4th from the top...4th from the bottom...what to do? I had almost decided to forget the whole thing and then I took a peek at what picture was 4th from the top.....as you can see- it won me over. So without further delay...4th from the top:

2009-02-11T13:56:00.000-08:00

Happy 1st Birthday to the adorable Abigail Grace! We love you!

2009-01-18T15:41:00.000-08:00

Well, the holiday weekend is far from over, but I thought I'd better get this blog post in this afternoon. The Posenjaks are on their way down, and if I wait till after their visit, I'll have way to much to blog about! So...that post to come next weekend...

Anyway, Friday after work, Becky, Jack and I headed out to Astoria to stay in a yurt at Ft. Stevens. We sure lucked out on the weather. 55 and sunny both days...pretty unusual for an Oregon Coast weekend in January. We definitely took advantage of it.

The yurt was perfect for Jack. He had plenty of room to play and we weren't worried about him wandering off. Apparently, he thinks he is hot stuff....

Jack is a constant wiggle-worm, and its a little difficult to get a pic of him sitting still. But sometimes I like they way they turn out.

We got to enjoy a nice fire both evenings.

Saturday morning we had breakfast burritos...one of my camping specialties...just ask Trent, Eric and Jim. After breakfast, I went for a run, so Becky pulled Jack along in the bike trailer to keep me company...they did great - 5 miles!

This is a pic of Jen and me at the wreck of the Peter Iredale sometime in 1987 or so.

It was fun to see the same spot 20 years later...and take my son with me!

Jack was more interested in watching the little doggies running around the beach than he was in posing for pictures with mom and dad.

We drove in to Astoria for dinner and some sightseeing on Saturday evening. I've always wanted to drive across the Astoria bridge, so we did! It's enormous. We got to Washington and then turned around and came back.

Becky and I are such nerds...we've gotten hooked on "The Deadliest Catch". Its a Discovery Channel show about crab fishing in Alaska. We're watching them back to back on DVD. We were driving around town, and stumbled across this boat docked in Astoria. It's the Aleutian Ballad - one of the boats featured in our show!! We had to get a picture. Appartenly, they've turned it into a crab-fishing tour boat, but it was awesome, nonetheless.

Jack enjoyed the drive around town, but spent most of it napping.

Today was another beautiful day, so we went for a bike ride - this time, I got to pull Jack. It was so nice out, we rode for about 2 hours, and visited some of the historic sites around the state park.

Some seriously steep stairs (talk about alliteration) with the Lewis & Clark batter in the background.

Becky and Jack keeping an eye out in the West Battery Command Station.

We were so fortunate to have nice weather, but it just accentuated how joyful we were to be spending time with one another. I'm a pretty blessed guy.

2009-01-11T19:18:00.000-08:00

Like Jim said, we drove up to Mt. Hood yesterday morning to play in the snow, and to give me my initiation into telemark skiing. Telemark is a style of skiing that utilizes a free heel binding system with a more flexible boot. Just as in cross-country skiing, only your toe is attached. But telemark skis are designed very much like downhill alpine skis. Because of the free heel, telemark skiing requires a telemark position for going downhill, which is basically a deep lunge. So lunging, back and forth down the mountain...sounds like fun, right? It's hard work! But, the benefit is, you can "tour" on telemark skis, just like on XC skis. By affixing climbing skins (think of them as one-way nylon carpet), you can actually ski UPHILL. Since we like to get outside so much, and lift tickets are expensive, telemarking is a great way to enjoy the sport. This really gives a new versatility to something that I absolutely love.

Here I am putting on my skins at the car. Yes, they are a very awesome purple. The skin-manufacturers put a glue on the skin that adheres the skin to the bottom of the ski, but still allows it to come off very easily when you want it to (at the top of the hill). There's a loop in the front, and a clip in the back which keep them in place all the way up.

Climbing up at the Timberline Lodge resort before the sunrise. We left town at 5 and were climbing at 7, so with the exception of a few climbers, we had the place to ourselves.

Looking up toward the summit of Mt. Hood.

Taking a picture of Jim...taking a picture of me.

