A Reason not just for a Season

This is the time of year when everyone is giving to this and that.  Today I learned that there are people out there that give not just at this time of year, but all the time in their day to day business.  I was at the chiropractor earlier and while he was adjusting me we were chit chatting.  He was commenting on how the older people that come into his office tend to worry about where they will get their food and depend on some of the local churches for their food.  He continued on to say that when they come into him, he adjusts them for free because at 80 years old, who wants to really worry about how they are going to eat, let alone pay other bills including the doctor bills they might incur.  I was taken aback by this comment and his thinking.  Not because he isn't a nice and generous guy, but because in this day and age, it is sad but true, you don't see that many people being kind like that and donating their time.  I know it happens and it isn't supposed to be something that is always shouted from the rooftops, but it's nice to hear about it when it does happen.

When I think about this more I look back to when I was younger and how I was brought up.  My parents were always giving.  They gave their time to different things whether it was stuff for my brother and I or just volunteering with church or Soap Box Derby.  Was it a lot of work, yeah, but they still did it year after year.  Heck, my dad STILL volunteers with Soap Box Derby!! 

I've also come to see these things happen in my own life.  Earlier this school year, when we were looking for transportation for Lizzie to and from school, because of my schedule, one of these volunteering type of people just popped out of the woodwork.  She volunteered to take Lizzie even though things weren't ideal for her family at the time, but she still was willing to do that for us.  I know it seems like something so small, but it's those small things that really stick out, to me anyway!! 

I think that is what frustrates me as a mom and raising my kids in a world where kids talk back to adults and there is no respect let alone that sense of volunteering or giving.  That is why my kids learn "please" and "thank you" at such an early age and we stress the importance of manners and giving.  During this time of year there are always the bell ringers outside stores and whenever we pass one if I have any spare change in my pocket I always try to put something in the red buckets.  We were downtown Seattle doing some shopping and enjoying the holidays when we came across a bell ringer and we stopped what we were doing and gave each of the kids some money to drop into the bucket.  Do they understand what exactly they are doing, probably not, but we are planting the seed.  One bell ringer even thanked us for teaching our kids to give. 

It has also been nice to see how Lizzie is learning in her class about giving.  At Thanksgiving they had a big food drive at her school and she came home all excited about needing to take food to give to those that don't have enough.  I love seeing that in kids.

So, while this is an important time of year for giving, there is the rest of the year that should not be forgotten.  Be thankful for all that you have because there is probably someone out there with not quite as much...

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Happy Birthday JJ!!

Happy Birthday to my husband!!!  He may be turning 35 today, but he is a kid at heart!!!  He loves his kids like no other and he is wonderful to me!!  He is a wonderful man and I hope Dylan is paying attention, so he can learn to be just as great as his Daddy!!

Love you Babe!!

Dylan the Villain...

Dylan is 2.  He will finally tell you he is "two" instead of "one" when you ask him.  We like nicknames in our family and try to think of good ones.  When he was born we tried "little man" (that was my nickname for him) and of course there is "3D" representing his initials.  But we are now noticing how he is living up to one of his nicknames given to him by his granddad - "Dylan the Villain".  One might feel that that is a harsh name to call such a sweet little boy, but based on his actions as of late...it fits.

You look at this picture and you think that he is all smiles and possibly a good boy and just being a silly boy dressing up in his sisters clothes!!

But now take a really close look at Dylan in this picture.  While it is a very nice family picture of JJ and his parents and grandma at his graduation, notice what Dylan the Villain is doing, where his hand is at... 

Did you see it???!!!

Yes, his hand is on that orange extension cord that IS plugged into an outlet!!  I did not realize this until I was looking through the pictures.  His face is priceless too!!  It's like he is telling me he doesn't want to be in this darn picture, so I'm going to try and get into some kind of trouble!!

Now I know that boys and girls are different in many ways and that each child you have is different too, but I know for myself, I am amazed sometimes at HOW different Lizzie and Dylan are!!  It's not a bad thing either, they are just different. 

For example, Lizzie is a kindhearted little girl and doesn't like to do scary things and was petrified when trying to learn how to ride her bike with no training wheels.  Just the mention of riding it on cement, instead of on the grass, brought the poor girl to tears!!  Now there is Dylan, who we put in the back of his toy Tonka Dumptruck and rolled him down our driveway and he wasn't even 2 yet!!  He loved every minute of it too, laughing the whole time!!!

