October Fun and Jeremy's Deer

 

October has been a great month full of fun :-) We had several visitors.. and are finally feeling settled and starting to get to just enjoy our house!

 

Jeremy's cousin Angela and her husband came for a weekend, but I didn't get any pictures.... Connor and Teagan had a good time together, it was awesome to spend some "girl time" with Angela and the boys (husbands) had a fun day hunting. (well it was more of a hike in the end)

 

My best friend Suzanne came for a long weekend with her kiddos and we had a TON of fun ! :-) Our kids get along great and its always fun to spend time with such a good friend!!

 

We carved pumpkins (Kinley is just like Connor, they love tools!):

 

 Connor and Kalia made their own MiniMurph Pizza's:

 



We baked.... a lot :-) the kids enjoyed decorating their cupcakes:

 



We played with Suzannes new "pumpkin gutter"... Jeremy and Suzanne got a kick out of watching the pregnant lady using it... ha ha:

 



Great Friends... Good times:

My little fighter pilot  was a big help!

They will be great buddies!! Connor and Kinley have such similar personalities it was fun seeing them together!!

Daddy and his buddy:

I used a drill to carve pumpkins this year.. It was a mess but they turned out pretty cool.. Connor was helping me clean out the design after the holes were drilled:

 



We try not to use the computer/movies/screen time any more than we have to.. but we couldn't help take a picture of how mesmerized all three of them were:

 



We have our own private kiddy band :-) They were very impressive!! (I somehow lost the video which is SOOO disappointing as it was straight up CUTE!!! If I find it i'll post it later)

 



When it was time for Suzanne and the kids to head home, we drove with them as far as Leavenworth and went to Smallwood Farms for some Fall Fun.... Feeding the goats was a big hit:

Notice the goat up top.. they filled a bucket with grain and hoisted it up to the goat, pretty clever idea really :-):

Feeding a donkey:

Swinging is always a hit:

Baby bump... about 26 weeks

I started feeling really crummy just before Halloween, between having a horrible cold and realizing I was having an arthritis flare! My wonderful mom could tell I needed a little help, and maybe just some mommy time so she came to Omak for a long weekend. I picked her up in Wenatchee after my appointment with my Rheumatologist to figure out a course of action. I tried to avoid taking any medications for my RA with this pregnancy (something like 90% of women go into remission with pregnancy, then don't flare until several months after baby is born, so that's what I was hoping for... but it didn't happen, although I feel pretty good making it  6 months without anything) We decided that it would best to start on the only thing that is "safe" during pregnancy and nursing (takes 3 months to start doing much though) that way I can hopefully extend nursing to as long as I want without having to take the stronger meds which would force me to switch to formula :-(

 

When mom was here we went up North to Oroville to take Connor trick or treating the local businesses with a good friend and her kids. Connor had a great time :-) He was a little shy, but really liked his loot!

 

I thought this was the most hilarious candy bowl of any of the stores (it was at a hardware store :-)

"Iceman"... from top gun :-) He is looking so much like a preschooler these days! Weighs in at 41 lbs too!! so he's still a BIG Boy :-) wearing 4T Clothes, major chatter box, who will still "play trucks" any day, any time!

Posing at the park after we finished trick or treating:

 

Leaf fight with mom... watch out!:

Early on in the pregnancy I bought a few pairs of scrubs as I knew I would want something comfy that would fit the whole 9 months, so for Halloween I dressed up as Dr. Mom....a little corny but it worked:



Connor and Nana swinging at the park:

On the way home we stopped by Grancy's for a quick hug and trick or treating before she left for meeting:

All in all it was a successful Halloween, we are still slowly eating away at the candy... allowing a piece or two a day to disappear...and of course mom and dad have snuck a few too :-)

Jeremy had a late season permit for a whitetail buck, he didn't really expect to get a big one, was more just looking for something to fill the freezer for the winter, but then he got a pleasant surprise when this big guy came walking by his blind.... so now we are looking for a spot in the house to hang another whitetail buck! :-)

Connor checking out his dady's "biiiig buck"

 
We decided to try do 100% of the meat prep this year, grinding the burger, cutting the steaks, wrapping etc. It was a LOT of work, and we may not do it all again next time, but it was a great "family bonding experience" Connor even got in on the action :-) He's a BIG helper!