We passed Silcox Hut and the top of the Magic Mile, and continued climbing above the groomed runs toward the top of the Palmer Chair for a while. But the snow got a bit too windblown and icy for my first time on tele gear, so we turned around and I (not-so-gracefully) made my way back down to the groomers. Jim looked good, but unfortunately...there's no video proof. Once we got to the groomers, I was getting more comfortable with the telemark position (my only practice had been in the living room at home), but sad to say, my quads were burnt! So it just got uglier and uglier. Jim caught a few of my turns on video. Nothing too pretty, but I was just glad I didn't get a facefull of snow or knock my teeth out on the tips of my skis.

If nothing else...enjoy the view of the mountain.

2009-01-08T17:56:00.000-08:00

***WARNING: MANY CAKE PICTURES TO FOLLOW***

Jack is now officially ONE! His birthday was Dec. 20, but because of the snow storm...we postponed our family celebration of it until this last weekend. Jack had a great time, and Mike and I felt especially blessed- thanking God for such amazing people that influence his life and encourage him as he grows...blessed that we get the honor of raising such a wonderful little guy, and blessed by the incredible joy he brings us each and every day.

A proud mom and dad....wearing our "golf attire" to go with his party theme.

The grandpas (AKA Poppie and Bapaw)

His party friends..minus Sydney and Nathan.

"Oooh...a hammer, son! You'll love it!"

The golf cake. You don't want to know how much frosting was used on that golf ball. Can you tell who daddy works for??

Eating the cake (I love that you can see Ethan's head poking into this shot....when cake comes out...kids come a runnin'!)

A taste of the frosting.

Confirmation that frosting is DELICIOUS and a move for the cake.

"I'll just try a little bit of that."

A very satisfied birthday boy!

A few other happy cake-eaters.

And just when you think I'm all out of cake pictures....here are a few more. Because we had to postpone his party, we thought it would be fun to give him a little treat on his actual birthday. My mom just happen to have a mini chocolate cake at her house she'd been gifted, and a few brave souls took on Arctic Blast '08 to help make it a special day.

Mom even decorated the cake just for Jack.

The boys watching Jack enjoy his cake and looking pretty excited about maybe getting a piece.

The boy likes his cake!

"Cake? What cake? I don't know what you're talking about."

2009-01-07T17:39:00.000-08:00

blah, blah, blah...should have posted more often...etc.

Here's Jack's first golf lesson! I gave him some pointers in the bedroom before we got the camera out. But he seems to have forgotten them by the time we got to the living room. He's got a really natural swing though...I do think he needs to hit the weights a little harder though if he wants to drive 'em 300+ by the time he's two.

We'll get a post of Jack's 1st birthday festivities sometime soon!

2008-12-19T18:41:00.001-08:00

****BEFORE YOU CLICK PLAY****

You've got to watch (or re-watch) this great video of Wes from March 2007...Wes was 2 years old.

Done? Okay. How funny is that!

Now please note the striking similarities in vocabulary and creativity between Brad's TWO-year-old and my ONE-year-old. Basically, Jack is a genius. A little one track minded...but still.

2008-12-18T16:29:00.000-08:00

Work shut down a little early yesterday...and then all the snow and ice melted. Good call!

But before it all went away, we spent a few minutes with Jack out in the white goodness. I pulled him around on the sled for a bit. He didn't seem to sure about it...he was in this position the entire time!

This is my favorite snow pic so far!

2008-12-16T09:47:00.000-08:00

I'm hoping to post some snow pictures soon...so far we just have some video of Jack face planting into the snow and crying (not the heart warming footage I was hoping for), but I found this fun series of Jack decorating the tree until then.

His first ornament...so exciting!

Finding just the right spot to put it

Realizing that you shouldn't give a ceramic ornament to a one year old and the results of taking it away.

Just so we end a little more happily...here he is very satisfied with some more child friendly ornaments. Phew!

2008-12-10T15:23:00.000-08:00

Since Mommy and Daddy have been a little slow in posting lately...I thought I'd do my own post. Things have been busy getting ready for Christmas and my birthday, but a few weeks ago we went to cut down our Christmas tree. It was a lot of fun.

Here I am ready to go (note Minky in my right hand Grandma JoJo. Mommy let me take him in the car, but I guess a tree farm isn't a great place for a Minky to go). Mommy and Daddy bundled me all up, but turns out it was a sunny day- so we ditched the coat and hat when we got there.

Aunt Sarah thought that if we took a picture at the beginning of the fun- we might be more cooperative for a picture. I like this one the best (it shows how cooperative we were).