So, the reason I am saying that Dylan the Villain fits my little boy is because he is starting to get ornerier and ornerier.  He has been having a little bit of an issue with kicking and it isn't just at home either, he is doing it at daycare too!!!  He also likes to take a whack at his sister every once in a while too, which we have told her to start hitting him back and then she does and it ends up turning into a full on slapping match until we put a stop to it...  This too shall pass and we will one day look back and laugh. 

Afterall, this is what makes him Dylan the Villian!!

Our Summer turns into fall...

The Durfee family has had a great summer this year!!  We have traveled the country, not in the most convenient way, but we did (read a couple posts ago)!!  Saw some sights, went camping, caught a couple of Mariners games, saw some animals up close and personal and had a great time seeing family!!  I am posting some pictures showing some of our adventures!!

We spent Father's day at the Mariners game and it was also Little League day so we got to go down on the field and participate in a parade around the field.

Here we are in Washington DC with the capital building in the background.  We didn't get to see as much as we would have liked, but we did have fun.

This was at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.

Our whole reason for traveling back east was this handsome guy's graduation!!!

The kids getting ready to fish at the pond...one TINY fish was caught and that was it!!

Here is a turtle that was swimming in the fishing pond.

Dylan and Cousin Cruz playing in the front yard when they were up visiting during the 4th of July weekend.

Cousin Cole playing at the Everett Children's Museum.

Dylan dressing the part of a construction worker...but I don't think the hat is doing to much good...

Lizzie posing as a construction worker.

Dylan, Lizzie and Cousin Cole getting ready to view the fireworks on the 4th of July!!

Miss Toothless Lizzie!!

Dylan going to bed, for the first time, in his big boy bed!!

Lizzie celebrating, with her friends, her 6th birthday!! 

Cousin Shaylee, Dylan, Lizzie, Cousin Cole and Cousin Kayden all playing at GG's House.

Cousin Kayden, Dylan, Cousin Shaylee and Lizzie all squeezing into one of GG's chairs.

Dylan on the tractor at Uncle Scott's farm. He was afraid of the horses but not the tractor or the quad!!!  Go figure!!

Lizzie on the horse with Uncle Scott looking on.

Some buffalo at Wild Life Safari

A bear at Wild Life Safari.  They were pretty mobile!!

This is the hippo!!  Dylan had been asking about the hippos the whole time and then when we got around to him he was yawning and his mouth was open really wide and that seemed to scare Dylan a little.  Now when we ask what a hippo does, he opens his mouth as wide as possible!!

An elk in the middle of the road.

Lizzie being a fox

Dylan being a fox

From the front: Cousin Josh, Cousin Jake, Cousin Cole, Dylan, Lizzie and JJ all watching the Cruise In in Grants Pass.

Dylan and Lizzie with Cousin Justin who gave us a personal tour of the firehouse where he is learning to be a firefighter.

Dylan in our campsite when we went camping with friends.

JJ telling Lizzie and Hailey to be careful when crossing that log.

Lizzie and Dylan with Amma

Giraffe and zebra at the Woodland Park Zoo

And now welcome to fall... this is Lizzie on her first day of 1st grade!!!

It has been a great summer and I'm sure the fall will be just as great!!

Happy 6th Birthday Lizzie!!!

Lizzie is 6 today!! It is hard to believe she is that old already, but she is!! What a blessing Lizzie is to us!! She is such a wonderful little girl and we are lucky to be her Mommy and Daddy!!! She is also a very good big sister!! She loves her brother so very much. We really did hit the jackpot in Las Vegas, even if she was a little early!!!

So, here is to you Lizzabear!!! May you have the BEST 6th birthday!!!

Adventurous 1st Family Vacation...

If you are reading this and have had any kind of conversation with me in the past year or so, you know that we had a trip planned to the east coast for JJ's graduation. You probably also heard all about our plans to start in Albany, NY, so we could drive an hour away to Cooperstown, NY where the Baseball Hall of Fame is located, and then we would travel to Silver Spring, MD for JJ's graduation and a little DC sites and then off to Virginia where my in-laws have a timeshare. This was going to be our first family vacation and JJ's parents and grandma were joining us.

