California Dreamin'

We have spent the past two weeks with our beloved daddy (and hub) at home! Dental School is set up on 11 week quarters. Lucky for us:) He completed his first quarter and 24 credit hours November 14th... and like a proud mama bear, I'm happy to report that he did so with flying colors! I am pretty proud of him! He worked really hard and it's nice to know it paid off!
    So, my mom flew in for a few days to help us celebrate (I will post about that later... I need to find those photos:) and then we spent the next few days chillin' in Phoenix by ourselves! It was so crazy to be able to get all those little things done and have a helper around for the kids and the house (I'm sure Ben could've thought of other things to do with his break, but he was a real trooper!) On Friday night, the 20th, our friend Jamie flew into town and Saturday morning we took off for San Diego! This was my first trip to Californ-I-A (does anyone know that song?) and I LOVED SD! I think I would consider moving there, if the state wasn't bankrupt and charging an arm (and a leg... and probably a finger...) to live there! Bear with me while I go through a few things we did on our trip...
      Nov 21st- Saturday- Drove to San Diego. What fun hopping from one desert oasis to the next to the next. I never could really grasp my friend, Cortney's disdain for Gila Bend (she and her husband's first job out of college) until we drove through. Wow. THAT would be a challenging place to live... made me a little sad. Anyway, I fullly appreciate Phoenix now:) We also went through Yuma, Caitlin:) I was thinking of you the whole time on this trip, as this is your "homeland:)" It was nice, if but a little close to the border! There is definitely a border patrol presence! As we pulled up to one of the border patrol checkpoints on the interstate, they had me roll down the window and asked where we were coming from... just looking for anything fishy... and Isaac says "Hey! Zachy looks like a mexican!" Oh my! That little boy is really going to get us in trouble someday! Anyway, lucky for us the b.p. didn't hear him or think anything of it:) It took about 5 hours to get to San Diego, but that included a long stop at the rest area where I fed Zach. The boys were SUPER good on the trip... Whew! Also lucky for us, Jamie has tons of rewards points at Holiday Inn, so we had a great stay in a nice hotel with big beds... always a plus with two little boys in the hotel room!

Our Crew w/ Organ in BackgroundThe Boys Playing around at Balboa Park

    
     Nov. 22nd- Sunday- Today we bummed around and went to church at the San Diego first ward. Cute building on the side of the hill. I think everything is on a hill here though:) This place is beautiful with so much vegetation and tropical trees! It is a little cooler than Phoenix though! This is the first time since we left Laramie that we are wearing jackets- weird! Oh, one thing from church... In the mother's room there were about 5 women nursing, none of which felt the need to cover up! Hallelujah! Welcome to California! I just felt good that for once I didn't have to worry about offending someone if Zach didn't want to stay covered up... I guess I'm turning more hippy than I thought:) What'll be next?!?
      After church, we took a picnic down to Balboa park and walked around to all the cute little international houses (only open on Sundays- lucky break!) and saw the Bohemian/Czech House (my ancestry). It was great because the little old couple working there were giving out traditional pastries, poppy seed bread and the most fantastic cheesecake Ben's ever had! We also attended a organ concert at the Spreckles Organ (the largest outdoor organ in the world) at Balboa Park and took a trolley tour/walked through the rest. It turns out this park got its start for the 1915 World Fair. It has some amazing architecture and was just a real gem of the city. I highly recommend it! There are museums all throughout and then the world famous zoo is adjacent. There are lots of gardens and beautiful huge trees around too. Definitely something for everyone!