Nina and Poppie came too.

Yeah, it was a really cool place. I ran all around, and it was funny to watch mommy and daddy chase me through the trees. Drool? What drool?"

Mommy and daddy were lucky I was there to help them find our tree. I knew right where to go.

Silly Mommy though she could cut down the tree. I was proud of her for trying, but it was pretty funny.

Daddy jumped in and I offered to help, but they weren't excited about me using the saw for some reason. Maybe next year.

After all of the fun, it was time to go home. Don't worry...I've been helping mommy decorate the tree- everyday I rearrange the ornaments for her so it looks its best. I love Christmas!

2008-11-23T19:38:00.000-08:00

I got lucky enough to capture this impromptu moment tonight between my wife and her baby boy. The camera angle was not intentional, just incidental. But as I recorded, I realized that I didn't even need to see their faces to experience the joy that they were sharing. I'm blessed to see this relationship in action every day, and this candid moment just gave me a deeper appreciation for the gift of being a husband and father. For those of you who also love Becky and Jack:

2008-11-22T20:30:00.000-08:00

Our joy...

2008-11-19T09:41:00.001-08:00

It's no surprise to anyone who knows me...but I am a competitive person. I'm sure it's obnoxious from time to time, but I always want to do well at whatever I'm doing. Ever since my last Nike+ competition ended, my running has tapered down to once a week or so. It surprised me how quickly my motivation waned in the absence of external pressure...hmmm...I guess maybe I don't love running as much as I love competing. So with this knowledge, I joined another challenge with my friends at work. We've got a 44 day timeline (yesterday through New Years Day) and a goal to pack in as many miles as possible.

Since the competition spans Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years, I named it the New-chris-murkey-trot. And, of course, had to design a little mascot!

It's going to be interesting, since the weather is turning here in Oregon, and I'm not a fan of running on a treadmill. But I guess with the proper motivation, I'll be able to keep it up!

2008-11-11T19:46:00.000-08:00

As usual, we had a great visit in Wenatchee last weekend. I took a few days off, so we really got to stretch out our time. I guess I was having too much fun and didn't get the camera out much, but I did get a few.

Brad and I went on a quick hike, right out the front door. 30 minutes later, and this is the view. How cool is that.

On the way up the hill.

Jack had a great time playing with the boys. It was sure fun to see him up on his feet interacting with the big kids. He seems a lot older than 11 months to us. Special shout out to Elliott, Wesley and Spencer for playing so well with Jack. They did a great job of looking out for him!

Of course, the weekend was FULL of Wii time. We had some special bowling moments, but luckily, this time, Brad didn't hurt his arm.

I'm sure the Bjournal will have some updates soon as well!

2008-11-01T08:42:00.000-07:00

Here's our little monkey (thanks for sharing your costume Ethan)! We had a great time last night having pizza at mom and dad's house and then heading to BCC's Harvest Party. We've gone before with all the kids, but it was sure fun to have our own guy to take this year. We even managed to get them all on the couch for a little picture. We missed the pictures with Sydney the peapod and Abigail the bunny- they were both adorable- so head to Jen or Sarah's blog soon for some pics.

2008-10-28T17:49:00.000-07:00

Jack has made a shift in the last week. Instead of crawling all the time with a few steps in between, now he walks almost 100% of the time when he needs to get somewhere. He's really good at getting up, he doesn't even use his hands most of the time. Here's a little video of the new skillz...plus his current favorite phrase, which is "ducka-ducka-ducka-ducka."

2008-10-24T20:03:00.000-07:00

The girl's Cousins' Closet sale is a big hit! They've had 2 days of selling now, and are getting tons of traffic. They're making a lot of money for a lot of moms...its really cool. We're expecting a big crowd tomorrow for the final day...mostly because KGW Newschannel 8 came out and did a story on them today! Jen called me and left a message and said, "Channel 8 is here and they're interviewing your wife!" Crazy!

Here's the story:

I'm so proud of the girls! They quadrupled the size of their business since the summer sale and have done a great job organizing the whole thing. We've had some amazing help from friends and family...shout out to Nina, Jen, JoJo, Steph, Katie!

Oh yeah...and our last name is Bunch...not Brunch. At least they spelled it right.

Oh yeah...and how about that lady who tripped...so sad.