So, this is how it went:

Wednesday, June 23rd ~ We took off at 6:00am from Seattle bound for Chicago. The flight went well and the kids had a good time on the plane. We brought our stroller with us and checked it at the gate so we would have it when we got off in Chicago. We also got some first class treatment because of JJ's grandma, GG, being with us and needing a wheelchair. We were the first ones on the plane because of GG.

When I got our tickets in April I bought them through Orbitz and they have a nifty thing called Trip Advisor or something like that. They send you text messages letting you know the status of your flight(s). I got a message before our flight in Seattle took off saying that all was good to go, so it was going to be a good day...

HA!! We landed in Chicago and as soon as we could turn our phones back on I did and instantly got a text message from Orbitz saying that our flight to Albany was cancelled!!! I thought, nah that must be a mistake, why would they cancel our flight?! Plus, I had this vacation all planned out, so nothing would go wrong right?!

Well, Orbitz was right. We got off the plane and GG's escort was there to take us to where we needed to go, but our stroller was not there!!! That was frustrating because the whole point of checking the stroller at the gate was so we would have it during our lay over in Chicago!! So, our escort, Lakesha, confirmed that our flight was indeed cancelled and took us to a special room for the people needing wheelchairs and for the kids that fly alone. There they looked to see if they could fit all seven of us on a flight to Albany sooner than later. They told us that they could get GG and ONE other person to Albany that day, but the earliest we could all go together would be Friday!!! Well that wouldn't work. I even looked on my phone to see how long it would take us to drive there - 16+hrs. Because they were not working with us to try and get us to somewhere NEAR Cooperstown, we decided to head over to Hertz to see about renting a car to drive...


Well, we struck out there too. We thought that maybe because we had a reservation in Albany, they would be able to switch it to Chicago for us, but no such luck. In the process of going to the rental car area we had to give up our escort Lakesha because we had to leave the terminal. Also, before we left the terminal they told us to go check in baggage claim to see if they could pull our luggage from going on to Albany. When we did that, the guy just said "Nope, it's going to Albany! Call this number to find out where it is. Next!" He was rude and my mother-in-law and I didn't like him very well!!!

After striking out with the rental car we headed back to the terminal to figure out what we were going to do. Now our whole goal was to get us to Silver Spring, MD by Friday. Back inside the terminal we went to the place where you can request a wheelchair and assistance and asked them if we could get back into that room again, but they told us no you have to stand in that line - pointing to a never ending line of furious travelers. So, into the line we went...

After standing there for the better part of an hour I looked over and who do I see?! LAKESHA!!! So, Sherri, my mother-in-law, goes over to see if she can take us back to that room again and she said yes and does so. Well, the new gal that helped us out this time was much nicer!! We told her we had given up on flying to Albany to see Cooperstown and just wanted to get to DC, how soon could she get us there. She said we could go to DC the next morning and so we took it!! She also gave us a voucher for help finding a hotel room - they (United) weren't going to pay for the room because the cancellation was weather related, but they would help us out by giving us a voucher for special rates. I called and got that set up while Sherri called to get the rental car transfered from Albany to DC. Two things that didn't happen were we still didn't have our stroller, but they gave us a loaner AND we still didn't have our luggage and there was no gaurentee that it would be in DC waiting for us when we got there the next morning...


We arrived in Chicago around noon CST and didn't leave until 7 or 8pm CST!!! So that was a long day in the airport for all of us, especially a 2 year old and a 5 year old, but they were troopers!!!

We ended up staying at a hotel that was fairly cheap, but at that point we didn't really care, we just wanted to get some food and rest!! And the hotel I called using that voucher, their electricity went out, so we ended up going to another location!! Of course right?!


Thursday, June 24th ~ Our flight to DC went well. It was a short flight and left on time and everything. They told us when we got to DC to check on our luggage to see if it made it to DC or not. Well, it didn't. As soon as we got off the plane we checked to see if it was even there and the gal at the counter checked on all the bags, including the stroller, and she said they were back in CHICAGO!!! Are you kidding me?! She sent us downstairs and told us to talk to someone down there and they would get them sent to us in DC. I was starting to not feel well and Sherri thought it might be all the stress of the whole situation. Our plan was when we got to DC if our bags had indeed went to Albany we were going to drive and get them, but because I was starting to not feel well we decided to scrap that portion of our trip. I was really sad about scrapping Cooperstown because JJ had been so looking forward to it, but it just wasn't going to work out. :(


In the process of filing the claim about our luggage the gal helping us there told us because it was earlier in the morning - around 10am EST - we should be able to get our bags that day. She was a nice woman and I asked her if she recommended a place to stay and she referred us to the Holiday Inn. I called that hotel and luckily they had rooms available, so we grabbed them and off to the rental car area to pick up our van. That went without a hitch, for the most part, the price went up, but that was about all. I guess we really lucked out getting a mini van because those are apparently in high demand!! Off to the Holiday Inn!


