Playing Catch Up...

I haven't posted because I lost my memory stick adapter that allows me to download pictures from my camera to my computer. I thought it would show up so I was waiting to post picture when I found it. I have a feeling it's gone so I thought I'd at least catch up in words what we've been doing.
It's been a busy month so far as September always is for us. We started it off with Labor Day camping/hunting at elk camp. We went with Keith and Michelle, the Gallegos family (plus extended family), and a friend, Sam, from work. We had a great time. Cole got to play with Hunter who is 4 and they had a blast throwing rocks in the creek, hunting squirrels with their bows, and just playing in the dirt! Though elk were nowhere to be found, we had a fun camping trip and were happy to be out in the great outdoors.
Last weekend we went up again with just out family of 4 which was nice. Adam hunted most of the day on Saturday and then took the rest of the time off to camp with us. Cole, Mason, and I did some 4-wheeling and hiking on our own and had a great time! I think that's the last time I'll go up for the season but Adam is going back up for a extra long weekend (Wed thru Mon) this week.

I'll give an update on the boys too since I haven't done that in a while!

Cole: He turns 4 next week and is SOOOO excited for his birthday! The theme... Spiderman. He is very into writing and working on his letters. He will constantly write a "grocery list" and have me tell him what I want and how to spell things and he'll make list. He started copying words out of the phone book last week too and thinks that's pretty fun. With hunting season here and Adam out shooting his bow, Cole has been carrying around his bow and arrow a lot and shooting in the backyard whenever possible. He did a sports class this summer that he loved and has really enjoyed being able to be outside as much as possible. He loves to fish and has done so at the cabins this summer. He is also very into building things and built a very nice doghouse out of scarp wood at Adam's parent's cabin. He is our cautious one though he likes to think he's living on the edge on his bike and scooter!
Some funny Cole saying -

Mason: At 21 months he is a spitfire! It's amazing to see how different 2 boys can be when they came from the same mold. Mason is the one who is going to give me a heart attack and rack up a nice ER bill. He climbs up everything in site, even the things you think he couldn't possible get up on. He wanders away from the group whereever we go and if you take a step toward him, he runs away as fast as he can. He adores Cole and though has to endure countless tackles, bossing, tattling, and bullying from his older brother, he continually wants to be with him. He goes along with whatever Cole wants to do and plays whatever part Cole tells him to. When Cole is talking, Mason is mimicking at least every other word. He sings along with any cartoon theme song and song in the car. He is very into Grandpa and Papa and constantly wants to go see Papa's mules. He is learning how to jump and runs everywhere instead of walking. I can't believe we haven't had any major accidents with him and am thankful everyday for God's protection over him!

Baby #3: I'm 16 1/2 weeks and am feeling good. I've been feeling the baby move for about 2 weeks now. I feel like my belly is bigger so far than with the other two but am accepting that it's just how it is with a 3rd pregnancy. I've had to have my antibody titers drawn with each appointment to check things out since I am issoimmunized after Mason was born. They started out very low 1:8 compared to 1:256 after Mason was born. I was thrilled with that but they started to creep up a little and went to 1:16. I just had them done again last week and after praying that they would not go up, we were excited to have them still be 1:16! I will see Dr. Kosalka (perinatologist) in 2 or 3 weeks and have my 20 week ultrasound and just have a check up to make sure baby is looking good. After that I should just see him based on my titer levels, hopefully not very often! I'm looking forward to finding out what this little baby is so I can stop calling it "it" and refer to it as a girl or boy! No names picked out yet but I have a few ideas. So far things are going well though and I'm looking forward to our new addition this winter!

Some changes with Adam and I. I've cut down a little more on work and went to a flex status. That means that I can work as little as I want and don't have to work any holidays or weekends. It also means that I have no benefits, like maternity leave pay. So I'm working Tues evenings 3p-11p and Thursday days 7a-7p and have picked up a few Sunday evenings here and there to put away a little extra for when I take off when the baby comes. It's been really nice to work a little less and be home every weekend! Adam has really liked his job with Idaho Power and has found it to be much more laid back than his previous job. It was an adjustment to make but he's really liked having a lot less work related stress! I think he's enjoyed having me home every weekend and not having to take care of the boys alone every other weekend.

That's our updates! As soon as I either find my memory stick adapter or get a new one I'll post pics to go along.

Chris Isaak Concert

Some friends of ours, Jason and Christy Huszar, invited us to a concert last week. We hadn't been to a concert in ages and thought it would be fun, despite the fact that neither of us had heard of the singer, Chris Isaak. We had dinner before hand and then headed to the concert at the Botanical Gardens. It had rained all afternoon and we were a bit nervous about sitting outside in the rain but it turned out to be beautiful and we had lots of fun! I even ended up knowing a couple songs:-) Thanks Grandpa Bucher for watching the boys too, they love you tons!

Bucher Family Gatherings

We've had a couple of get togethers with Adam's side of the family. We spent an overnight trip up at the High Valley cabin a couple weekends ago. We did a little fourwheeling and Adam and Cole fished and caught about 4 bullheads. It was very relaxing and the cabin is coming along beautifully!

Cole helping Grandma mow the lawn.

What little kid can grow up without a wheelbarrow ride!?!

Then last weekend headed to the Oregon Coast with his family. They had not been over there in years and so they were excited to see and do everything. The beach house was the perfect place to relax and play at and everyone seemed to have a really great time! Despite the wind, we spent a day in Newport crabbing and visiting the tide pools. Other days we lounged around the beach house, hit the outlet mall, shopped in Depoe Bay, and played on the beach. Cole had fun flying our kite and being burried in the sand and both boys think it is the greatest thing to run away from the waves! I was so glad we could finally take the fam over there and spend a long weekend hanging out!