Daddy cleaning and trimming... proud to be "bringing home the meat":

I did help too :-) I just didn't take any photos of myself... I enjoyed testing my KitchenAid Mixer Grinder attachment out :-) about 35 lbs of ground venison definitely put it to the test! Here are a few of the packages we now have in the freezer... got steaks, roasts, stir fry meat and lots of ground! Between this, the deer he'll get in Montana (no pressure :-), and what we had leftover from the elk, venison and beef we bought last year.... we are definitely not going to go hungry this winter!

 

 

We are heading out this week for our usual Jeremy goes hunting, Nicole goes to Boise, then Jeremy meets back in Boise for Thanksgiving... tradition. We should have lots of pictures to

 post after that as we are celebrating my Grandpa Cable's 80th birthday with the whole family, seeing Papa's finished plane for the first time, Thanksgiving and Jeremy's Montana Hunt.... So until then, Happy Turkey Day (and Black Friday shopping... seems like that should be it's own Holiday... I've done the crazy early mornings the past few years, but think I will pass this year.. We are doing all of our Christmas gifts homemade big job, but very rewarding and more meaningful... so avoiding the stores will be a goal of mine while I'm in Boise :-)



6 month ReCap

Hello, I am Nicole and this is the blog of Jeremy, Nicole and Connor (I thought i'd re-introduce myself since it's been so long!)
 

So I'm going to just do a quick recap of the past.... 6 months... so March-Sept.... I just need them on here for memory sake, so i'll just put a quick blurb with each photo.. then hopefully I'll try to stay caught up from here on out. It is amazing how busy we were during the construction.... I look back and it was such a whirlwind! I didn't even take that many pictures, and I even lost some GRR.. so i vow here and now to do better now that we are starting to settle into the new house and getting back to somewhat of a routine.

Connors 2nd Birthday Party in Boise. In attendance was Connor, Mom, Dad, Nana Shelly, Papa Kevin, GG Verleen, GGPa Clancy. Had dinner and cake and ice cream, all to an airplane theme!

We lived with Jeremy's Mom from Christmas until July, I didn't get near enough photos of us there, but this is one I loved... They could have nearly hand fed the deer!

Back to Boise to pick up flooring and to see my Grandpa Don Yagues who was starting kemo and radiation for lung cancer. My cousin Shera and her daughter were there for Easter, so it was a very nice Yagues Family weekend.

Connor and Uncle Brian painting airplanes before we left for Idaho Falls.

Connor and Paiyten are about 6 months apart in age (Connor is older) we let them dye easter eggs.. which was a MESS, but SOO much fun :-)

Grandpa Don and TJ (Tiny Jaws.. because he was supposed to be a small lap size puggle... he thinks he's the size of a lap dog, but he weighs almost as much as their last German Shepherd!) 

This is the "after Easter candy" sugar high .... yeah they were wound up!

We attended the local Idaho Falls Easter Egg hunt, it was a total disaster! Paiyten and Connor were both so excited, but there were hundreds of parents who were more anxious to pick up the silly plastic candy filled eggs, that they ran in with their kids, and it became a hazard! I think our kids only got 1 or 2 eggs each before we just picked them up for safety... o well, playing in the park and spending time with family was still fun :-)

Another shot from Nancys.. Connor assisting Daddy with the arrows

 

A few of Connors "2 year old photos"

May

We found out we would be expecting baby #2... here's how we announced it at about 11 weeks (we announced it in July)

 



From May to July we basically worked on our house. We were able to get most of Chelan Convention in June as well.

When we were living with Nancy we took all the dogs (4 of them, our 2 and her 2 puppies) to Green Lake to swim and let Connor play... Everyone had a blast, but it was truly our own personal circus!!Here are a few photos from it:

These are photos of us working on the house...

 

Nicole's Dad built all of our metal railing (over 120 feet of it!) in Boise, then we UHauled it to Omak. In April, on their way back from a road trip, Kevin & Shelly, and their good friends Gary & Cyndie (from Hawaii) and Cora and Barney (also from Hawaii) stopped in Omak to help on the house and so Dad could install the railing.... It is BEAUTIFUL!! and very durable :-) WE LOVE IT!! A center piece for our home! Thanks everyone who came and helped!

Papa Kevin and Daddy working on the stair railing:

Connor helping Dad caulk the siding :-)

Connor marking the next cut for Tile Underlayment

Nicole's cousin Kenny Cable from Texas came to Omak for almost 2 weeks to help us with the tile work... If it weren't for him we never would have completed our dream shower, or gotten as far as we did in all the other rooms. We put in LONG days when Kenny was here.. usually between 10-14 hr, but it was SOOO worth it!! We can't thank Kenny enough for all his help!!



