This is why I love my job...

I know I already emailed this out, but I'm just so proud of my tenant! hahaha It's not everyday that someone writes something cute AND funny!

A NEW ROMANCE

I did not think, at my age, it would ever happen, but it has. I am in love
with my new toilet.

The day it was installed I sat upon it all
afternoon; we were getting used to each other. I got up at night, every half
hour or so, just to make sure it was still there.

I was so
gleaming, so white, so virginally pure in its newness.

I tried to
think of how to best describe its efficient sound: whISH, or whOOSH, or flUSH,
or bUSH! and suddenly, heilige scheiss, it was all gone, to be forgotten
forever.

It has brought me and my neighbors on this floor together,
as we visit each other to view each other’s new toilet. We should have one big
house party for the entire complex.

Some day I will leave, either
for a nursing home, the morgue, or Southern California. What a consolation to
realize that the new toilet will still be here to remember me by.

- Peter Eccles

Our new place

We moved into our new townhouse in Tacoma on October 31st in the evening (wasn't the smartest choice to do it on Halloween....maybe we'll remember that next time...). I took some pictures of the inside Sunday night (basically the day after we moved in). They're not the best, but they're the best I have as of now!

We signed our lease late Friday night after a very stressful family emergency (everything is okay now), so actually moving our stuff on Saturday was a piece of cake! When I think I'm having a stressful day, I remember that lovely Friday..chances are, it's not worse than that day! Anyways, my wonderful parents and Keith helped us move on Saturday. We had a Uhaul and got everything out of Bart's house and our storage unit within 3 or 4 hours...then we unloaded it. Fun fun. I was/am very thankful for Keith helping us out. He gladly took anything that was heavy...awesome hired help! :)

We amazingly had most of everything unpacked by Sunday. A few boxes here and there. Now, a week later, we're almost 99% unpacked. Still have those pesty boxes full of junk that we're trying to figure out where to put.

On with the photos...

When you walk in, the stairs are in front of you and off to the right is the kitchen, dinning room, laundry and living rooms. Here is the messy kitchen. Came to find out that we don't have a pantry. The unit that they showed us sure did....but what're you gonna do. It took some figuring out, but I think I have the kitchen how I like it....for now...

The view from the front door. All that mess is no longer there. You can now see straight into the living room without having to look through boxes.

The laundry closet. It's in the dining room area. I thought it'd be loud when watching TV, but they're pretty quiet.

The corner with all the photos. Gus is planning on moving some of that around because it's too cluttered for him with how it is. Those doors off to the left of the pic is the laundry room.

The super messy couch. The "backyard" is out past those blinds. I couldn't take a pic of it because it was 10pm when I took these. There's a storage closet outside, a big concrete slab (maybe 8x5?) with room around it to plant flowers and whatnot. It's all fenced in with a nice fence that's about 6' high.

Going upstairs...

Looking downstairs...

The little area separating Luc's room from ours.

The bathroom (it was bath-time too)

Gus was trying to get Lucas to put his nose up to his. Lucas thought Gus was crazy! haha

Luc's room. We've decorated it nicer since this. It was my goal to get his room looking as close to normal as I could get it the first night. He was having a bit of a hard time with the move, but once he got that bed in there, he was happy! He just got that bed from the Great Grandparents at the ocean. He loves it!

A better look at his pennants. We have mini ones for all the football teams that we have to get up also. Already have the glow-in-the-dark stars and planets up...though we do need to get more. He loves having those to look at...and it's a cheap night-light!! :)

Luc's closet. You can't tell, but it's huge! We all have walk-in closets. His is big enough to put a crib in (...already pointed that out to Gus!! haha)....

Our super super messy room. Sadly, it still looks about the same, except for the computer that would be right off to the right where that blue blanket is (why would someone put a cable outlet there!?). Our room is pretty large. We definitely have enough room for a crib or two where all those boxes are!! haha

Our closet. Nothing exciting.

Well that's it for pictures for now. I'll take some better ones one of these days. Oh, and we do have a non-attached garage in front of the row of townhouses, and one small parking spot off to the side of the garages...Gus' truck is waaaaaaaay too big for the garage (my tiny car just barely fits!) and is too big for the parking spot, so he gets the street. SO...we have parking for anyone who comes to visit!

HINT HINT!

Leaves leaves everywhere!

After the pumpkin patch, we stopped along the side of the road to gather some leaves (Lucas loves leaves right now). Here are some cute pictures from that adventure!

This reminds me of the pic I took of him last year...

Well, I guess it doesn't look much like it, but it's still cute! Back to this year...

He had a blast throwing the leaves up in the air. I was wishing we'd had a rake, so we could make a pile of leaves for him to jump into. One day, when we have a house (or somewhere with a yard!) I'll get that on camera :)

I tried my hardest to get the leaves as they were falling down around him, but the camera wasn't fast enough for that kind of action...

He was devastated when the wind blew some of the leaves away haha

My little tree-hugger. His retired hippy Grandpa would be so happy to see this :)

Oh joy, found the sticks. Nothing screams safety like a 3 year old with big sticks!!