      Around sunset, we crossed a huge bridge to go to Coronado. I have been dreaming of this place since I read the book, Somewhere in Time (the movie by the same name is good too- with Jane Seymore and Christopher Reeves. The beach there was amazing and the hotel is just as magnificent as it looks in the movie, or in my imagination:) We had fun walking around and taking lots of pics. I could've stayed there forever! When it got completely dark, we decided to catch some fresh fish at Joe's Crab Shack, which happens to be located in an old historic building on a pier on the ocean. Really awesome building, and really awesome food:)
     Monday Nov. 23- We spent today at the world famous San Diego Zoo. It was just as amazing as everyone says:) I think we all really loved it! The coolest part for me happened before we even got in the gates though. We were trying to do this trip on the "really cheap." Well, this was the one activity we decided to splurge on, but I was still feeling like it was a lot of money... $35 adults, $25 children. Anyway, a lady came up to me in line and just said she'd like to give me a free adult pass to the zoo and $5 off for everyone else! Wow! So, we saved $50! Awesome:) I told Jamie, and I really do believe it... that these sorts of things are little blessings Heavenly Father gives us just when we need it (not that we NEEDED to go to the zoo, but you know...) Ike loved the panda bears (a real treat... I don't think they have them many other places) and we also loved the sky tram and they had an amazing elephant habitat. Ben LOVED taking pics of everything and was really good at it:)

    After the zoo, we headed to the temple, not thinking that it was Monday and they were closed:( So, we got pics through the gates, but it is just as striking and beautiful as I could've imagined:) I loved it!

     Tuesday Nov. 24- Today we spent the day at Cabrillo Lighthouse, on a peninsula with a great view of the ocean, harbor, and downtown. Everything is just so beautiful! Oh, Ike has been into saying funny things on this trip... As we were coming out of the bathroom, he said "That was Chinese!" hmm. I ignored him and rushed him out of the bathroom as fast as I could... HOPING no one heard him:) Well, then this morning, I asked him how he slept and he said "I slept so Chinese!" Now I'm thinking he says that because we love Chinese food and he knows it's good food, so Chinese = good! Oh, his little 3 year old mind! Anyway, we spent the rest of the day at Mission Beach... my new favorite place in the world. There really is nothing like watching your hub and son play in the sand and ocean as the sun sinks slowly behind them... Don't worry, I got in on the action too, and we all came away stinking like ocean and a little wet... Well, Ike was soaked, but had a dandy of a time. I don't think I've ever seen him so amused for so long! His favorite thing to do was run down to the edge where the sand meets the water and wait for a wave to roll in so we could run back through the water. So cute! So serene. I could've stayed there forever in that moment! Zach on the other hand, was not as amused with the ocean breeze that kept hitting him and taking his breath away... he'll love it later!

     Tonight we went downtown (after stopping at Target to buy Ike some new clothes... his were covered in sand and ocean water:) and walked around the huge ships. There was an awesome aircraft carrier that we will tour next time. I've noticed a huge military presence in San Diego, of course, and just so appreciate all that they do for us. I don't think I've ever thought so much about those that protect us as I have this year and I just am so proud to be American and have these individuals protecting our freedoms. I'm trying to teach Ike about the military too... He's actually caught on quickly and really gets it... I think! We also saw the ship from the movie Master and Commander and a few others- really cool to see!

      Wednesday Nov. 24- Headed home to Phoenix to prepare for Thanksgiving. I think all of us LOVED the trip and were sad to say goodbye to our new found love:) I know we'll definitely be heading back to San Diego:) The trip home was really uneventful, other than a stop at a Yuma historical site (so I could feed baby)! What a perfect trip for Ben's little vacay!

CoNfEsSiOn...

Ok, I'm finally going to put it out there... Somewhere in my sleepless nights of babyville, I decided it was a good idea to make up another blog. A blog for me, Jamie, and my thoughts. I know you're thinking, "but, you already MAKE me read this one... NOT ANOTHER BLOG!!" That's ok, you don't have to check it out... but, if you have a shameless side to you, check it out... www.mommasbeenthinkin.blogspot.com. It's a little bit of thinking, a little nonsense and a lot of whatever. THAT's the beauty of your own blog:) More to come, I'm sure...

Our Little Outing

I forgot to post these pictures sooner, but for Ike's actual birth day, I took Zach and Ike to Anthem, an outlying community "almost" out of Phoenix on the north side for a day at the park. Anthem has acres and acres of park with lots of little parks and a train that goes through it all. Unfortunately, the train derailed before we got there, so we had to resort to playing all day at the different parks. We packed a lunch and had a great time! I hope Ike thought it was special, because it really was a fun time with just the three of us. After spending the last 2 1/2 months exclusively in Phoenix, it was nice to go somewhere almost out of town. It is totally out of my nature to stay in one place this long! Luckily, there is a lot to keep us busy! Anyway... enjoy the pics!

