The Sheldons

Neigh Neigh

2010-05-11T09:41:00.000-07:00

A little too brave..... around my dad's big ASS. (it's a monster mule)

"Here you go" one of her favorite little sayings

Stick to the grass! Stay away from the dumplings!!!

I am still not sure how much Sydney liked her first ride on Grams and Papa's ponies. For a little girl who wants to ride everything, she held on pretty tight, and looked pretty serious. She was most excited when mommy got on for a quick circle. Notice there are no pictures of this!!! The farm is a great place for such a little busy body!

Two Lip Festival!!

2010-05-11T09:21:00.000-07:00

Sydney and her wooden shoe ride!

Mommy gave Sydney a sucker pre-maturely, and we handed it off to the person taking the pictures in hopes she would look at the camera for at least one pic. I believe she was saying "I want! I want!) She has gotten pretty good at that!

Daddy and Syd watching a helicopter flying over the fields. Whenever we see a plane she points and says "Ride? Ride?" She also likes to reach up with anything she has in her hand to give to the planes. Mommy has to explain that the plane doesn't need her binky, mickey, or snack, but that it is very sweet of her to share!

The hair needs some work, but the happy little face is pretty cute. She loves to run around saying "Happy, Happy"

To all the moms in my life......

2010-04-07T15:37:00.000-07:00

"Raising Children" by Anna Quindlen, Newsweek Columnist and Author

All my babies are gone now. I say this not in sorrow but in disbelief. I take great satisfaction in what I have today: three almost-adults, two taller than I am, one closing in fast. Three people who read the same books I do and have learned not to be afraid of disagreeing with me in their opinion of them, who sometimes tell vulgar jokes that make me laugh until I choke and cry, who need razor blades and shower gel and privacy, who want to keep their doors closed more than I like. Who, miraculously, go to the bathroom, zip up their jackets and move food from plate to mouth all by themselves. Like the trick soap I bought for the bathroom with a rubber ducky at its center, the baby is buried deep within each, barely discernible except through the unreliable haze of the past.

Everything in all the books I once poured over is finished for me now. Penelope Leach., T. Berry Brazelton., Dr. Spock. The ones on sibling rivalry and sleeping through the night and early-childhood education, all grown obsolete. Along with Goodnight Moon, and Where the Wild Things Are, they are battered, spotted, well used. But I suspect that if you flipped the pages, dust would rise like memories. What those books taught me, and finally what the women on the playground, and the well-meaning relations -- well what they taught me was that they couldn't really teach me very much at all.

Raising children is presented at first as a true-false test, then becomes multiple choice, until finally, far along, you realize that it is an endless essay. No one knows anything. One child responds well to positive reinforcement, another can be managed only with a stern voice and a timeout. One child is toilet trained at 3, his sibling at 2. When my first child was born, parents were told to put baby to bed on his belly so that he would not choke on his own spit-up. By the time my last arrived, babies were put down on their backs because of research on sudden infant death syndrome.

To a new parent this ever-shifting certainty is terrifying, and then soothing. Eventually you must learn to trust yourself. Eventually the research will follow. I remember 15 years ago pouring over one of Dr. Brazelton's wonderful books on child development, in which he describes three different sorts of infants: average, quiet, and active. I was looking for a sub-quiet codicil for an 18-month old who did not walk. Was there something wrong with his fat little legs? Was there something wrong with his tiny little mind? Was he developmentally delayed, physically challenged? Was I insane? Last year he went to China. Next year he goes to college. He can talk just fine. He can walk, too.
Every part of raising children is humbling, too. Believe me, mistakes were made. They have all been enshrined in the "Remember-When- Mom-Did " Hall of Fame. The outbursts, the temper tantrums, the bad language, mine, not theirs. The times the baby fell off the bed. The times I arrived late for preschool pickup. The nightmare sleepover. The horrible summer camp. The day when the youngest came barreling out of the classroom with a 98 on her geography test, and I responded, "What did you get wrong?" (She insisted I include that.) The time I ordered food at the McDonald's drive-through speaker and then drove away without picking it up from the window. (They all insisted I include that.) I did not allow them to watch the Simpsons for the first two seasons. What was I thinking?

But the biggest mistake I made is the one that most of us make while doing this. I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of the three of them, sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages 6, 4 and 1. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night. I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less.

Even today I'm not sure what worked and what didn't, what was me and what was simply life. When they were very small, I suppose I thought someday they would become who they were because of what I'd done. Now I suspect they simply grew into their true selves because they demanded in a thousand ways that I back off and let them be. The books said to be relaxed and I was often tense, matter-of-fact and I was sometimes over the top. And look how it all turned out. I wound up with the three people I like best in the world who have done more than anyone to excavate my essential humanity. That's what the books never told me. I was bound and determined to learn from the experts. It just took me awhile to figure out who the experts were."

Has anyone seen March??

2010-04-06T14:04:00.000-07:00

I'd like to say that I have no idea where the month of March went, but that would be a lie. Most of March was spent right here in front of the computer looking for a house..... It makes me tired just thinking about it. We are still searching, and praying that we somehow remain patient in the midst of rising interest rates, and the countdown to get out of our current house. Our poor realator had NO idea what she was getting herself into!! I guess if this is our biggest worry of the moment we really should be counting our blessings!

Sydney has been up to all kinds of new tricks in the last month. She continues to love swinging, but has also discoverd that riding on things can be fun. Whether it's her new trike (thanks Grandma Lois), or daddy's shoulders, while mommy and Toby chase her around the house. She will occasionaly try and sit on her toy train, or piggy bank too, which is always comical. She is also super into blowing/popping bubbles right now. I think I have finally gotten her to stop putting the wand into her mouth after dipping it..... yuck, but there is still some work to be done on her blowing. I am happy to report, however, that she is an excellent popper!! Her vocabulary continues to grow as she began putting words together this month. She started with "He pooped", and now she has moved on to "I want",with a grabbing motion of her hand!! That's gonna be a lot of fun! She continues to test my patience, as she explores her boudaries, but I am so thankful to spend each day with the little stinker!! Here are a couple new pictures, minus Easter, because we need some sunny day retakes in her cute dress.

A pink plane and a organic sucker

2010-03-04T13:31:00.000-08:00

So aside from me doing a quick trim on her bangs, Sydney has never gotten a "real" haircut. Today was her lucky day! We went to a cute little kids salon, and she got to sit in an adorable little airplane, enjoy a yummy berry organic sucker, and watch a little Elmo!

5 minutes later we were on our way, with what was left of her berry sucker, and a mommy who couldn't believe she just paid $23.00 for a haircut (this did include a card to hold her first locks, and a tip) All this to say her next haircut will probably include a non organic sucker, some elmo, and her mommy doing her best to keep her head straight as she makes a couple quick snips.......

A 3 HOUR TOUR

2010-03-04T13:28:00.000-08:00

Serously I have spent several hours trying to load a video of Sydney dancing and nothing...... My mouth hurts from eating more krispy treats...(see below posts) and I need to focus on packing (we sold our house)

Will try again later.......

Life Lessons

2010-03-04T13:08:00.000-08:00

This week I have learned the following things: Mostly all the hard way.....

Always make sure you have your wallet before you get in the car to run errands.... Most stores will not except stale goldfish crackers or an extra binky as a payment form.

Shut bathroom door during potty time to avoid Sydney's quick escape followed by her peeing on the floor. I'm not sure whether to give her a potty treat or not for this.......

Never, Never use your husbands razor to shave your legs, even if it does mean getting out of the warm shower to search for a new razor. It's not enough that my legs are as pale as my grandpa's, now they are covered in band-aids.

Uploading video's to this blog is painfully slow..... You may or may not get to see the video!

When your neighbor brings over rice krispy treats, pace yourself.... The roof of my mouth and tongue are so sore and I keep eating more! It sorta feels like I used my husbands razor on the roof of my mouth. Thanks for the delicious treat Sherry!!!

Happy Valentines

2010-02-12T13:04:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentines from our little sweetheart!!

Side note: Making tu tu's is a lot of work

Another side note: What an adorable little girl, right??

Big Girl Potty

2010-02-12T12:54:00.000-08:00

Sydney has been pretty intersted in the potty for a couple weeks, but last night when she said "potty" I took her in and let her sit on it. I was super suprised when I saw that she had actually gone potty. So suprised in fact that I left the bathroom for just a minute and came back to find that she had pooped all over the floor.... It was on the rug, on her feet, on the potty... My excitement quickly turned into disgust! I tried to get her in the bath, but her dirty feet and behind deposited some floaties, which yucked me out even more. She was really confused about why she was in the tub, and I didn't want to freak her out after only one time going potty so we let her out of the tub, scrubbed it thoroughly and came back for a bath later. She made another potty this morning, and I was much quicker to get that diaper back on her little buns, to avoid anymore messes.... Let the fun begin!!

Buyer beware.......

2010-02-02T12:27:00.000-08:00

I've never heard of a Kirby doing this before, but I had to share my story to keep others safe..... Saturday I left my vacuum out in the hallway after using it. I walked by it several times thinking I should put it away, but never got around to it. That night as I was headed into our bedroom it jumped out in front of me in a dark hallway and nearly took my life. I know it jumped out at me, because it is impossible that I would be so stupid and walk right into it......