2008-10-21T19:40:00.000-07:00

We've been a little wrapped up in the girls' Cousin's Closet prep, so haven't had much time to blog. Still don't, so this is short, but thought I should at least get a few pics up!

Last Saturday we had a great trip to the "Punkamin Patch" for the Thompson's 10th annual Harvest Party!

Jack got his first introduction to chicks (the furry almost-chicken kind). We were a little scared he would go all Lenny from Of Mice and Men on them, so we supervised carefully. Steph endured some chicken pee on her hands for the whole thing...thanks Steph!

Jack loves his Grandma JoJo!

Bapaw and Jack checking out the patch on the hay ride.

Don't worry Dad, I got these two!

2008-10-13T19:53:00.000-07:00

This Sunday, I headed down to the nursery to pick up Jack and as soon as I got there the workers were shouting, "Jack walked across the nursery!" They also informed me that he was stealing graham crackers from the other kids....oh dear! Now we have a walking, graham cracker stealing boy on our hands and we couldn't be more proud of him. Here's some video of Jack's progression into walking. The first part is from early last month when he was just at one or two steps, the middle is from a couple of days ago, and the last part is from today.

2008-10-05T18:37:00.000-07:00

...the Bunch Bunch

2008-09-23T22:26:00.000-07:00

Becky and I decided to paint the bathroom a while ago. At work the other day, I got the inspiration to take out this nasty old heater that we never use, since it's basically just an eyesore and temptation for Jack to play with.

I did all my research on how to deal with the electricity, how to put up the new drywall and finish off the project. Then I went to Home Depot. A couple days later, we've got a clean, painted wall with no evidence of the ugly heater! I'm very proud this is the most complicated home-improvement project that I've tackled.

I forgot to take a picture of the joint compound/drying stage. I hope you'll forgive me.

2008-09-19T20:49:00.000-07:00

sleepy baby!

2008-09-16T20:21:00.000-07:00

So...after the avocado picture, we realized Jack's hair (although cute) was getting a little out of control :-) We love the curls, but they were getting a bit too long. Today we decided to give him his first haircut (we're not counting the rat-tail that we cut off when he was 2 months old).

Here's the before:

the during:

and the after:

...by the way, you can see Jack's first tooth in the last picture.

...and by the way Steph and Sarah, Becky has already had a few tears :-)

2008-09-15T13:39:00.000-07:00

Avocado Anyone??

2008-09-08T19:41:00.000-07:00

Jack had a busy play date yesterday, and it apparently wiped him out. I was working away at the computer- getting ready for our Cousins' Closet sale and I looked back to find this:

When I said something to wake him up, it just startled him enough to move and turn on the animal sounds and lights on his jumper- didn't phase him a bit!

Later...I was trying to feed him dinner and just at his last bite of carrots this happened:

We decided it was a day to head to bed a little early.

2008-09-04T20:27:00.001-07:00

:::::EDITED BY AUTHOR:::::

Boy - I was TOTALLY WRONG! That's not Steph. But I'll bet if she donned Treky makeup and hair, she'd look just like that!

:::::

For those of you who don't visit the world of Facebook...I just had to share this with you. Yes, folks...this is Stephanie Marr.

that is all, Peaby.

2008-09-02T19:30:00.000-07:00

As Jim blogged, we had a great 4 day / 3 night backpacking trip leading up to Labor Day weekend. We tackled a few tough hikes, but reaped the rewards of solitude, natural beauty, and accomplishment. Seriously, this was one of the most perfect backpacking trips I've been on. Even the sprinkles in the night on Friday were just light enough to be pleasant. I took my friend Kristen's awesome wide-angle lens with me, and I seemed to develop a pattern in my shooting. I'm glad Jim and Jason had cameras too, otherwise all the photgraphic record of this trip would be:

Lake 1:

Self Portrait 1:
Lake 2:
Self Portrait 2:
Lake 3:
Self Portrait 3:

2008-08-30T06:56:00.000-07:00

It's been a fun few days. Mike is out of town backpacking (we miss him) so Jack and I have been keeping busy. Wednesday night was the kickoff for choir at church, Thursday we spent some time shopping with my mom and I got to hang out with Henry that evening (what a cutie), and yesterday we got together with some friends to go swimming. It ended up being quite an adventure with a padlocked pool, 5 kids in swim diapers that only hold so much, and the hot sun beating down. Are you picturing the scene? There is just no turning back once you get kiddos pumped up for the pool so thankfully we found some fellow swim enthusiasts, made a phone call, and were able to get into the pool with it all to ourselves. It ended up being a great memory and a good lesson in determination. Today our adventure lies in berry picking. I've wanted to go all summer and today is the day. Since I didn't take any swim pictures for you...you can rest assured I will be taking berry pictures- you don't even have to tell me...I know you were hoping I would.