Sleeping...

My weird little Pieper sleepers can and do sleep anywhere! Ike on the cedar chest in the office and Zach sleeping with his feet straight out in front of him and his head bent down... comfy! 

So sleep in our house, and I'm sure yours, is the most important GIFT we have to give ourselves and each other:) Over the past couple of weeks, I have noticed that *certain someones* are beginning to sleep in a different pattern including Ike staying up too late, getting "hungry" again, needing more stories, and awaking in the middle of the night whereupon he decides his bed just won't do and joins us in ours. hmm. I have decided on the relatively rare occasions that he does leave his bed for ours, he is so distraught by the time he makes it across the house to our room that he would be DEVASTATED by the time I sent him back to his room. So, we'll save that battle for another day... Usually if he does come to our bed, it's around 6 am anyway, so it's not like we're missing out on a ton of sleep. AND by "us," I clearly mean me... Let's face it, those Pieper genes have made it possible for Daddy and Ikie and even Zach to sleep through anything. I happen to be the only one who cares if other peoples limbs are resting upon my face, etc.
    Now, on to boy #2... Mr. Zachary "tricked" me into awaking 2 times in the night (again) after months of only 1 feeding in the night. I am a s.l.o.w. learner, but finally caught on to the new ploy and took the hint. You see, confession. Zach is a nomad. He was "permanent bed-less." Meaning, I never set up his bassinet after our move and relied upon him sleeping either on the couch (real safe... I know.) or in the swing... The holdup: looking for a new toddler bed for Ike so I could give Zach Ike's 3 in one crib. Anyway, that problem solved itself when I "gained" a new wooden bed frame that needs refinished... a project for "one of these days."  So, after a couple of weeks of far less than enough sleep, we have finally returned the 3 in one to a crib, and Ikie has graduated to a twin bed! Life is much better and EVERYONE is sleeping a little more around here, well, except daddy, who still happens to be in dental school... Hey, I can't solve 'em all!

Halloween 2009

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Monsters and the 3rd Birthday Party

After several months with an affinity to monsters, it occurred to me that I could use this new found affinity to plan my son's all-too-convenient close-to-halloween birthday party, so we did just that:) We invited several little friends from "school," as well as a couple friends with dentist-wanna-be parents. It was a great turnout for a Friday afternoon, and a huge success for the 5 and under crowd. Let me introduce you to my favorite hobby/medical condition, and Ben's least favorite hobby/medical condition... O.P.O.E.overachieving. planner. of. events.

Ok, so not the greatest picture, but he tried:) The whole house was decorated like halloween with a few Monsters, not the scary kind, around here and there...

Monster cupcakes surrounded by frankenstein heads (lime jello with cherry eyes and oreo hair) I have a close up of these too, but *someone* has misplaced that memory card... I'll find it by Christmas!

Said cupcakes. You'll noticed only a couple were decorated. This was one of the activities... Choosing your monster and adding features. They turned out so cute! Oh, and according to Isaac, they were his favorite part of the party... I thought his favorite part was presents, but, who am I to argue?                             

Some of our guests even got in on making monster masks... a couple of friends were SO into it that they made SEVERAL monster masks! I love it when a project turns out to be a hit with the new generation!

Monster Masks in use... Yep, you can hardly tell who it is... Very monster-y!

One of the 4 times we have sung "Happy Birthday" to Ike this year! He is quite the candle blower-outer!

So, in recap, we had the following ultra fun Monster Mashing at the ever popular 3 year old party...

1. Monster Masks

2. Decorate your own monster cupcake

3. Monster Chasing Game (how could you resist after having a custom Monster Mask?)

4. Monster jello heads

5. Monster books for our contemplative guests... including Monster Finds a Costume, a few from Little Critter series, and My Monster Mama Loves Me So (our inspiration around here...)

6. We downloaded "The Monster Mash" kids bop version and let the kids have a real monster mash dance off- way cute!

7. Monster parting gifts including these awesome monster water squirters and monster stamps from Target Hot Spot- see- don't you wish you would've made the trip to AZ?