This was one of those moments that you would love to have on camera. I had a glass of water in my hand that went flying, and yet somehow ended up all over my head!! I went straight over the handle, and Kirbys really are built like tanks. I have bruises on my abdomen and legs to prove it. I lay on the ground on top of the vacuum half laughing and half crying!! Ahhh..... Just another one of those humbling moments.

Please you can never be to cautious around an unplugged vaccuum in a dark hallway. Share this with everyone you know, so that no one else falls prey to this dangerous attacker.

I couldn't resist!!

Monkeys in Captivity

2010-02-02T12:18:00.001-08:00

MONKEY

OUR LITTLE MONKEY

We knew it was comming, but she finally figured out how to get out of her crib. She climbed out of her pack and play at my parents, and then out of her crib the next day!!! In my frantic call to Babies r us to see if they had any crib tents in stock, I was told she was probably just ready to switch to a toddler bed. I like sleep wayyyy to much to try that just yet.... For now we just zip her into her little tent and call it a day!! Genius!!

BLOGLESS in Hubbard

2010-01-22T21:29:00.001-08:00

Updating our Blog has been on my list of to-dos for the past 4 weeks. And for some reason each week it joins the handful of tasks that I really don't want to do that roll over until the next week. I have picked up Toby's piles, scrubbed toilets, organized sock drawers, cleaned out my car, stalked Old Navy for free shipping, and even gone through the never-ending pile of junk mail multiple times, all in an effort to avoid blogging. Of course I casually check out everyone else's blogs, and even told myself I could no longer do so until I posted, which didn't last for very long. The very clear sign that I was in desperate need of an update was David's post. He usually only sneaks one in if I have been delinquent. So with that being said here I am. Ready for a fresh start!!

Before I can officially move on I need to fill in the gaps of December with a few updates on Sydney. It will be like blogging therapy for me!!

Sacked out on Christmas eve. One of the very few time she has fallen asleep in the stroller. Almost like she knew it was gonna be a crazy day!

Still producing enough drool to water all the crops in Hubbard......
And no more teeth to report.

Sandcastle building in December??

She is already a better driver than mommy!!!

Hummus, is delicious! Messy, but delicious.........

Her first Piggy tales! Mommy had to do something about that mullet! You can see she is really excited about them.

Alright, more to come........
The Sheldons

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T17:49:00.001-08:00

Dave here-

I haven't posted for awhile so here's the quick skinny since November.

December flew by with Sydney running and climbing everything and in the process saying, "no." It's pretty funny actually to watch her go to something off limits like the Christmas tree and then proceed to say 'No' while she grins at you and slaps the ornaments. She's a fun-one.

Anyway, this month I was diagnosed with reactive airway disease...apparently this is some sort of inflamation of the lungs caused by the 3 months of illness that has kicked my butt...so the docs game me two different inhalers and then in the last couple of days another sinus infection set in. I'm a disaster and I know Amy is tired of being a mom to Sydney and to me. Hopefully I can turn a corner soon as I've basically been sick since September.

I go back to teaching next week, and it's only two more weeks of wrestling then my life can slow down a little bit and I can try to get home and be with the girls more.

Amy's still teaching her Stroller Strides classes and being a phenomenal caretaker here at home. I know it's worn her down a little bit to have me be sick for so long, but she's handling it.

Over the break we had my mom come and visit us for a few days, then we spent x-mas eve with the Dukes family up at Brent and Jen's. We then travelled down to Lebanon to attend Grandma and Grandpa Duke's feast, then headed over the pass to Black Butte to visit our friends the Sumners. While there, Sydney got to go on her first sled excursion. Then it was back here to Hubbard. We had to cancel our New Year's plans with the Schreibers because of my sinus infection, then today Amy drove up to watch the Rose Bowl with Brent and Jen. I stayed home because of my illness and unfortunately the Ducks came up short. Sadness :-(

So that's pretty much been our lives for the past month. Sydney running all over, me being busy and sick, Amy taking care of all of us, then visiting friends and family for the holidays. Now next week we go back to the old grind...I guess even during the vacation it sounds like a little bit of a grind huh?

Anyway, I hope everyone who reads this blog had a great Christmas and New Year.

Dave

Bottomless Pit

2009-11-24T14:46:00.001-08:00

Sydneys Lunch:

3 Chicken nuggets

1 Cheese Stick

1/2 Avocado

1/4 Apple

1 Mum

1 Carrot (are these choking hazzards??)

Craisins and Cheerios she found in her stroller

Several ritz she bummed off the neighbor kid

And still signing for more.......

Must be a growth spurt, too bad she didn't nap as well as she is eating!!!

Totally unrelated but she really likes our duck lips!! Can't wait until the Civil War....... well actually it makes me so nervous to think about, maybe we should wait!!

Go Ducks and Go to sleep Sydney!!!!

Trick or Treat

2009-11-08T12:51:00.000-08:00

Sydney's first ride on Grandpa's John Deer

This year for Halloween we headed down to Lebanon to my parents! David and Brent were off to the Duck game so we joined Aunt Tara, Cousin Colin and her family for dinner and trick-or treating. Sydney only made it to 3 houses, before she crapped out on us. She tried to climb into each house we visited. Forget the candy she was looking for silver, and jewelry. I have to admit I had high hopes of scoring a serious stash of candy, but I am working through it! She was a very cute little lady bug, with lots of stuffing in her toosh!
We had a great time, and the big win over USC made for one festive Halloween!!

Playing Around

2009-11-05T12:26:00.002-08:00

"Rocky" the horse is a new favorite in our house
Sydney loves those springy animals at the park. I like to jump on it sometimes and see if I can make it bend all the way back!!! One at a time please!

It states clearly on the bottle "head -to-toe" body wash. It must be good for mouths too.....

We were just waiting for the first rainy day to break out the this adorable raincoat, boots, umbrella and matching bag. Talk about decked out!!

Dress rehearsal for Halloween. David got to wear his Sponge Bob costume this year, and was a big hit as always.

Just loading all of the Octobers pics onto the computer and thought these were worth sharing!

2009-11-05T12:26:00.001-08:00

1 Year Pics

2009-10-23T16:26:00.000-07:00

This lolli pop was way too big for just one hand

Not soooo lady like, but still adorable

This is her crinkle face, that reminds us of her cousin Colin! Very mischevious!!

Now she's got it! It's almost like she done this before!

In the midst of all the craziness around here I am just getting now getting around to posting Sydney's 1 year photos. For JCP their actually pretty cute. I really hate that place!!

We just had some family pics taken out at the pumpkin patch and as soon as I can decide on which ones I like most, I will post them as well.
The leaves on our tree out front are almost entirely gone and this rainy weather definitely has the feel of winter..... Where do the days go??

Sick Dayze......

2009-10-22T14:03:00.000-07:00

Here's a little recap of what's been happening at our house over the last three weeks

Number of Doctors appointments - 4

Number of trips to the ER - 2 and 1 frantic trip to the Vet

Number of sick days taken - 7

Number of noses running uncontrollably - 3

Number of hours of sleep lost - 424 (approx)

Number of Cans of Chicken noodle soup consumed - 5 (we ran out or it would have been much higher)

Number of hand washes in an attempt to stop Spread of germs - 895 (approx)

Number of Lost Yummy fall days - 15 and counting

Number of pumpkin pies consumed - 1 (Thanks Anne)

Number of Mommy Meltdowns - Too many to count

Toby's Blood work - Normal

Davids CT Scan, X-Ray and Blood Work - Normal

Sydney's Blood work - Normal

The Last 3 Weeks Have been ANYTHING BUT NORMAL

Little Duck, Big Pumpkins

2009-09-28T10:11:00.000-07:00

If she had any nails left she might be chewing on them.........

We need to find her a chair, because she loves sitting on this little cart!!

Ready to join the offensive line if they need her!!

Daddy has been down in Eugene for the last 3 Saturdays enjoying duck football, so Sydney and I have been watching the games together!! She mainly runs around the house while I cheer and clap!! I know there are tons of parents that take their little kids to games, but the thought of trying to entertain her for 3 1/2 hours at a football game scares me to death.

Let's just say she is going to have to wait awhile to visit Autzen!

It is Finally Fall

We Finally made it to Al's to get our pumpkins. Seriously if you live anywhere near an Al's Garden World they have the most smoken deal on Pumpkins. If you buy 10 they are only $0.99 each. David saw some at Safeway for $4.99. What a rip!! Our strategy this year was to get as many big ones as we could, hoping that Sydney wouldn't be able to pick them up!! So far, so good!!

Just one year ago.......

It's hard to believe

Our little pumpkin

Is not so little......

You'll notice she does not have a lolli pop, just a couple craisins!!!

Enjoy this yummy fall weather!!

Lolli Pop Lolli Pop

2009-09-21T12:20:00.000-07:00

Clipping Sydney's nails has never been a breeze, but with a silly song or two and a toy to distract her we have managed to keep them under control. This is no longer the case!!! It may be a horrible tactic, but I have taken to bribery!! She kept the little pink sucker tucked awkwardly under her tongue for the most part. Pink, sticky, drool rolled off her chin, covering her once white shirt.

Happy as a clam!!!!!

Until mommy took away her precious new treat

I have created a monster!!