Connor and Nana staining the Pine for our master roof and deck roofs... this is the smile he gives now when you say "smile"...

Priceless....

Our family on the stairs... didn't even know we had family member #4 in this one when we took it :-)

 

We moved from Nancy's to the house in July.. we were shooting for an anniversary move in (July 7th...) but didn't quite make it, but non-the-less we are officially moved in...there is still plenty of work to be done (backsplash tile, some trim, some electrical, exterior painting/staining, touch up interior painting, shelving.. all cosmetic things like that). Here are some of the pictures of the house in the summer, compared to now:

 

Kitchen:

 

 

Fireplace:

 

 

Standing in front of fireplace looking towards Connors room and up stairs:

 

 

Stairs:

 

 

Our bedroom:

 

 

Master Bath shower and tub:

 

 

These are a few other pictures of the house now that we are moved in a settled:

 

The 1/2 bath:

Mud Room/Laundry room "drop zone":

Upstairs playroom, the three doors at the end are the bedrooms:

Jack and Jill Bathroom:

Kitchen angle 1:

Kitchen angle 2:

Connors bathroom:

Connors Bedroom:

Stairs and hallway to office (Baby Room), mudroom, 1/2 bath:

 

About 1 week after moving in, we had our first company... a big part of Nicole's Yagues side of the family for a fishing trip. It was successful fishing (as it always is with Jeremy's friend Jerrod of Okanogan Valley Guide Service) and we had a ton of fun just being with family. We didn't get very many photos of actual fishing, but these are the ones we took one night when we went to dinner:

 

4 generations:

Our family with Great Grandpa Don:

Don with his 3 kids, Donalee, Kevin and Scott:

Papa and Connor; wearing the adorable hat Aunt Donalee and Nana Shelly found in town:

 

That same weekend, after everyone left we went to the carnival at the Omak Stampede grounds, Connor loved it!

 

Two videos that show how much he loved it (thanks to Jeremy for taking the pictures and videos... mom had almost as much fun as Connor on the rides :-) Connors 2 favorite rides were the school bus and the slides:

 

 

 

September:
We decided we needed a break after long exhausting months of building a house, so we basically took September to relax...

We went camping

sand castles in the dirt!

 reading with daddy by the fire...(our tent isn't this one.... this was our dummy Jer set up in the morning to save our spot.. ours is a little less modest :-/ and MUCH harder to set up :-)

 A Lab and Connor make a perfect pair... both LOVE water!

"come on mom... lets get in!!"- and we did... BBRRR

 (this water was FREEZING.. he insisted on "swimming"! he LOVES water :-)

 (only "fished" for about 30 minutes with no success.,. not a good spot and nap time.. but Connor had been dying to go "fishing" since we bought him his own pole... so we had to go)

 (this doesn't look very safe.. but duke was so flustered by being tied like this he wouldn't hardly walk.. it was pretty funny.. (it's a bungie cord connor hooked up himself)

We attended the county fair:

Where Connor "mutton busted" well sort of.. a dumbed down version :-) Rode on a sheep's back with someone on each side while it walked across a very small arena... but HEY he didn't know the difference.. and thought it was pretty awesome!! Even got to wear all the cool gear!

He didn't seem to mind this at all:

Notice his hands.. this is his excited clasp :-)

In the shoot ready to ride :-)... HOLD ON CONNOR!

A video of his ride:

Showing off his ribbon:

Kissing some of the animals:

again.. rubbing noses!

Even got down to check out the pig noses...

But the highlight of the fair for him..... was the mud puddles we let him jump in as we were leaving ;-) Boys will be boys!

In September Connor turned 2 1/2!! Crazy how times flies! He weighs 37 lbs and is 36 1/2" tall (if the whole "double a boys height at 30 months to know their adult height" is correct, he'll be about 6' 1" )

Here are a few of Connors 2 1/2 year old photos:
 

 

 

Jeremy went hunting in the Pasaten Wilderness. He went with the intention of bringing home a Huge Buck, but he always takes a bear and cougar tag with him just in case :-) well this year he came home with a 250-300 lb black bear. In 5 days he hiked over 25 miles, gained then lost 4,00 feet in elevation carrying 100lbs of gear and lost about 10 lbs by the time he got home! He was wiped out when he was done, but said he enjoyed himself..... Here are some of his pictures from the hunt:

 

Home sweet home:

 Beautiful scenery all around!

 Sunsets!

 The bear and the hunter:

 Amazing how big they really are!

 

 

 

We have a very busy October planned, I'll post about it soon :-)