That was about it... Why did it take me so long to get everything ready then? Hmm. I must be slow. I do know for a fact that my O.P.O.E. is a problem for some people in my family and that each time an "event" comes along, that someone goes a little overboard and neglects other duties, but I really do have SO MUCH FUN creating, researching, and executing these fun events:) I hope I still have energy to do this for subsequent children or they're really going to be bitter:) Lets just say I don't think Chuck E. Cheese is in our near future:) More *actual birthday post* to follow...

Our first Arizona Visitors!

After the White Coat Ceremony in front of our house... Handsome group, huh! That's because Isaac wasn't sitting on THEIR laps (See below)...

The closest we could get to all smiles after "the incident." We sure are proud of that daddy! You would trust him with your mouth, wouldn't you? Ok, give it a couple of years...

Da Da Da- The White Coat has officially been placed upon his shoulders! Here we go...

Last weekend we were so lucky to welcome Grandma and Grandpa Pieper for a visit. They flew in to Phoenix on Wednesday night and were here until last Sunday. It seems like that should've been a long visit, but, as always, time flew by! It seems like they just got here and then it was already time to say goodbye... I guess we just have too much fun! Also, as always, when they are around, I seem to forget all about my picture taking responsibilities, and so we do not have too many pictures to show for it... Luckily, they have a few more, so we'll have to high-jack their photos next time we are in Idaho:) I wanted to make a list of the "fun" things we did (this will seem really silly to "non-Piepers" and totally normal to Piepers! You think I'm joking, but you'll see...) Anyway, we....

1. let Grandpa and Daddy become study buddies together. Ben's dad is currently working on his PhD, so they spent lots of hours on their mac laptops together tuning the rest of us out... like father, like son. seriously. I've never seen anyone tune out as much as they seem to be able to!

2. went to the gym and worked out. every day. I am becoming a gym extraordinare, though I don't think you can tell... hmm. Ben's mom and I have a need for exercise everyday, so we took advantage of my gym membership. It was so so fun to have workout buddies!

3. went to a thrift shop. Wouldn't you know, next door to my gym is a Savers... what are the chances? Anyway, as always, we went in for "just one thing" and came out an hour or so later with many more things than one:) Oh, and for the record, we also "lost" grandpa to the used book section for the entire time. Whew, luckily, we were only there for an hour... that book section had the potential to swallow him up for good!

4. took showers and fed babies. yep. This seems to take WAY more time out of my day than anything else, and now I have witnesses. Though, being clean and well fed are two very important things!

5. splashed around at the splash pad. Even though it was *kinda* getting dark:) Had fun playing at the park too!

6. took a picnic lunch to the park and met Daddy. We found a new park very close to his school that seems to be a "secret" aka, not a million other people there. Yeah!

7. made really really tasty meals with not a lot of carbs. Another big plus to having Ben's mom around... we love to cook and eat together and since we both watch our carbs (she MUCH more than me- and for much better reason) we tend to go overboard and cook a ton and find new alternatives to tasty old favorites. On the menu this week were some new dishes from http://www.dlife.com/ (check it out, especially if you are looking for low carb) including zucchini pancakes with poached eggs and holandaise sauce (the very best breakfast I have EVER had!!), ribeyes with blue cheese butter and broiled asparagus, grilled mahi mahi, impossible berry pie (also from d life), crab stuffed portabellas (SOOO good!). Of course, lots and lots of salads and veggies mixed in there too, and of course, healthy doses of string cheese and nuts! Yep, we ate like low carb kings:)

8. made homemade salsa. This gets it's own point because (if you're a Pieper, you'll understand) as Ben puts it... "My dad can't walk through the produce section of a store without thinking, homemade salsa!" So, they came home from the store with all the fresh ingredients and made enough for the entire family, even though it was only the 4 of us, plus Ike and Zach! We still have salsa leftover a week later, but it was oh so good! We're so glad to have a salsa specialist in the family!

Now, where was I? Oh yes,

9. Went grocery shopping a few times... No Pieper time is complete without a few trips to the grocery store... That is definitely a favorite past time for some of us!