The bag of suckers is only to be used for the most desperate times....... Baths, diaper changes,walks, nap-time, dinner, car rides, story time, pictures....... I can see how this could quickly get out of hand! I may have to re-think the suckers!

Is it fall yet??

2009-09-08T12:30:00.000-07:00

This picture was probably taken right before she ripped the glasses off one of our faces, or hit us with one of her toys, because she looks wayyyy to sweet. She is starting to learn NO, and even shakes her head when she knows she shouldn't be doing something, but she can be a little stinker sometimes. She especially loves to pull my hair, which really hurts. She starts laughing and comes back for more as soon as I get her little hands free.

Sydney was trying to feed Toby a bowl from her tea set. He is definitely more excitied about all of the food she throws off her tray, but he gave it a good chomp. Unfortunately it was a good enough chomp to break her bowl........ Sydney spends much of her day crawling on Toby, attempting to throw his toys, dropping snacks for him, pulling on his ears and fur, (I feel his pain)and chasing him around the house. The poor guy has a lot of years of this ahead of him..... Sorry Toby!!!

Pumpkin pajama's- Check

Pumpkin from our garden- Check

Fall weather- Check

Are you sure it isn't time for fall??

Sydney is all about reading books these days. This book about pumpkins is one of her favorites!!! Thanks Aunt Jen! We did start the fall decorating this weekend, but David decided that it was too early to go and buy pumpkins... Go Figure!!! The poor kid doesn't even have a chance does she???

The Sheldons

Getting out of the house

2009-08-23T11:57:00.000-07:00

Look at those kissable lips!! This was our trip to the lake to feed the ducks.
Too bad feeding ducks here is not allowed....

We tried to feed the kids in the fountain, but this was also not allowed. What a bust!

Off to the Childrens Musuem to see if we can entertain a one-year old!!

The 5 very small fish in this algae covered tank were fun to watch for a couple of minutes

Checkers anyone?? It's safe to say that she is a little too young to appreciate this

place just yet. Back to the drawing board....

After most of our trips to try and do something fun with Sydney, we get the feeling that she would have been just as entertained running around our house. Maybe it's more about keeping us entertained?? Guess we'll just have to keep trying!!

Filters

2009-08-12T13:57:00.000-07:00

Filters are good for lots of things.....
Coffee, air, oil and perhaps most important people's brains.....

Even if you think someone's kid is not cute, you should never tell them that!

This is for the anonymous poster who said Sydney wasn't cute..... Thanks for checking out our blog, but please use your filter next time!

Things I can't wait for:

2009-08-06T11:20:00.000-07:00

Things I can't wait for:

-The time to fix my header....... although if I wasn't making this list, I could probably be working on that!

-Sydney's top teeth to come in so we can get some sleep at our house

-The leftover Birthday cupcakes to get eaten, so it's not a constant temptation, No, I am not eating one right now.......

-For one of our attempts to get out and do something fun with Sydney to actually work out. Yesterdays trip to feed the ducks was a bust. Apparently feeding ducks is no longer advised, or at least not at the little lake in Tualatin. Go figure

-My Fitness test to be behind me so I can stop thinking about things like stretch reflex and isokinetic muscle contractions

-For Sydney to slow down for a minute so we can get a picture of her. She is walking all over the place, and attempts a faster get-away walk, which usually ends in her crashing into a couch, or the ottoman. It almost looks like the people on the game show Wipe Out. Not so good!!

A girl can dream......

Thanks for the inspiration Jill

1st Birthday Party

2009-08-06T10:41:00.001-07:00

Yes, it has almost been a year since Sydney was born. I am not even going to say "I can't believe how fast it has flown by", because anyone with kids knows.......

We had Sydney's party last weekend at a little park in Wilsonville with close family and friends. Sydney had lots of fun playing in the fountains with her cousins and friends, and I am pretty sure its safe to say she loves cupcakes as much as her mama.

Thanks to all of our friends and family for supporting us as we navigated our first year as parents!!!

Sidenote: There really were lots of people at the party, I just didn't do a good job taking pictures of any of them!! I have really got to work on this....

Under Construction

2009-07-21T22:47:00.000-07:00

So it's almost 11pm and the quick blog beautification that I thought I could finish tonight is not complete. I just wanted my blog fans, all 2 of you, to know that I am still hard at work constructing a new header.... It's the big rectangle at the top of the page..... Not that any of you probably care, but this one dosen't really match my new flowers....

Is it just me Jill, or did Scrapblog start charging for wayyyy more backgrounds??

Stay tuned...

Sydney Steps

2009-07-16T15:09:00.000-07:00

Rise and Shine!!!
She is so cute when we go in to get
her up from sleeping. Often times
her binky and blankets are thrown
overboard

A little time to relax!!

Cheers!!

Dave here-

Just wanted to update people on a few of the little things that have happened over the last few weeks.

Let's start with Sydney. She's getting in her top two teeth and has been a little more fussy than normal. She's also took her first steps last week and is attempting to walk all the time. She usually takes about two or three steps before turning into the drunken sailor and falling down, but she has made it up to about 5 or 6. She had an appointment with her pediatrician about two weeks ago and is weighing in at 17lbs 11 oz and in the 10th percentile for her weight (skinny girl) and 29 inches long and 60th percentile for heigth. She has recently taken to waking up at around 6 am, much to our dismay, which means we have to trade off on who gets to sleep in..... She has turned into quite the little joker falling down to get tickled, running over Toby with her walker, and imitating our coughs. I am not sure we need any more jokers in this house. Hard to believe it's almost her 1 year b-day! Crazy.

Amy is continuing to work towards becomming a stroller-strides instructor. She's says it's a butt-kicker and I believe her. She is trying to find time to study for the certification test, that she takes in August, but It seems like there are never enough hours in the day!! (between naps)

As for me, I finished school the 3rd week in June. It was tough to say goodbye to the kids, but it was easy to say hello to a break. Althought the first few weeks were anything but restful. I was busy filling out an application packet for George Fox University's Education Program. It was an extensive project, but the hardest part was the essay that I wrote, it turned out to be nine pages long. Phew! That was a bugger. After that we painted our house. We had no idea just how much work that was going to be. Finally, last week, we were able to start Summer. We traveled to Bend to visit my parents for a couple of days, then stopped off in Black Butte Ranch to visit the Sumners for a couple as well. That was fun to see all of them. This week it's back to just filling the days with busy tasks while Sydney naps and then just playing with her when she's awake. Next week we are heading to Eagle Crest with some friends. After that, I have just a couple more weeks before inservices and then back to school! It always flies by!

Well, that's the happenings. I'm looking forward to Fall and Duck football starting, but hoping that these Summer days don't go by too quickly.

Dave

Sydney Steps

Sorry for any motion sickness!!

Father's Day

2009-06-20T22:09:00.000-07:00

Happy First Father's Day Daddy!!!

Lord, please bless our fathers, these men who mean so much to us, who are greatly responsible for who we are and who we are becoming.

Bless them for having the courage to do what’s necessary to keep us out of trouble, for making us do the right thing, for helping us build our character, and bless them for pushing us to do our best, even when they just want to love us.

Bless our fathers for being our protectors, for leading us through stormy times to safety, for making us believe that everything will be all right and for making it so.

Bless our fathers for quietly making a living to provide for those they love most, for giving us food, clothing, shelter and the other material things that really matter, for unselfishly investing time and money in us that they could have spent on themselves.

Bless our fathers, Lord, for saving some energy for fun, for leading us on adventures to explore the outer reaches of ourselves, for making us laugh, for being our playmates and our friends.

Bless them for being our secure foundation, our rock, for holding on tight to us...until it’s time to let us go. Lord, bless these men we look up to, our role models, our heroes, our fathers.

BEACH BABY

2009-06-03T11:27:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we decided to head to the beach to escape the heat!! Well escape the heat we did! It was a balmy 66 degrees in Lincoln City with a thick layer of mist along the beach! It was a wee bit chilly at first, but we survived. Sydney had lots of fun crawling around in the sand. Even with our best efforts to keep her hands out of her mouth, she managed to eat quite a bit of sand. I can't imagine that it tasted good..... It was a nice little getaway, and we can't wait to bring her back this summer!

The many faces that make Daddy laugh blog.

2009-06-01T20:20:00.000-07:00

Hi- My Daddy thinks I'm pretty cute and he laughs at all of the silly faces I make. I thought I'd share with you some of my best ones and see if you laugh too. Enjoy! Sydney.

Mommy Says NO!!!

2009-05-20T15:40:00.000-07:00

"Sydney, Mommy says NO playing in the dishwasher!!!"

"But Mom......" (Translated from a squeal)

"Well at least smile, so Mommy can get a picture of her defiant little girl......."

Too cute for her own good!

2009-04-21T15:26:00.000-07:00

It's finally my turn to use the phone......
Easter Re-takes

She loves the tub!

Safety First!!!

There were too many cute pictures for just one post so here are a few more!!!

Hauling tooshie, Hot tubing and Holidays

2009-04-17T17:16:00.000-07:00

Cover the outlets and put away the sharp objects Sydney is crawling. It's been about two weeks since she converted from her arms only scoot, to getting those cute little legs underneath her. Within a day she also discovered that she could pull herself up on things. Her poor little head has gotten quite a few bumps as she gains her balance, and she has definitely earned an Emmy for the tears and bottom lip after the falls. Besides crawling all over the house Sydney has also taken a liking to our hot tub. She loves to splash and play with her rubber duckie. David is a fan because during baseball season the hot tub is his happy place!!! David just started his first week of games, and he is anxious for his young team to get some experience.