It was a nice hotel and we thought it was a little ironic that the actual city it was in was Arlington, VA. By the time we reached the hotel, without our luggage, the kids had fallen asleep, so we decided to drive around DC a little and see some sites from the car. We saw the Capital Building, several of the Smithsonian buildings, caught a glimpse of the White House and of course we saw the Washington Monument (kind of hard to miss that one!!) Once the kids woke up, we headed back to the hotel and had a bite to eat because the rooms weren't available yet.


Just after lunch I called the United baggage people to find out how soon we would be seeing our bags. The man I spoke to had a strong accent, but assured me that we would be getting our bags soon and not to worry!!! I felt good after that thinking that maybe we would be seeing our bags soon!!! Guess again Jenny!!!


We got our rooms and headed up to them and rested a bit and then I decided to call again to find out where our bags were...well, another strong accent and then they told me that they were not sure when they would be arriving blah blah blah. I got the same story over and over again and then I found out that my father-in-laws heart medication was in the bags, so again I called to let them know this bit of information and to tell them that my 2 year old didn't have any clean pants because he just pooped through them!!! Their response to that is, well we can reimburse you the money... That wasn't the point!!! We wanted our bags!!! I probably called 5 or 6 times and not one of those calls was under 15 minutes. Finally, Sherri got a call saying that our bags would be arriving at 7:30pm in DC and we could expect to see them between 7:30pm and 3:00am!!!! Guess what time they showed up??!! Yep, 3am!!!


Friday, June 25th ~ It was a new day and we were hoping a new start to our vacation!!! We all put on clean clothes etc and ventured out into the city. We were able to visit the National Museum of Natural History, walked across the area between the Washington Monument and the Capital building, and went into the Smithsonian Castle building. We got a late start, so we didn't have a lot of time to do much, but that just means we will have to come back again someday!!


Then we drove to Silver Spring, MD to the National Labor College. It was so nice there. We were able to relax!! We enjoyed the BBQ they provided and Lizzie got to see lightning bugs or fireflies, whatever you like to call them!!


Saturday, June 26th ~ GRADUATION DAY!!! JJ graduated!! It was a nice short ceremony - only an hour and a half!! It was great to see JJ accomplish his dream!! SO proud of him!


After graduation we headed to Virginia to Massanutten Resort, where my in-laws have a timeshare. Before we left Seattle I printed out instructions from Google so we were all prepared when we drove from location to location. Well, that proved to lead to another adventure... The directions we had led us down some random dirt road and then to a dead end, so we turned around and got different instructions and found our way.

Sunday, June 27th ~ The place we stayed at was amazing!! We ventured out a bit to see the town close by, but other than that, we were enjoying our vacation just relaxing!!

Later that evening we took the kids to the water park that had all kinds of slides, a lazy river and a little kiddie area. Both of the kids clung to us for the first bit, but once we went down the lazy river in the intertubes a couple of times they were good to go!! We didn't find the little kiddie area until close to when we were getting ready to leave, but we stayed a little bit in there and both of them loved it!!

Monday, June 28th ~ We decided to try fishing this day. Lizzie has been asking to go fishing for quite some time and so finally we went. Only one fish was caught and it fit in the palm of JJ's hand. We got a good chuckle out of that one. We got to see some turtles swimming in the lake too.

Later, while Dylan was napping, we went miniature golfing - Lizzie, JJ, Dale and I. Then later we went again with Dylan, Sherri, Lizzie, JJ and I. It was good fun. We weren't sure how Dylan was going to do, but he did pretty well. He had more fun cheering us on then he did actually golfing. Lizzie didn't do too bad either!!

Tuesday, June 29th ~ This was our last day and we travelled home later in the evening. We were a little delayed on our flight, but I blame that on Grandma because she was thinking negative thoughts!! ;) Just kidding. We were teasing her about this though. We also thought for a few minutes that the kids weren't going to have seats from Dallas/Fort Worth to Seattle, but I think they were feeling the evil eye from the two Mrs. Durfees standing there ready to pounce...