Yaquina Bay tide pools

Me, Phil, Nancy, Mason, Gage, and Michelle

Grandpa and the boys running from the waves.

Uncle Neil and Cole playing in the ocean.Cole flying his eagle kite.

Bucher Baby #3, coming up!

So I'm making the big blog announcement that we are going to have our 3rd baby! I'm 10 weeks and am due the end of February! We're very excited and I'm really hoping that I'm getting over the exhaustion/super hungry/nausea if I don't eat regularly phase:-) Cole is very excited and seems to be leaning towards having a sister which I have no objections to! When he first found out he kept telling people, "My mom's pregnant." and "I'm going to be another brother." I showed him my Pregnancy Week by Week book and the pictures of the baby a few weeks ago. He looked from week to week and was very thoughtful. When Adam got home from work I told him to tell him what the baby looked like now. He said, "It's a seahorse, then a seahorse, then a seahorse, and then a baby!" He's right if you look at the pictures:-)
I had an appointment today with a quick ultrasound peak... thanks Auntie Fay! I got to see our little ones's arms stretched up with it's hands by it's face and it stretched it's little legs and did a jump for me. I'm absolutely amazed at all that has changed in a matter of 4 weeks, from being a little 1/4 inch sized "seahorse" to being a little tiny "plum" sized baby inside me! I'm in awe everytime of the miracle of motherhood and the incredible gift of carrying my children and getting to protect and nourish them for 9 months! God is sure an awesome God! Of course I am REALLY rooting for a girl, I'm not ashamed to say it. I would love three boys though and know they would have such fun growing up together. But please, just one girl!?!
Anyways, we are feeling very blessed with this pregnancy and are praying that everything goes well and we have another healthy, happy baby!

Stanley Camping

Last weekend we went camping with the Huszars again, this time in Stanley. We had such a fun time! We camped in a beautiful meadow with tons of wildflowers (and bugs) and had a great view of the mountains. We did some 4-wheeling and then went into Stanley and to Redfish Lake for an afternoon. It was so gorgeous. In all my camping history I had never remembered being to Redfish Lake and it was definitely worth seeing. The lake was crystal clear and the Sawtooth Mountains behind it are breathtaking! So much fun and always nice to get out in God's great creation!
He can still hold me up, I guess that's a good thing!
Emery, Cole, and Mason playing on the beach at Redfish Lake.

Christy and I chillin' on the beach!

Cole and Mason

I love wildflowers!

Muscle men climbing the mountin

The boys on the bridge over Dagger Falls.

Adam and Jason

Dagger Falls

A Visit from Grandma and Grandpa Bowman

In late June Adam's grandparents made the long trek out here from North Carolina to visit us. It's probably the last time they'll fly all that way out here because it is so hard for them to get through all the airports and what-not, so it was a special trip. They stayed with Adam's parents and spent a few days up at the cabin in High Valley. Once back in town, we spent the weekend doing BBQ's at each house, ours, Keith and Michelle's, and Phil and Nancy's. It was soooooo nice to see them and for our boys to spend time with them. I think they were pretty darn worn out by the end of each day and I'm sure were happy to get home and rest after their visit. They are such special people and we are so blessed to have them in our lives. They are so kind and loving and have provided Adam with a Christian heritage that has been passed on to our boys. It is such an amazing thing to have that kind of thing go back for generations, you don't realize until you are older how incredible it is! We love them and are so happy we got to see them this summer!
Mason showing Popsie his bike.

Phil, Nancy, and Neil taking it easy at our house.

Four generations!
back: Michelle, Gage, Keith, Neil, me, Mason, Adam
front: Phil, Cole, Nancy, Grandpa, Grandma



Grandma Bowman - Nana

Grandpa Bowman - Popsie

4th of July Fun!

We headed west to the Oregon Coast for the 4th of July for the 1st of our every 5 year family reunions. Growing up we went to the beach every year over the 4th but since we've been out of our parents house, married, and with jobs/kids, etc. it's been much harder to get there. I haven't been there for the 4th for about 8 years! So we decided to make it an every 5 year gig so that people would know ahead and could try to make plans. It's fun to get to see all my aunts and uncles and cousins that I don't see very often.

We rented a house down the street from the beach house to accomodate my parents, siblings, and us which was really nice. We had the usual events: lap sit, hot dog and smores roast, games on the beach, talent show, and some free time to hit up the outlet malls. This year we added portrait painting, which was really fun to see everyone's artistic side. We also snuck in a girls night to see Eclipse... loved it:-)

The boys absolutely loved their time there, playing on the beach and getting to see all the cousins. We lit off fireworks too, hoping they were legal ones. Cole thought that was great though he is always his cautious self and kept his distance when needed. Mason on the other hand goes right ahead with whatever interests him at the moment... like grabbing the sparkling end of a sparkler and running straight for the ocean as soon as I put him down in the sand! I love going to the beach, it brings back so many fun memories from when I was young and I'm so glad I get to bring my kids so they can have those same memories as they grow up!

Grandad checking things out

As usual, my boys are all over Auntie Kim!

Aunt Kathy letting Mason say hello to Cooper.

Our rented beach house - "Annabelle"

Adam and Mason sitting out for fireworks

Cole and Papa setting off smoking snake fireworks.