Along with all of Sydney's moving we have also been on the go!! We spent some of Davids spring break with friends in Eagle Crest and then a couple nights with more friends at Black Butte. It actually snowed some while we were there. Gotta love the Oregon spring break!! We had lots of great food and enjoyed time in the pool and several walks! We were reminded how sleep can be compromised during travel, as we ended up cuddling in a twin bed the first night nestled in between two rooms with crying little girls. Besides the sleep loss we loved every minute of some much needed fellowship and time away! The following week Davids mom came for a visit and got lots of time with Sydney!!

Sydney celebrated her first Easter last weekend, by sleeping through most of the festivities!! I had to do some Easter re-takes of her in her little dress. For some reason we never get pictures of her on holidays. It could be because we are too busy eating....... Sorry Sydney. Easter is always a special time to celebrate Christ's ultimate sacrifice, and enjoy time with family.

Here are a couple updated Sydney pictures for you to enjoy.

We hope you are all as excited about this sunny weather as we are!!!

The Sheldons

Whoa Baby....

2009-02-22T15:55:00.000-08:00

Mom, you missed again......

Two square meals a day

A rare photo with me and Sydney.... David is not meeting his picture quoto!!!

Her poor hair looks like this after every nap!!!

6 Months Old....... Impossible!

14 lbs 12oz and 26 inches long........... Unfeasible

Eating Solids and scooting all over the place.........Inconceivable!

Speaking Spanish and French........ Okay you got me; totally ridiculous!!!

Our life continues to adapt as our little Monkey changes. She loves eating, and this has certainly made diaper changing much easier. It definitely does not smell any better, however. The only thing she hasn't really liked so far are peas. That's only because she hasn't had brussel sprouts yet. Is it too early for her to fear brussel sprout night?? Thanks Dad!! She loves oatmeal almost as much as David does, ecspecially filled with blueberries. Whenever we are eating she has a curious look on her face, like she is waiting for her bite..... Things are going to get pretty trying when it means sharing a bite of ice cream or cake!!!!

Sydney contiues to love tummy time and just remembered last week how easy it is to roll over. This coupled with her ability to scoot a little on her belly and turn herself around has made for a much more mobile baby. She is still so tiny it's hard to imagine her crawling, but it's probably only a couple weeks away. Lord help me!!! We are anxiously awaiting Spring, and opportunities to get out and have some adventures with our little girl. We only have about a two-hour window right now in-between naps so we have had to be content staying close to home! Speaking of naps, Sydney just woke up. David is getting some good giggles out of her, and I never miss out on an opportunity to hear those.

Lots of Love

The Sheldons

January End Greetings

2009-01-26T18:32:00.000-08:00

Dave here...I haven't had the opportunity to lay out any blog'n since Amy took over; but here's my mutiny and I'm takin' the reigns this evening. Don't expect anything too glorious or girly. Just a simple post telling everyone the what-for and then gett'n the heck out of Dodge. So here's the low down:

We're amazed at how quickly Sydney is changing. Her new thing, as of today, is to spit. Not big 'ol loogies, but she puts her lips together, tongue sticking out and then blows hard. She thinks that's pretty funny. My glasses do not. Also, she is giggling, reaching for stuff, eating oatmeal and various fruit purees, going for rides in the back pack, and rolling over like a champ.

Amy is being a stellar stay-home mom. As for me, I just teach all day and then spend time with the girls in the evening. I like to try to say that I'm going to work out, and sometimes we do, but alas, with child and busy life, I think that I will eventually have to just give into my "chubbiness." Makes me cuddly I think.

Hope this finds you all well.

Dave

Merry Christmas from the Sheldon's

2008-12-23T14:10:00.000-08:00

We have somehow managed to survive the artic blast of 2008 at the Sheldon house. As beautiful as the snow is we are anxiously awaiting it's departure as our cabin fever has become unbearable. We have gotten out for several walks and enjoyed some serious down time, but alas, we are ready to do something away from home! We are looking forward to some time with friends and family over the next two weeks of Christmas vacation. We have planned trips to Lebanon and then over to Central Oregon. So we hope you and your families all enjoy a wonderful Christmas with safe travels, good food, and fellowship in this season of joy and remembrance of Christ's birth. So a Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Love,

Amy, Sydney, David and Toby

Unto us a child is born....

2008-12-03T13:55:00.000-08:00

Go Ducks! What a game.......Yes, Sydney's bow is almost as big as her head. Thanks Malaika!!!

Brian, your special apprearances in our photo was less than amusing!! Thank goodness for cropping!

Sydney showed real promise with the Christmas lights!!! Her dad needed lots of help fixing all of the burnt out bulbs!!!

Tongues were made for sticking out!!!

Round Two: Technology 1 point - Amy 1 point

Enjoy some of Sydney's Squawks!!!

November has been a busy month for Sydney. She is now rolling over, standing up (with a little help) and talking up a storm!!! She loves sucking on her hands and is producing enough drool to keep Oregon from facing a drought this year. She is so interested in the world around her and wants to be up and going!!! I am not sure how I will get anything done once she is mobile!!! Better start looking for a good housekeeper now.....

We had a great Thanksgiving. David got a much needed break from school and wrestleing and we were able to get some good family time in, oh and we ate a ton too!!! We have the tree and the lights up on the house and I am working on the inside Christmas decorations. As Sydney experiences her first Christmas we are struck with how important it is to teach her the true meaning of this holiday. We have a whole new perspective on the joy and wonder of childbirth and hope to share with her the true SPIRIT of the season!!!

Look for more posts soon. Sydneys weighs in next week, and we have some Christmas pictures that I will load!!!

The Sheldons

Trick or Treat

2008-10-31T14:27:00.000-07:00

Only a couple more years and Sydney will be old enough to hit the streets for candy!! I am going to be one of those moms who confiscates "questionable" candy and then eats it all when she goes to school. Hopefully pants with elastic waists make a come back!!!! Sydney and I visited David at school today so his students could see her in costume. We are headed to our churches harvest party tonight, after we hand out some candy!!! David and Toby would be happier if we just stayed home, but I have a hard time giving out candy to 16 year olds without costumes. Toby grew out of this costume and his new one has arms, which look totally ridiculous. The little kids love seeing him, and we give out licks in addition to a handful of candy!!!

Oh almost forgot Sydney now weighs 11 lbs 3 oz and is 23 1/2 inches long.......

I've done it......

2008-10-23T14:20:00.000-07:00

I probably take at least one or two video clips of Sydney every day in hopes of capturing a smile or a coo, and nothing. Well today I hit the jackpot!!!

Aunt Jen thought she might be ready to sit in the Bumbo chair yesterday!!! I pulled it out of the closet and thought "No way is her cute little behind going to fill up this chair"........

"Her neck is prettys strong, but it can't be ready for this!!!" Well she is ready!!! She turned her little head from side to side taking things in from a whole new perspective. Toby is excitied because he dosen't have to bend over so far to give her a good lick!!! It is both exciting and sad to see our little girl growing up so fast!!!

I bet you're wondering where the stinkin video is...... Well I tried loading it 5 times for over 30 minutes each, and nothing. All of my work was in vain!! Guess you will have to settle for the cute picture and I will keep trying to get the video to load!!!

October update

2008-10-23T13:39:00.000-07:00

Sydney's one month photos

Dolled up for F-Day
I could not make this face the right direction, but I love this picture

October has been a busy month at the Sheldons.

David is back at work and gearing up for wrestling practices next week. He is realizing how precious his time with Sydney is and can't wait to get home from work each day. There have been Duck football games to attend, several of which he would like to forget, and lots of time shared with family and friends. We had our annual F-day the first weekend of October. Thanks to the Johnstons and the Schriebers for saving it from being a total bust!!! Last weekend we spent with our dear friends the Sumners in Black Butte. There is no better place to soak up the beauty of fall than on our long walks around the ranch.

Our little girl will be 3 months old this week. She is talking up a storm, which we can still never manage to capture on video. She loves looking at her stuffed animals and has discovered that her reflection in the mirror is fun to admire. It gets even cuter when mom's face is next to hers!!! She can now roll over from her tummy onto her back, but she should be wearing a helmet because sometimes her head takes the brunt of the fall. She had her first shot this month and somehow I managed to keep it together. I did however feel like she deserved a new outfit for her bravery!!! We will get her new stats next week at her doctors appointment so I won't be able to slack off for another month before updating the blog. I know that she is growing, but there is something about an actual weight and height that makes it so concrete.

For some reason I have seriously underestimated how busy a stay-at-home mom can be!!! Oct has flown by, with fewer days actually staying at home than I would like. I am realizing that it is not necessary to pack an entire day with to-do's, and have made an effort to slow down to enjoy cuddling on the couch and a nap or two. I am proud to announce that I am in the race for wife of the year for 2008. I love having dinner ready for David when he gets home and taking care of things around the house so he has more time to relax and enjoy Sydney. I have even taken over the budget, which to anyone familiar with my spending habits, is a scary thought. Stay-tuned for my campaign commercials and live debates!!! I promise to be more amusing than Sarah Palin.