So with the hope of berry pictures to come, I leave you with some pictures taken last month of Jack enjoying the sand for the first time. They were from our annual beach trip with the Posenjak gang. We had a great time and miss them already.

Getting ready to dig into the sand...

Mom's best attempt at stopping the eating of sand...

that obviously failed....

Some very sandy feet....

2008-08-21T14:27:00.000-07:00

So here it is...my first blog post. I have enjoyed the benefits of simply visiting my favorite blogs without having to do any of the work, but my time has come. I can't promise I will be a consistent blogger, so bumming off of my hubby's site seemed a good place to start- plus THE BUNCH BUNCH....I mean does it get any cuter than that. :)

Some might be asking themselves...what inspired this decision to blog??? I'm sure you've figured me out, but my big inspiration - my boy Jack. We get to hang out everyday and the idea of sharing more pictures and video of him (in addition to the ones my wonderful husband shares)...well a mom can never get enough. So if you were thinking you would be getting your knot-tying instructions here - you will be very disappointed (sorry Jen, but because I love ya...here is a website you can check out for all of your knot-tying needs http//www.realknots.com/knots/index.htm. You can tie your shoes extra fancy and people will be amazed!). So if you're into hearing more about the Bunch fam - this is the place for you. And now....

...onto the fun. Jack has been talking a lot lately. Here is some video of him talking with his cheerios. Sorry it's a little long..I'm working on my video editing skills.

2008-08-21T10:08:00.000-07:00

Well...as you can see, there's been a coup! The title mmm...Peaby has been usurped! theBunchBunch has taken over this blogdom!

But don't worry, you'll still be exposed to the random thoughts and feelings of Peaby...but now you'll also be getting wonderful insights, knot-tying instruction, political exposition, box score analysis, and NASCAR highlights from Becky! Actually, she'll probably leave out the NASCAR stuff and instead post pictures and stories about JACK!

Stay tuned for her first post! (hint, hint, Becky)

Peaby

2008-08-20T17:39:00.000-07:00

This is my photo-tribute to my sister-in-law and brother-in-law. So many good times...today I ran across a few pictures from the old days, and could not miss the opportunity to share them.

...AND my personal favorite!

2008-08-19T18:42:00.000-07:00

johnny loves his big beef and cheddar! and getting spikey hair-do's courtesy of daddy!

2008-08-14T22:36:00.000-07:00

Probably the most random blog I've ever posted.

This is the moon over Beaverton from last night.

This is...I don't know...

2008-08-10T19:46:00.000-07:00

Part two of my vacation was our annual trip to Still Creek Campground on Mt. Hood. We load up the whole gang for a weekend of fun in the sun (and sometimes rain). Normally around July 4th weekend, this year we postponed to welcome Sydney instead. And Jen was brave enough to pack her up and bring her along this year too...so we were complete! Unfortunately, I have to go back to work tomorrow, so I'll spend a few more minutes reveling in my time off with these pictures...also for your enjoyment.

Of course, I had to take a few "nature" shots in the midst of all of the beautiful people.

Jack and his beautiful mommy.

Me and my little camper!

Jim and Trent...taking a bath together after their jog in the woods. I don't write the jokes, people.

Bunch / Bunch

Jack's cousin's playing peek-a-boo with our little guy.

The girls!

The boys!

4 families that look a lot different than they did 3 years ago at this campout!

2008-08-05T18:16:00.000-07:00

...and one more, just because I love this shot!

2008-08-05T18:07:00.000-07:00

We've been at the beach for a week now, and it's awesome...It's been full of great things: walks on the beach, riding bikes with Becky and Jack, playing at the park with Ethan, cards with Abby, naps, a couple of long runs in the cool mist, family dinners, feeding the horses, a hike to a beautiful coastal waterfall with a 200 ft high suspension bridge, and much more! Here are a few pictures that represent our great week.