All in all it ended up being a great trip, even if we didn't get to see everything we wanted to and had to wear stinky smelly clothes for a day or two, but we made it to JJ's graduation which was the whole point of the trip.

We are already working on next summers trip!!

Even Cowgirls get the Blues...

...and they get to wear blue costumes!! This was Lizzie in her recital attire. They did a very cute tap routine to the song titled (I think) "Even Cowgirls get the Blues". I've never heard of the song before, but that isn't the point.

The point is, she did another excellent job at her recital last Saturday. Another mom and I were a little unsure of the costumes when they were first presented to us in the catalog, but once we got them and the girls had them on...look at the photo above, need I say more??!!

Lizzie's whole class did a great job with the routine and she was SO proud of herself, as were we!! It was really great to see the progress she has made over the year and since last year!! She has done so well.

Until next years recital!!!

What a night!!

Last Friday to Saturday I had quite an experience!! I was lucky enough to participate in the Relay for Life in Arlington. I was the team captain for a group of us from work, team "Signs for Change", and we had a great time!!

I was fortunate enough to have my mom and dad come up from Oregon to participate in the event as well. My mom is a survivor or maybe a better word is a warrior!! She has been battling stage four lung cancer for four years now!! She keeps fighting it and keeps beating it!! She was one of my main reasons for doing the relay this year.

Mom was a trooper as were my teammates!! Here are a couple of team pictures that were taken.

I was proud to be a member of this team!!! We all worked well together and raised over $3100!! Not too shabby for our first year and not knowing what to expect!!! The Arlington Relay for Life raised over $227,000 and I think that broke the national rookie relay record!!!

Looking forward to next year!!

Dylan is 2!!!

It is hard for me to believe that he is already 2!!! It seems like just yesterday it was the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend and we were sitting at home when my water broke and he was born the next day!! And here we are, 2 years later!! Crazy how time flies.

I have loved every minute of this time though!! Yes, even the bad ones when he is a cranky pants!!! I love to watch how he has grown and how much he has started to say recently. One of my favorite sayings he says right now is "I did it!!!" after he has accomplished something. If you could only hear the tone of his voice when he does it and to see his face too, it's just priceless!!!

I have come to realize, since having Lizzie, that time flies even faster when you have kids, so we have to remember to cherish those moments when they will still let us hold them and snuggle with them!!!

Happy Birthday Dylan!!

Proud Mama

One of the great things about being a parent is how you get to see your children grow and become successful at things.

Dylan is growing each day is able to do things more and more independently. He can climb up and down the stairs almost unassisted - whether we want him to or not!!

We are just in the beginning phases of potty training - he has actually gone several times both at home and at daycare. He gets excited each time and we celebrate each time too. Big Sissy gets just as excited as Mommy and Daddy!!

He is fearless!! He lets us sit him in his big Tonka dump truck and push him down the driveway and he is all smiles the whole time!! He will even "count" when Daddy and Lizzie are playing hide and seek!! Again, cute!!

Lizzie too has grown in leaps and bounds!!! Last night we were at her dance class and they tried on their costumes for their dance recital coming up soon and she was SO cute!! Then when I didn't think it could get any cuter, they did their routine!!! She has been working on this one move trying to figure out how to do it and one morning she comes in while I am getting ready and says "Look Mommy!! I can do my up downs!!". She was so proud of herself, which in turn makes me proud of her. And, back to dance class, the whole time she was doing her routine she had the biggest smile on her face, especially when we got to the "up-down" part. I had a tear in my eye and it wasn't even her recital yet!!!

She is also playing T-ball again this year and loves it once again!! Last week during her practice several people took notice of her "skills". She hit the ball off the tee well and she threw pretty good too. She is one of the "older" ones on the team - she's 5 and the age range is 4-5!!! Her first game is Saturday, so we will see how she does at the game!!

She has also been very successful in Kindergarten. Well, I say "very", but I'm biased!! She's proving to be a pretty good reader and enjoys doing so too!! Last Friday when I went to pick the kids up from daycare, she was reading the book to the group of kids, with the teacher helping!! She was thrilled and I was thrilled for her!!

I'm just so fortunate to have two great kids and I couldn't be more prouder of the two of them!!