Hope this finds you all enjoying these beautiful fall days!!

The Sheldons

Caught in the act

2008-09-21T12:27:00.000-07:00

One strong little neck

Our Little Pumkin
Not quite as big as a football......
Just another photo op

Here are a couple more photos of the babe, since I am sure you were all disappointed to see so few of her in my other post.

6 WEEKS AND COUNTING

2008-09-21T09:03:00.000-07:00

So I feel like I have to apologize for my poor blogging behavior. Nearly a month has past since my last update. Father Forgive Me.... I am getting harassed by several of you to see new pictures!!! Clearly the standards were set way to high!!!! I do have to warn you that there is much to cover, so hold onto your hats this is going to be a long blog.... Sorry for those of you with short attention spans.....

SEPTEMBER.... Honestly I have been so caught up in enjoying each day with Sydney... and David, watching her change that this month has flown by.... Sydney is 6 weeks old as of yesterday, and weighing in around 10 lbs, without a full diaper. She has become so much more alert and we are enjoying lots of smiles and her little noises..... She continues to stretch her little arms like crazy and kick her legs, which has me thinking that Mia Hamm might just get a run for her money. The other day while I was trying to capture some of her coo's, she rolled over on the bed. David is sure that my weight beside her, gave her a little assistance. I am pretty sure that had nothing to do with it.

September got off to a crazy start with a visit to Lebanon, where Sydney was introduced to all 3 sets of Great Grandparents!!! She is so lucky to have them around to spoil and adore her. David headed to Eugene for the first Duck game, and Sydney somehow slept through the win with her mom cheering at the T.V. The next morning, going on too little sleep we headed back up to Portland to meet up with our friends Greg, Chelsea, and their one year old little girl Addi, to head on a road trip to Sun Valley. Both girls were troopers in the car as we climbed some serious elevation.... Sun Valley is beautiful and we literally stayed at the base of the mountain, in walking distance to the chair lift. No snow in September though!!!! We quickly learned that vacationing with kids was going to be a change.... We managed to get Sydney to the pool for her first swim, and take her on a hike in the sawtooth mountain range at almost 10,000 ft. We weren't really sure if a 3 week old was ready for all of this, but she didn't seem to mind!!! It was great to spend the week with Greg, Chels, and Addi and we are very blessed to have them as friends.The only souvenirs I brought back from our trip were a cold, and a lot of laundry. We spent the next week recovering.

David heads back to work the last week in September, so we have just been enjoying our time with him. I am not sure that he is ready to return after an extended summer off, but someone has to pay the bills. His horrible headaches have returned so we are navigating around those, and trying to enjoy these early days of fall with lots of walks. We already have over 20 pumpkins around the house and all of our beloved decorations up!!! I am annoyed because no one is selling my ornamental gourds and pumpkins yet so my decorations are not complete. Just one of the daily struggles I face as a stay-at-home mom.... I wouldn't trade it for the world!!!
Alright that doesn't even being to cover all that has gone on in a month, but I can tell you are getting bored, and blogs are only supposed to provide a snap shot right?? Not a short novel about the Sheldon's life that most people stop reading after the second paragraph.

God Bless
The Sheldons

Breast Pumps and Wet Wipes!!!

2008-08-16T16:23:00.000-07:00

Newly aquired Mom Skills:

Night Vision- Very important for navigating the dark hallway to the nursery, and trying not to step on Toby who has decided that he should sleep right under Sydney's cradle. I think he may feel slighted because we had to relocate his bed to the other side of the room.

The Sway- The constant rocking motion that I involuntarily do 24 hrs a day. It's a lot like being on a boat, only I haven't experienced motion sickness. I have dramamine on hand in case this becomes an issue

Taskmaster- I am constantly thinking of all of the things that I need to get done in a day, and rarely getting around to any of them. Apparently nesting phase is far from over.....

Swadler Extrodinare- Thanks Jen for an amazing swaddle technique. Our little Houdini sometimes manages to break an arm free, but I have no idea how!!!

Photographer - We had hoped to find a way to attach a camera to Sydney, kind of like a pacifer to capture all of the firsts, but still haven't quite figured out how to do it. We definitely won't be sticking it in her diaper as she fills it constantly.
We each have a quota of 14 photos a day that we have to meet

Numbchuck Enthusiast

- Brent and Jen and Kym please it is my "last pregnant wish" that you watch Napoleon Dynamite!!! Let it be said that David had to humor several "last pregnant wishes".

Here are some more photo's of our beautiful little girl! Hope you all are well and surviving this little heat wave!!!

God Bless
The Sheldon's

Home again Home again..... Jiggity Jig

2008-08-14T14:10:00.000-07:00

The Sheldons have sucessfully survived the first 6 days of parenthood. The return policy for Miss Sydney ran up at 5 so I guess we'll keep her!!! It is amazing how much one little person can shake up your world. David and I are totally smitten with our little girl, and can't imagine a day without her!!!
It was great to get home after a couple days at St. V's!! Thanks for all of the visits... although most of them mysteriously came as I was just laying down to take a nap.... I am learning that functioning on little sleep is possible and am thankful for the naps that I have stock piled thus far. Sydney decided to really show us the meaning of sleepless last night with hourly feedings and one fussy baby. We had an appt this morning with a lactaction specialist at 9:00 and I am going on about 3 hours of sleep right now. David, Toby and Sydney are all cuddled in their beds and I can't get my mind to shut off to join them. This was never a problem before.

The good news is Sydney is very healthy!! She has already gained 9 oz and is above her birth weight!!! It usually takes about 10 days for babies to make it back to their birth weight! While she packs on the pounds I am hoping to shed some, although we have already been spoiled with some meals from friends and definitely took advantage of all of the milkshakes and the "night owl" menu at St. V's!!!! It was a lot like a stay at a "fine hotel", minus the "fine" and throw in some vicodine and an epideral. By the way praise the Lord for Epiderals!!!

Well I am hoping that the cupcake I just ate is enough to send me into a slumber so that's all for now.
Thanks again for all your prayers and support. We feel very blessed to have so many special people in our lives to share this with.

Lot's of Love
David, Amy, Sydney and Toby

( David is thinking about adding a y to the end of his name, because he is feeling a little left out)

Sydney's Here!

2008-08-12T17:28:00.001-07:00

I'll let Amy give all the details, but the basics are:
Born on 8-9-08
Weighed 7lbs 11oz
20 1/4 inches long

Just a few pics here, waaaaaaaaay more to follow!

Good Intentions

2008-07-28T21:49:00.001-07:00

Alright,So I had really good intentions of updating this blog more frequently, but between bowls of ice cream and naps its been pretty busy around our house!!! We are now only 4 days away from D-day, and no sign of Sydney!!! I wish I could say that we were totally at peace with waiting for her, but we are getting pretty anxious!!!

Here are a couple recent photos of the work on the nursery. Still a few finishing touches to be made, much to David's dismay!!! I have definitely had my fare share of nesting in the form of hours spent decking out Sydney's room and then changing my mind about what I just did!!! Also a picture of us in front of our garden!! I am sad to say that this has become my new staple outfit!! Davids drawer full of white tee shirts has really come in handy as I attempt to stay comfortable and cool. I have even had to go so far as to borrow a pair of his shoes, but mostly in an effort to maintain a good pedicure!!

Hope this finds you all enjoying the summer months and I look forward to posting baby pictures soon and of course all of the video of the delivery..... You know I am kidding right!!!

Take Care
The Sheldon's

One Big Belly

2008-04-20T17:36:00.000-07:00

Things are about to get a whole lot more exciting in both the Sheldon's blog and the Sheldon's life. Up until now we have really only posted Europe and occasional updates from David, but with the addtion to our family you can expect us to take blogging to the next level. I can sense your excitement!!!!

We are dangerously close to the 3rd trimester and as you can see by the shots of my belly I am starting to pop out. This seems to mean that any women I come into contact with, from the restroom to the checkout line feel the need to talk to me about pregnancy.... If I wasn't always in a hurry to make it to the restroom this really wouldn't be a problem. David and I are still battling it out in the search for a meaningful name, that prepares our daughter for a very happy and successful future. No pressure.... He has already nixed my favorite name and I haven't been so fond of several of his choices... At least we have several more months to hash it out. We did get all of the baby furniture put together and thanks to a couple good friends have a closet and multiple drawers full of clothes for the little one. I can't wait to get some paint on the walls and finish decorating!!!
I am still feeling great and counting down the days until her arrival!!! David is busy coaching baseball, and loves practicing in this cold and rainy weather. He gets by thinking of how nice the hot tub is going to feel when he gets home!!!

Well I don't want to overwhelm anybody just yet. I will save that for my daily posts after our little girl arrives. Hope this finds everyone happy and healthy
God Bless
The Sheldons

It's a girl!

2008-03-09T10:58:00.000-07:00

So, we have high-speed internet now and a new computer, so we should be able to post more updates. With that said, we went in for the ultra-sound last Thursday and found out we are having a little girl. The technician said not to quote him on it, because you never really know until you're holding the baby in your hands, but it is most likely a little girl.