2008-07-26T14:26:00.000-07:00

Eric wanted this hot dog so bad that he chomped down on it at light speed. I'm just lucky that my camera was fast enough to capture it.

2008-07-18T10:29:00.001-07:00

My beautiful Becky and our chubber-dubber Jack with his multiple chins. The boy is loving his food. I love this picture.

2008-07-08T17:57:00.000-07:00

hehe...

2008-07-07T22:34:00.000-07:00

I'm in California for a couple days for work. I miss my family terribly! Jack is growing so fast and it seems like every day he's doing something new. Even though he's been able to sit up for quite a while now, he's never seemed too interested in sitting still. Just in the last few days, he's really started to find pleasure in sitting. I've even walked in to get him up from a nap a few times to find him sitting up straight in the middle of his crib. Anyway...because he's been holding his head up since he was 3 weeks old, and he's now sitting so well, I'm getting excited about the possibility of taking him in the bike trailer. I want to make sure he's safe, so we're not quite ready to pull the trigger, but we thought we'd get prepared. Becky sent this to my phone while I was in the middle of a meeting tonight. Just what I needed!

2008-07-02T15:45:00.000-07:00

This last weekend, I ran in the 10 mile Cape Mountain Trail Run. Between the 4 of us (Trent, Jim, Eric, and myself) we've run the CMTR 11 times in the last 4 years. I didn't run it last year because I was having knee issues...and I really missed it! Since I started feeling good again, I've had my sights on this race. I don't so much "race" it as I "survive" it. But it's a great atmosphere (family supported fundraiser for Siuslaw HS runners), and now it's a tradition!

Jim and Steph were so kind to come and sit around for 2 hours while I was out on the trail...but I know Becky and Jack were glad for the company.

I finished within my goal (under 2 hours), and although I think I could have shaved a few more minutes off my time, I'm very happy that I did well and ran pain-free. Here I am just a hundred yards from the finish. Thanks Steph and Jim for the pics (I stole them from Steph's blog).

All sweaty and tired...my wife keeping her distance...

Jack got his first taste of peas at the coast, and although he looks completely shocked in this picture, I think he liked them. But he likes all food so far, so no surprise there.

2008-07-02T13:23:00.000-07:00

Well...the Nike+ "last 5 runs" feature is not working properly for some reason, so instead I added a widget displaying the Nike+ challenge that I'm currently participating in. I and a few of my friends from work decided to race to 300 miles. The losing team has to buy lunch for the other team at Chang's Mongolian Grill! It's Jill Harris and Kristen Budz (hence the name Harry Budz) against me and Annalee Bird (hence the name Bunch o' Birdies). At the time of this posting, Anna and I are 1.51 miles behind. But I forsee a huge comback in the near future!

2008-06-26T20:36:00.001-07:00

girls, girls, girls!

I guess that's probably a misleading title. But after all the boys in our circle, we've now had 2 beautiful baby girls join the crew. Today my sister gave birth to a darling Sydney Paige Tompkins. I don't know all the stats because I'm a guy, but she's healthy and beautiful. Here are a few pictures of Syd on her birthday.

2008-06-22T20:50:00.000-07:00

In addition to Jack's new propensity for climbing things (see previous post), he's also decided to start making a funny spit/tongue-rolly/zerbert noise. I tried to capture in on camera and thought I'd show off some of the bloopers. For those of you who comment that Jack is smiling in every picture, these are the shots I don't usually put up :-)

Here's the winner! zerbert in action...

2008-06-22T16:58:00.000-07:00

Well...it's been a bit, but as a followup to the post below, Jack is moving like crazy now. He crawls very efficiently now, and can pretty much get to anything he wants. Which leads to this. I was getting ready for a run this afternoon (see my Nike + widget to the right, by the way) and looked over to see this:

I couldn't believe it! He was pretty proud of himself and kept climbing back up as soon as we brough him down. The best part is how happy he gets when he's "standing up". He starts babbling and blowing spit bubbles...the kid wants to grow up. His parents would be okay if he slowed down just a bit...

2008-06-13T16:57:00.000-07:00

Look out! Here I come! Jack crawled a couple days ago for the first time, and we just got it on video this afternoon. The kid is MOBILE and we have a lot of baby-proofing to do!