And this is Lucas walking back to the car (with Gus in front) with the sticks. He was extremely determined to take those big ole sticks home. It was loads of fun getting him back in the car without his new "friends"!!

Pumpkin patch

Hello! I know I haven't been great at keeping this updated often, but hopefully it'll improve after we move into our new home. We found a cute townhouse in Tacoma, off of 48th and about a block up from South Tacoma Way, and probably half a mile behind the mall. It's probably not the best area, but...where isn't anymore. We move in on Saturday, November 1st....and it's not soon enough! We're all pretty excited. Lucas will for sure have the hardest time adjusting. Uncle Bart's house has always been his fav and he was stoked when we moved in, so this will be interesting. We'll for sure miss Cooch! We'll have to stop by often and see her.

Anywho, onto the pumpkin patch. We took Luc last Sunday to the Carpenito Brothers patch. He didn't seem too excited to get a big pumpkin. Just mostly wanted to walk around and take pics at the pumpkin cut-outs. He had to stick his head threw every hole, and made Gus do the same!

I love how funky his forced smile is!

Lucas really was interested in the corn, and wanted to do the maze, but it was $14 for the small maze and my cheap hiney couldn't do that...so he just got to take a pic next/in the corn :)


Both Gus and Lucas liked this pumpkin because it looked like a pickle! I was surprised to see so many green pumpkins this year. Usually there's only a hand full, but there were almost as many green as orange!

Lucas did love the different shaped squash. He's holding this one up to his ear like a seashell :)

We ended up not taking home any "normal" sized pumpkins, but only the super small orange and white ones, the some funky shaped squash. It was a pretty fun family outing.

Puyuallup Fair

I had started this blog months ago (since it is from the September Fair and all...), but had to exit really fast from it at work so I didn't think it saved (and I never had the time to re-do it). But I was just fiddling around this site and found it! Pretty cool that it saved it! Saves me another hour or so of typing and posting pics!! I did make one boo-boo when I was trying to fix it up; I deleted the big slide pic. Sorry. Will have to re-post it another day since the pic is on my work computer.

I took a Personal Day from work on Thursday so we could go to the fair (Kati, I totally lied to you. I was at Pike Place on Friday, not Thursday....all my days run together, it's hard to keep track..)

The first ride we went on was the Train. Oh man. Lucas was so excited...even though you can't really tell in the photos.







Staring at some rides. I didn't get any great pics because I was sitting behind them. It dawned on me after we got all situated that I needed to have been in the front in order to get good pics. Oh well, live and learn.

Now, if you've met my child you know he's a little...cautious. So I was very surprised he wanted to go on rides himself..and actually stayed on them! He was so eager to get into that car. A little girl behind him in line tried to cut and he let her have it. There will be no cutting in front of this kid, missy.

Again, he's having more fun than you can tell from the pictures! He's just a very serious-faced boy sometimes :)

Action shot...

Next was the boat ride. I think it's cool that they still have the same rides that they had when I was little. I'll have to find one of John and I on the boat ride and show it to Lucas. See what he says...or if he even recognizes it. Who knows.

Not quite sure what to think..

Still thinking if he wants to get out or not..

"Ok, I'm going to be alright...and I think I like it!"

He thought the teepee was pretty cool. Anything that's like a tunnel is alright in his book.

Next was the big slide (this is the one I accidentally deleted!! oopsies..). He for some reason didn't want any help. Well, he got up to were that girl in the white is off to the right of the pic before he started freaking out. Gus to the rescue. He actually went farther than I thought it would, but still the screaming that came out of him...

They had this cool metal...thing..there that the kids took little sticks and played "music" on it. Pretty entertaining.

Lucas really wanted to go on the motorcycle ride...and maybe would have done it if he would have gotten a bike that wasn't in the air higher than everyone else. Who knows.

He looks cool in this pic, but about 1.3 seconds later, he was screaming his little head off. That's my big boy!! :)

There's more Fair pics, but this is way long enough for now.

Lucas' work of art

Luc's been all about painting lately, since Grandma In Tacoma (yes, that's her name haha...Janeen is Grandma at the Ocean/Beach) and Gus has been painting their house. Grandma got him some kiddie paints, she already had the eisle, and just let him go to work. I hear he loves painting.

Here's a close up of the art. I guess he was asking Grandma what colors she likes, and then would add it to the picture. Gus asked him who the painting is for, and apparently it isn't for Gus, Grandma, or me. Some lucky person will get to have this on their fridge, and I'll let you know when Luc informs us! :)

John Deere-ing it

Grandma Janeen and Grandpa Willy got Luc a little John Deere tractor last year that he can drive. He's finally gotten a hang of steering it too...hardly runs into the bushes or cars anymore! :)

Lucas actually let his cousin Kai (with Daddy Travis) use his tractor. But believe me, there were plenty of fights over that thing!

Kai was hauling around Lucas in the trailer part. It was pretty cute. Kai kept trying to go over the edge though, into the sticker bushes....he hasn't quite mastered his steering yet... haha

Kai was supposed to be delivering Luc to me because Luc had stinky pants, but it was more fun to drive him around. They're so cute together.