So now the name game begins. We haven't really had much chance to discuss it because Amy flew to Arizona for the weekend with a bunch of her Bible-study friends. I'm sure when she returns that we'll start bouncing some ideas around. The big question is do we tell anyone? The baby names books seem to say that we shouldn't just because people seem to feel free to criticize...I think that's a bunch of bologna! So we'll probably let everyone know.

Attached is a picture of us with our friends Rob and Blake making a big 'ol snowman. By the way, if there are any of my students reading this, be sure to let me know how you're doing. Take care everyone, Dave

Baby, Wrestling, and a New Year

2008-01-13T10:45:00.001-08:00

Hello everyone- Well the cat is out of the bag...Yup, Amy and I are going to finally cross that bridge into parenthood. Pretty exciting and scarry. Everyone keeps asking me if I'm ready or saying stupid things like, "Oh, you're life's gonna change now." Thanks, I didn't know that and besides, my life has already changed as Amy has unofficially joined the secret sorority of mom's. This sisterhood feels like it is appropriate to induct new members by sharing intimate details of their own pregnancy(ies). Things such as: pinched veins, constipation, moodiness, and tearing...ummmmm yeah, I have an active imagination and so when I hear that I can see it and that pretty much sums up how my life has already changed...thanks so much for finding out my wife is pregnant and then sharing with her (while I'm standing there...really appreciate my 'honory' membership though association) your 'tearing.' Super.

On a different note, Wrestling is finally over. This is two years in a row that we got clobbered. I am feeling pretty discouraged by it right now. There is an article that from the Oregonian from early in the year that reads "Woodburn, Oregon's soccer city." Pretty much sums it up. A follow up article could read "Woodburn, do other sports exist there?" That's how I feel sometimes. We just get beat up and I continually have to remind the kids that they are wrestling very athletic kids with a history of wrestling...but who's reminding me? Sometimes all I see is my coaching getting pounded on. It's hard to not internalize your teams performance as a reflection of yourself. Anyway, it's over for another year. Time to lick the wounds and move on.

Well, the New Year is year and so much lies ahead. I will post some more pics of backdated stuff just so you can peruse some of what happened in 2007. Take care, Dave

Loooonnnggg time...no post!

2007-12-26T12:07:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I don't even know if anyone is even reading this blog since I stopped updating it about a century ago, but I thought that with the free time of X-mas break, that I'd put a few things down.

Let's skim over the past few months. Amy has just been plugging along at work and I started back with a new group of kids in September. The year has gone pretty well so far and they are really nice kids. It's just always hard to start over with a new group after two years with the previous group. This group of kids is a high functioning academic group though and very personable so I think that we are bonding quickly.

Brent (Amy's brother) and I had season tix for Duck football and the first part of the season was unreal, but with all of the injuries towards the end, it was a bitter finish. I'm going to watch the bowl game by myself so that I can turn the tv off and do something else if necessary.

In October, we hosted our annual F-day again. It was really great. Lots of: friends, family, food, fun, and the Fumpkin patch. I'll try to post some pics from this, but my computer is crazy slow with the 'ol dial-up.

We hosted Christmas Eve at our house this year and I was worried about accomodating all of the people in our little home, but it went really well. On Christmas day, Amy and I both had killer headaches and so we just stayed home and chillaxed all day.

Oh, I also started a new wrestling season in November, we are not a very athletic or experienced team, but we are trying our best. It just sucks to get beat on by almost everyone. Oh well.

Well, that pretty much sums it all up for now. Hope everyone had a great X-mas and will also have a good New Year's. Take care, Dave n' Amy.

Been awhile, but here's a new update

2007-08-21T07:46:00.000-07:00

Okay, so it's been a little over a month since our last blog entry, but we've been experiencing computer difficulties for almost that entire time and it now looks as if we are going to have to buy a new computer. Ours keeps shorting out the phones in our house. We've paid a computer guy to put in a new hard-drive and a new modem over the last couple of weeks and it is still acting weird, but I guess it's almost 7 years old. I don't even know how long a computer's life span should be, but 7 years seems pretty good.

Anyway, I have just one question...where has the summer gone? After Europe it seemed to just fly by and I'm not sure I even did anything. I did have an entire week of studying. I read two social studies text books all the way through. One on World History and the other on US History. I didn't do this for fun, but rather I had to take the Middle School Social Studies Praxis Exam to qualify for Bush's Highly Qualified Teacher stuff. The tests are completely bogus and in contradition to any kind of assessment of concepts and intelligence. They are merely 90 multiple choice questions pulled from 10,000 years of history that test specific dates, people, ideas, events, etc. Basically the kind of test that makes you memorize stuff, reguritate it and then forget it....no learning what-so-ever! I will find out in about two weeks if I passed, but even though I studied so hard, I didn't feel good about it.

The next week we had a big family reunion at the beach. It was fun. We stayed in Lincoln City, pretty much right on the beach. I got to meet a bunch of the Dukes family that lives in Iowa and all over the US. They are all really nice people. We pretty much just ate, talked, and relaxed. It was fun but not necessarily good for my ever-expanding waist line.

Amy and I have also bought a new vehicle, a Honda Pilot...some new furniture, leather, easy to clean....and are moving into a phase where we can start thinking about children. We are just really trying to set our ducks in a row before we go there. We want to have two reliable, long-term cars paid off; a bunch of debt paid off; and some money in savings. Now that we have Europe done, the cars being taken care of, kid-friendly furniture, we are working hard to pay off all of that debt and we are hoping that in about a year from now that there will be a bambino. We shall see. I like the country lyric that says, "If you want to hear God laugh, tell him your plans." I'm a planner, but things don't always work out the way I plan.

So this is now my last week of summer. I go back next week and so that raises the question again...where did summer go? I guess it was Europe, car shopping, dealing with the computer, studying and taking a test, going to the family reunion, house work, going to the gym, a few days of golfing, and then it was over. Ah well, bummer...at least Duck Football starts soon. Well, if anyone is still reading this blog, take care and we love comments. Dave

p.s.-I'd tried to put some pictures on here, but our stupid computer isn't appearing to be able to do it right now. Sorry

Some more pics from Santorini and Athens

2007-07-19T14:46:00.000-07:00

So I know it doesn't sound like we had fun on our trip...but we did! It was just not a vacation. I learned that there is a clear difference between traveling and vacationing. It was fun, but it was also tiring and a lot of work. We feel good to have seen so many historical landmarks of the ancient world and to have had the opportunity and so I will share some of the pics we took with you all. We have nearly 650 total...we really slowed down towards the end...the pics I will post are either in Santorini or Athens. Take care, Dave and Amy

Back home now

2007-07-13T09:30:00.001-07:00

Alright, so we've got some catching up to do, but let's start with the fact that we are now home. The flight home was long and we traveled for almost 22 hours. The length was due to a postponed flight in Frankfurt and other various things, but we are just happy to be home now.

Let's go back to the day after my episode in the hospital. We went to a beach on Santorini called Perissa. It is the black rock beach. We rented these lounge chairs and an umbrella and began to sun ourselves, intermittently taking dips in the refreshing ocean. It was beautiful and we had on plenty of sunscreen. What we didn't know was that the sun was being reflected off the rocks below our chairs and radiating back up onto us. It was literally cooking us. After a few hours, we decided to call it a day and we drove back to the hotel where the effects of the 'cooking' began to set in. Amy's back, stomach, and legs were bright red. My legs and back were pretty well done for, but it was mostly my legs. Almost a week later now and my legs are still red! We paid for this burning for the next few days as we couldn't hardly move. Laying, sitting, or moving...it didn't matter...it all hurt! Later I'll talk about that more. That evening we were able to make it to a little village called Oia and take in the sunset. It is supposed to be the most beautiful sunset in the world...yea it was nice, but the nicest? Nah. Anyway, we had an adventure driving there as the roads are so antiquated, narrow, and dangerous. There are straight drop-offs to the ocean below with absolutely no shoulder on the roads, and the people there, in fact in all of Europe, are incredibly reckless drivers. They go so fast, they pass with abandon, and almost run others off of the road. We noticed this in all of Europe. Also, Europe must be the scooter and motorcycle capitol of the world. People everywhere had them and the people who ride them all seem to have a death wish. They skirt in and out of traffic, switch lanes without warning, and drive so crazy. A man in Athens told us that about 5,000 people a year die in Athens because of the way they ride scooters. I am so thankful to be back to the states. Being in Europe was like taking all of the worst drivers, removing all rules, and saying: go for it!

Anyway, the next day we took a high speed ferry to Athens. Luckily, I GOT SICK! This trip really hammered me. My feet hurt and had blisters from all of the walking the first two weeks. Then I ended up in the hospital. Then I got sunburned. Then I got sick on the ferry. I'm still sick and feel horrible, but anyway,we got to Athens after about 4 hours of being on the boat where we were met by our transfer and driven to our next hotel near the Acropolis. WE should have been excited to explore Athens, but with our sunburns and my sickness we just wanted to stay inside our air-conditioned room. It didn't help that it was 101 degrees the first day we were there and then in the high 90's the next two days. So our first day in Athens, we just hide in our hotel trying to recover.