10. toured Ben's campus, met most of the faculty and attended Ben's White Coat Ceremony. A wonderful time! Ben LOVES school, LOVES his peers and faculty. This is definitely the place he was meant to go to school. He is really excelling here and feeling good about what he's learning. It couldn't have worked out better for him. The White Coat Ceremony was wonderful and really moving for all the students. *Some* members of our family, I won't mention any names, but if you are a Pieper, you can figure it out, slept through part of the ceremony... Ike and Zach both took naps too. It's great having Pieper children who can take a nap anywhere!

Unfortunately, the story doesn't end here... About 10 minutes before the end of the ceremony, Ike woke up from his nap on the floor, climbed onto my lap and was being really cuddly. I was soaking it all up! Anyway, we were sitting on the second row of families in a giant auditorium. Wouldn't you know, after a minute of him sitting there, I feel my lap getting really warm and look down to realize Ike is urinating on me! AHH! So, there we are in the middle of this beautiful ceremony, everyone heartwarmed and almost over, and my lap is SOPPING WET, as is Ikes! Yes, he has been fully potty trained for over a month, and yes, I did have a pullup on him, just in case... And yes, the pull up was on sideways... Oops! Ike and I rushed out as soon as it was over and stood outside to dry off in the hot hot sun. So, 10 minutes later, we were dry and smelling foul. I hope this isn't a symbol of the four years to come. really.?!?!

11. had our friend Jamie H. in town Friday night for steaks and a little impromptu birthday celebration for Ike. These guys all know the way to his heart... sugar! He received jelly belly beans and a really great dinosaur book from Jame and from his grandparents and aunts/uncles, A CASE of flavored milk (think juice boxes only milk...), which he happened to ask Grandpa for a month ago and will be enjoying for several months to come!! He also received an awesome preschool book of activities and educational things that he "studies" during daddy's study time, and a big package of cookies and fruit snacks- no low carb snacks for this 3 year old!

12. Swam in the very cold, Wyoming like pool. Now that it's not 100 EVERY day, the pool has dropped in temp (apparently, no one has thought to turn on the heater yet...) So, yep, it feels like swimming outside in the summer in Wyoming. Brrr. Oh man, we're wimpy already!

13. Went downtown the the AZ Science Center. Yep, that's right. We took the Pieper men to a museum (or muz-zuh-zem, as Ikie says). They were actually pretty good about keeping a timeline, though I just love how enthralled they are with everything:) Oh, and we saw a 3D Shark IMAX movie... Isaac LOVED it!

14. Ate out at a World Buffet restaurant. Had LOTS of new food experiences like seaweed, Ike's second time eating sushi, lots of seafood, etc. It was so great! Can you believe I even at frog legs? They really did taste like chicken. Aren't you proud of me? Ok, so slight confession... I DID eat it, but Ben's mom pulled the meat off for me and just gave me a little hunk so I didn't have to deal with the visual... but I still ate it, so there!

15. Stayed up WAY TOO LATE every night. Hey, we had LOTS of catching up to do.

16. Found out a *certain* brother with very bad luck had another case of very bad luck whilst said parents were away and the siblings held down the fort- including digging potatoes and carrots in the snow back in Idaho- what a tough group!

17. Played any game and read every book Ike wanted to. all the time. Yep, this kiddo got his way A LOT and has Gramps wrapped around his little finger. Cute.

18. Realized just how much we miss our family and how grateful we are to have such wonderful parents.

What a fun week. I hope you made it through the list. Sorry for the length, but since this is currently my *only* journaling attempt, I thought I best be thorough. I have been thinking a lot lately about our families and why we are in the families we are. I know that when Ben and I got married, we married more than just each other. We really did marry our families too. Can I just say how LUCKY (or Blessed is probably more like it...) I am to have found the Piepers?!? I love each of you guys so much. I love each of our quirks (ok, some of you are perfect...) and I know that I was meant to be a part of you, whether you like it or not... and I just feel so privileged each day and thank you for taking me in as your own. Thanks Richard and LaJean for coming down and sharing this special experience with us. We loved our time with you more than you'll ever know... In fact, Ike keeps asking us if we can fly to Idaho today and see Gwamma and Gwampa today! We couldn't be more blessed and I'm so glad to be raising children in such fine families.