The next day, we took a tour out to Ancient Corinth. We spent an hour-and-a-half driving in the bus to pick up people, then anther 1.5 hours getting to Corinth. WE definately should have done Athens before Santorini, because we were no longer in the tourist mode. We were in the "we just spent 5 days relaxing, being sick, and getting sunburned, so we don't care anymore just get us home" mode. Seriously, we just walked around Corinth, the place where Paul converted many Romans to Christianity and were just very much 'ho-hum'. So it was interesting, but we just wanted to get back to the air-conditioned bus. It was still very painful for us to move. After getting back to our hotel, we just hide some more. We started day-dreaming about our home, our friends and family, and our pooch. We were unbelievably home-sick and ready to be done. If you could have given me a ticket to return home without seeing Athens, I would have taken it.

Our final day in Athens we were feeling better and we had one last tour. We were a little more excited and ready this day. Our tour took us to all of the major places of Athens. The temple of Zeus, the original Olympic stadium, the parliment building where the guards are famous for never moving until they switch posts ceremonily, and the Acropolis. It was all very interesting to see and think about. We saw the Mars hill where Paul tried to preach Christianity to the Athenians and was rejected. On the hill of the Acropolis we saw the ancient temple devoted to Athena and the other devoted to Poseidon. It was a good day and we had a great tour guide who made it all very interesting. After the tour, Amy really had a bug to get some shopping in, so we walked through this huge shopping district...but it was just all souvenir stuff that was silly and overpriced. We really did look for things to bring home to people, but in all of the areas we were in, it was all so touristy that we would just be spending a small fortune on crap that people would probably look at and be like, "oohh, a glass bead, that's special, thanks" and then throw it in a drawer. So sorry. We kept looking for things that we thought would be cool, but didn't really find anything.

The next day was our last and it was the travel day I started off with at the top so that pretty much wraps it up. Some final thoughts: 1. Italians have no idea what a line is...it's just form a large group and push your way to the front. 2. Europeans are the worst drivers in the world. 3. I don't want to eat any pizza, pasta, or gyros for awhile...although I'm still up for some gelato. 4. Never pre-book any tours, they offer them all when you arrive somewhere and for a cheaper price than pre-booking. 5. Europe is covered in sidewalks and roads that are cobble stone, stone, or marble...so bring very squishy shoes to protect your feet if you every go. 6. The dollar sucks in comparison to the Euro. 7. The French are actually realling nice people. 8. Kids in Europe have no questions as to the anatomy of the human body. There are naked statues and paintings all over the place. 9. WE had a great time and would change a few things, but overall loved it. We are blessed to have had the opportunity and can't believe it's over as we have been talking about it for so long. I guess it's on to kids now.

Thanks everyone for your comments and for supporting us while we were gone. I will continue to update and use this site so keep checking back in. WE will post more pictures soon. Our computer is on the fritz and so I'm using my neighbors right now. Take care, Davie

Sicker than a dog in Santorini

2007-07-06T10:05:00.000-07:00

I believe we left you last in the city of Rome. We weren't sure we were going to make it to Greece after a long wait for our flight in the airport. We were boarded onto a bus to be taxied out to the plane and then brought back into the airport to wait for another half hour. People around us were getting pretty colorful and there was no order, which seems like an accurate way to descibe Italy. The descent on our flight into Greece had us saying our prayers. Our pilot took a very sharp angle down and we weren't sure we were going to enjoy the sunsets on Santorini, but luckily we came to a safe landing. After an evening of sleeping, or in Davids case not sleeping in the Athens Airport we boarded a plane to Santorini. We arrived at our hotel to find that they had painted the steps leading to the reception area!! It was 7:00 am and no one was there yet. We were so tired we sacked out on the stairs in front of the hotel. Not one of our finer moments!!! We had breakfast at the hotel and ventured out into the town of Fira for a couple hours until our room was ready and took a delicious nap. We spent most of the next day on the beach, and David was able to make it around the island dodging scooters and tour buses in our rental car. The next day we went on a boat ride out to the volcanic island. We met some great people from North Carolina and ended up hanging out with them the whole day. This morning David woke up feeling wretched with stuff comming out both ends. After several hours of not being able to keep anything down we headed to the hospital to try and get him an IV. The clinic on the island of Santorini is a scary sight!! Luckily our hotel manager dropped us off and was able to urge the people in emergency to help us out. After nearly passing out from dehydration David got an IV and some pain medication and with several hours of resting we were sent on our way. Apparently there is a reason our gyros were $1.80. David's plan to save us money on food ended up costing us $67 Euros, which was supprisingly affordable. We have lots of fun stories from our time in the clinic to share. Thankfully he is feeling lots better, and with any luck we will be able to spend our last day on the island without too much more excitement. I am not sure I can handle anymore. We are looking forward to getting home and being in our house with our cute dog. The island is full of stray dogs, which make us miss Toby even more. I pet one the other day and realized they don't see a good bath very often. Now I just admire them from a distance!! Just a couple more days and our adventure is over!!!

The apple

2007-06-30T11:15:00.005-07:00

Oh, the apple in the toilet picture below is one more incident from Florence. Amy handed me the apple, which we had been looking forward to, and I accidently dropped it into the toilet. Florence was cursed.

Rome

2007-06-30T11:15:00.004-07:00

So after the Florence episode we got into Rome. We took the metro to our stop and as we got out of the metro station...BAM!...there's the coloseum! It was impressive. We went through the initial, "we're lost" thing again, but found our hotel pretty easily. We checked in with this cute little Italian lady and quickly crashed.
the next day we had to be early risers because we had a tour of the Vatican. We were still in line for 3 hours though! We met a couple from Australia and another couple from Canada. We ended up hanging out with them all day and they were great people. The canadians really did say "eh" after a lot of things and the Australians had some funny terms too...like they call a line a que. Anyway, after the Vatican, where Amy almost got into multiple fights for trying to stop people from taking pictures of the Sistine Chapels...tell you more about that later...we went to St. Peter's church. It is the biggest church in the world. We went up on top of the dome, then down into the basilica, then into the tombs underneath. It is unreal and impossible to describe. It is so huge and every inch is covered with something beatiful and priceless. That was our entire day. We wearily headed back and crashed after saying goodbye to our new friends.
The second day we spent doing a tour of the ancient ruins. We went to the capitol hill and saw the roman senate building. We went into a dank prison where Peter and Paul had been imprisoned. We walked throught the ruins of the ancient Roman temples and ended up at the Coloseum. We walked through the coloseum and were impressed. We finished the day walking on the Palantine hill where Romulus and Remulus, the two brothers raised by a she-wolf and who started Rome, were supposedly raised. That again, was an entire day of waiting in lines and walking around. It is good that we are walking so much though because our diet is pretty much pizza and gelato. My feet are freakin killin me right now though!
Today is our last day in Rome. We are going to try to see the Treviti fountain, The Spanish Steps, and The Pantheon. Then we have to take a train to the airport where we leave this evening for Athens. This is our 'not-so-fun' night where we are in the Athens Airport until 6 am, but then, we get into Santorini tomorrow. We will try to find computer access there asap to update the blog, but it may be a few days. Take care until then, David and Amy

Florence

2007-06-30T11:15:00.003-07:00

So our time in Paris and Venice was awesome. We loved every minute and we were looking forward to Florence, but it was a disaster from the start. We feel bad about this because our neighbor's son told us that Florence was going to be our favorite...but ooooohhhhh noooo...it wasa not-a!
We got into the train station just fine, but after that it was all down hill. We got onto a public bus that we were told to take in the directions from the hotel. But Florence has such horrible street labeling that it is easy to get lost. So needless to say, we missed our stop and ended up going way out into the country where the bus just stopped. We were the only people left on the bus. I asked the driver in Italian if she spoke English, she rudely shouted "No!", waved me off, and turned away making it obvious that she wasn't going to entertain any more questions. So we ended up just sitting there for awhile and finally she started the bus again and we were headed back to the city. We were able to ask someone who got on the bus where to get off and we finally found our hotel. Did it get better then? Nope! The girl at the hotel was arguing with someone on the phone for about 20 minutes while we just stood there waiting for her to acknowledge us. Then we found out our room was on the top floor of a very tall building..you guessed it...no elevator, just stairs to lug our bags up. The room was dissapointing and the bathroom smelled. It was also very strange...the toilet and the sink were in the room with a a drain in the floor and a shower knozzle sticking out of the wall. The shower was just that and it got everything wet when you showered.
We tried to get over it by taking a nap and then going for a walk to the ponte Eveckio...I don't know how to spell it...it is some famous bridge. I'll put a picture taken of Amy and I on it. That pretty much wrapped up the first day...getting lost, taking a nap, and going for a stroll...oh I forgot, the streets were more narrow than any other place we had been and the scooters, buses, and cars all seemed to be out to hit us. It is unreal how badly people drive over here. I haven't seen a speed limit sign for 10 days. Oh yea, it is also the stinkiest city. As we were on our stroll we were frequently accosted with the nasty aroma of sewage. So needless to say, the first day was not nice.
The second day we were signed up to do a tour of the Accademia museum and other Florence museums, but Amy really wanted to switch to a tour of the Tuscany countryside by going to Sienna and San Gimannono. We are so glad we did this trip. It was incredible. Driving through Tuscanny is beautiful. So many vineyards and olive trees leading up to these beautful villas. When we finally arrived in Sienna we were in awe of the architectural history and diversity. We walked on roads that pilgrims have walked on for centuries. The same rocks that people strode upon during the middle ages, we saw amazing works of art by Renaissance artists, and much more. They have this horse race twice a year in the plaza that we will tell you about when we get back. We took a thousand pictures we will share when we return. Anyway, after our wonderful time in Sienna, we then traveled to San Gimannono. this is a middle ages town completely presereved. It has castle walls, towers, and all. It is of course completely touristized with little shops and what not, but it is also a very cool experience. So our second day in Florence was great, because we got out of town!
Our third and final day in florence we decided to beat the crowds and get to the Accedemia museum early. It was supposed to open at 8:15 but it didn't open until almost 10:30 due to an employee meeting...then after standing in line for almost three hours we found out the museum workers were going on strike. Apparently they strike all the time in this region of the world. So we didn't get to see David which really bummed me out and we had spent our entire morning standing in a line. Discouraged we headed back to a famous square area with a replica of David, but is wasn't the same thing. We did have an overpriced lunch and then headed back to our hotel since we only had a few more hours until we left. We decided to go to the train station early to see if we could get out of town. It had just been such a horrible experience. It was so overcrowded, stinky, hot, and uncomfortable that we just wanted to leave. Our gamble at the train station didn't pay off. We had to wait for our train. After a couple more hours of sweating and waiting, we finally got onto our train. Thinking we had cleared the mess that is Florence, we sank into our seats and started to relax. Then the conductor came along and asked for our tickets. He studied them more than any of the other conductors and then informed us that we had failed to write in the date of our travel and that we were being fined 50 Euros...that translates into almost 75 dollars. After the day we had I turned into an ugly American traveler. I dropped a few curse words and wasn't very nice. I fumed all the way to Rome, but I'm glad to say that our two days in Rome have been fantastic and i will be happy to inform you of them in our next blog. We do leave rome tomorrow, but we will try to squeek out a blog before we leave. Take care and sorry for the novel. Dave

2007-06-30T11:15:00.002-07:00

\here's a picture from our room in Venice. \one of Amy feeding the pigeons in San Marco square. David in our sleeping car on Eurail before the transformation into beds. One of the Eiffel Tower at dusk. Finally one of Venice from atop the basilica tower overlooking the palace and some gondolas. Enjoy.

So Much to see, so little time

2007-06-30T11:15:00.000-07:00

Hello Blog Fans,
David is relaxing after a long day seeing the Vatican and I thought that I would give blogging a try. We had hoped to have more time to record our adventure, but each day is so full of running around that we come back to the hotels exhausted. We are in Rome now and have a computer in our Room so we have a great opportunity to update everyone on our travels. David left off with our time in Paris, where we boarded our train to head to Venice. We reserved a couchette or cabin, which was about the size of a bathroom for our 11 hour ride. Bunks folded out of the wall and turned our bathroom into a semi comfortable sleeping environment. Our sleep schedules were still haywire and we both ended up awake at 1 in the morning and we were able to admire the view of the Swiss Alps out our window as we passed through Switzerland. We arrived the next morning lacking a goodnights sleep and a bit motion sick from a long night of swaying back and forth on the train. With the entire city of Venice operating on a canal we had to catch a giant barge to our hotel called a vappertto. It was about a half hour ride through the heart of Venice to make it to our hotel. Our stop on the vaportto was luckily very close to our hotel and for the first time on our trip we didn't get lost finding our accomadations. After checking in we went out to find a local market that was said to be a 5 min walk. An hour and a half later we stumbled on the market after getting lost on the small poorly labled streets. It was a definite change of pace from the busy streets of Paris. We visited San Marco square and fed the hundreds of birds that cover the plaza, took a trip out to a neighboring island for what we hoped would be a day laying on the beach, and generally just wandered around the canals and tiny roads, that many times led to a dead end. The people in Venice were very friendly, and the view from our hotel room onto the Grand Canal was well worth the trip. Here are some pictures of the sights we have been taking in. The architecture is truely amazing!!!!

Bonjourno from Florence

2007-06-27T07:43:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone Amy and I arrived in Florence this morning and after missing our stop on the bus, took an unplanned tour of the countryside. It is very pretty, but we were hot, tired, and hungry...so needless to say, the tour went unappreciated. The biggest problem we have experienced on each leg of the journey so far has been the initial arrival to the new destination. We tend to get lost and wander for awhile before finding the hotel. After that, it usually works out well and we become acquanted with the local geography.

So let's talk about the trip here. Our flight went well, not exactly the most comfortable, but at least we arrived! We got to Frankfurt where we encountered a host of people that had been delayed due to a huge storm. Our flight was a little delayed, but there were literally tons of people trying to get onto our flight as theirs were cancelled. They were crowding the poor flight attendants working that little booth and it looked very unpleasant...so though our flight was long, it was not as bad as it could have been. We arrived in Paris alive and well...thought I hadn't slept in over 24 hours.

Our hotel in Paris was quaint (spelling?) It had tons of charm and was in the main part of the tourist district...although the night we arrived was the first night of summer and so apparently on that night, it is an annual concert night. Every district of Paris had different perfomers on street corners, etc. We lucked out and had total rockers in front of our hotel. Okay, not so lucky...but we packed ear plugs. The next day we started the first of many "walking" days. We walked for hours all over the place. We hit the Eiffel Tower (very cool to see in person and some part of me wanted to spit off of it), we then walked across the Ponte Nuff to the Trocodero and over to the Arch de Triomphe. It started to rain, but we still snapped off some nice photos (which we will try to post on the next post). We then took the metro over to a beautiful church called the Sacre Couer. It has unbelievable architecture and beautiful motifs...but so does everything over here. After awhile, you stop being so impressed with the churches and other gothic buildings...you're just like "oh look, another midevil building...how interesting." Anyway, we hiked through some colorful neighborhoods after that, will tell more in person. That pretty much sums up that day. The next day we went to the Louvre for hours. I was stoked to see the Mona Lisa since I teach the Renaissance and so I stood and admired it...but then outside heard a stupid tour guide tell his group that it was not the real one which was being restored in New York...what a cotton headed ninny muggin for sharing such information...consequently we are now telling everyone we see about this. We like to see the looks of pain and disappointment on their faces...misery loves company. After the Louvre, we went into Notre Dame and that evening returned for my favorite part which was a hike up into the bell towers and uppermost levels of Notre Dame. Quasi Moto wasn't there, but it was an amazing evening view of Paris. The next day we took a river cruise on the Seinne river and walked down Champs Elysse street. We then boarded our sleeper train that evening just in time to start heading down to Venice. We will tell you all about that in a post tomorrow. Hope all is well with everyone and if you need to get into touch with us immediately, apparently you can text message us and it only cost 35 cents for us to check. Take care until tomorrow. David and Amy

Just a quick check in from Venice

2007-06-25T08:12:00.000-07:00

Howdy all- Paris was awesome and we are now in Venice. We dont have much time on the computer so Im just letting you all know we are alive and having a great time, we will have a computer in Rome so look for a big post then: Dave

Europe Bound

2007-06-19T16:14:00.000-07:00

So tomorrow is the big day! Amy and I are leaving for Paris. We are going to take Toby to Brent and Jen's (they have graciously offered to watch him). Then Jen is taking us to the airport. We have all of the neighbors on watch for our house and the alarm is set, so hopefully the house is good. Our neighbor Tylor has offered to mow the yard and water everything in our absence. So I think we have everything taken care of, but finalizing the packing today has been stressful. Trying to remember everything we need to take is a lot of work! Anyway, I checked the 10 day forecast for: Paris, Venice, and Florence. Looks like we'll be getting wet in Paris (sad story), but Venice and Florence should be beautiful. We are super excited, but it just seems so surreal right now. Keep checking for updates while we are over there. When I can find a computer I will try to make an entry. If anyone needs to contact me you can do so on this blog or via email at: dnasheldon@msn.com That's it for now. Keep praying for us and adios! Dave

Blog'n is fun

2007-06-05T19:18:00.000-07:00

I showed Amy the blog (as I was excited about it) and she said, "You should put a picture of us on it." So...I will put one there. And a super cool one of us on our way to an Oregon game at Autzen stadium. Who am I to ignore the words of my wife? Also, I am excited because this weekend I'm taking the 8th grade wrestlers camping. It's our annual trip, but this time the kids from French Prarie are coming too. I think it'll be fun. Then next week we have the PBS field trip on Monday and the 8th grade field trip on Tuesday. Then it's just time to hang out with the kids and celebrate our two years together. I'm sad that it's coming to an end with these kids. They are an awesome group and we are finally at a point where they are independent learners and my job is just to be a facilitator. Next year I'll have to start off all over again holding their hands through every part of any though process. Ug! Oh well...that's why we teachers make the big bucks right!? :-)

First Blog

2007-06-01T13:32:00.000-07:00

Well, with two weeks left in school I thought that I would set up a place for people (friends, family, and students) to check up on me when we are apart. Also, it is a way for me to hear from all of you. Please be looking for updates from my trip to Europe with Amy over the summer as well as all of the other things going on soon. I am also hoping to post some pictures of our trip to this site for people to enjoy. For now I'll put a picture of our kids and us at Breakaway two years ago. That's all for now. David