New Job!

I got a new job as a “Virtual Assistant”, which basically is a long-distance secretary. I’m working for Escuelas y Centros de Espanol en Latinoamerica. I respond to inquiry e-mails and send people brochures. The hours are incredibly flexible and so far it has been fun! Now I want to visit all the schools though….They’re in Argentina (Buenos Aires, Mendoza, Bariloche), Peru (Lima, Cusco), and Chile (Santiago). There’s another one that I can’t remember right now. Must not be one of the most exciting I suppose.

Last night Coen fell down half of our stairs before bedtime, so we took him in to get him checked. At first he was definitely dazed but quickly returned to his personality and terrorized the hospital staff. :) There was nobody else in there, so I think they welcomed the entertainment. I felt a little silly for taking him in, but I wanted to be sure that he was okay. I had to wake him up every three hours last night to make sure he was responding, and he was. We all slept in the living room because it was still 80 degrees out and 80 % humidity when we went to bed. YUCK. Luckily Mitch & Corrine (downstairs neighbors) have AC so we go down there to enjoy it.

It is time for Coen’s nap (hopefully!) and then more work for me. This weekend Justin’s family comes to visit. His sister is going to have her baby any day now, so I hope that doesn’t deter them from coming. I suppose that a new baby IS a good reason to stay home, though…. I asked Coen what he wanted to say and he said “ga ga” which means “go”. He must want you to come here? If you’re reading this, I’m sure we want you to come visit, too.

Love to all!

Beans, Beans, the Musical....Toy?

Playing with dry navy beans!

After playing nicely for a while, Coen decided they were beginning to look very tasty. After all, he loves beans at dinner time.

 Putting the bean in................. And then spitting the bean out

Look at his nice eyelashes.                   Who made this mess?

Summertime

Justin loves reading. He wants to read all the Newberry Honor/Award winners.

It is so nice to have summer here! Justin will start a summer school class next Monday, but it only runs two or three weeks. He's not sure, therefore I'm not sure.

We have been staying busy. I got a bike pump so now my road bike is up and running, and we've hooked up the bike trailer for Coen to ride in. I got the trailer from a friend at Risen Savior because she got it for free but doesn't have any bikes! It's a double seater and can also be a stroller, which is wonderful. It is fully enclosed and Coen enjoys riding in it from what I can tell. He always looks very stern while we're going places, and occasionally he kicks back with one of his books when he gets bored by the passing scenery.  I'm sure it will only be a matter of a few more rides before he tries to escape.

I am getting more prepared for my Sprint Triathlon; I now know what I'm going to wear and have an idea of what I'll be doing. I'm hoping to finish in under two hours. It's 1/4 mi. swim, 14 mi. bike, and 3.6 mi. run. It starts VERY early, and I'm hoping the water will the warm and the day will be cool. I've also got a small group together to run a 1/2 marathon in late October in Mankato. I hope that works out!

Video:
Reading & Walking Video (Please don't judge me...I don't usually let him carry books around like that, but I wanted to show you his walking.)

(left) Coen brushing his teeth after breakfast. I think he has the four cleanest teeth in town.

(right) Justin & Coen ready to go to Le Sueur for church!

a few more videos...

Last week we went to Milwaukee to attend Matt (bro-in-law)'s graduation and to see the family. They're going to live in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, which is only about fifteen minutes away from where Justin's parents live. Small world! Matt will be an associate pastor at a church there and Katrina will (soon) be a stay-at-home mommy. Fun stuff.

We also got to see Justin's parents, aunt & uncle, and sister's family. We spent the night there before coming back home. Over that week/weekend Coen managed to get a cold and had a slight fever, but now he's just dripping snot and has a tiny cough.

Justin is officially a senior now at MLC!! One more year!! He completed his third and final Early Field Experience in a fifth grade classroom here in town so now he is ready for student teaching, etc... Yesterday was the first time we've all three been at home together the whole day. We went to the Sibley Park/Zoo in Mankato, which is a free "petting" zoo. I say "petting" because there isn't too much of that since you can't go in with the animals. We got to pet a goat and a miniature horse since they assumed we had food and came over to greet us. Coen liked petting the goat's ears. I told him we'd have goats someday. Hopefully....

Here are some pictures and a couple video links. Enjoy!

On the way home!

Coen's Manners

There he goes!

This was one of the days Coen wasn't feeling well. I brought him to our bed after his afternoon nap and he plopped over and went right back to sleep. VERY uncharacteristic of him.

Dancing Video

Since blogspot.com has been having issues with uploading videos, I've decided to put them all on youtube. I'll put links on this page so that you can see them! Just click on the video you'd like to watch.

Coen Dancing

More to come! I need to keep cleaning to be ready to leave for Wisconsin!

Some Pictures

Done with classes for the year! One more to go!

Coen was ready for his bath before I was!

Splashing around!

Coen enjoys making this face at the camera and at us. If you don't laugh he usually just keeps going....

Justin the official referee. He has reffed three U-10 soccer games and didn't get any complaints. (Except from me since he forgot to wear sunscreen...)

It has been a while!

Hello! We have been pretty busy the last couple of weeks. Justin finished up his classes at MLC and we only have one more year left! Thank the Lord! He did well in his classes and juggling work, school, and family. Now he is an official referee for soccer and will be spending his time doing that and working at Target. And playing with Coen and me, of course.

We broke out the kiddie pool for Coen yesterday. It was in the upper 70's and just beautiful. We both got some Vitamin D and enjoyed ourselves outdoors. Justin is doing his final Early Field Experience and helping/observing in a 5th grade classroom here in town. He claims it's quite boring since their school year is almost over.

I'm not sure if I've told you about our neighbors, but they are wonderful people. Their names are Mitch and Corrine. Corrine attends MLC and Mitch is a student at Mankato State University not far from New Ulm. We hang out a lot and enjoy playing games, chatting, and doing outdoorsy things. Earlier this week we got our garden in (thanks also to our amazing landlord). We planted cucumbers, peppers, carrots, spinach, lettuce, and green onions. We're going to put some peas and beans in soon and also two tomato plants. I transplanted my cilantro and chives from their pots to the garden also. Now we just have to make sure it all gets enough water!

Coen is growing more and more and finding new things with which to entertain us. He has been dancing a lot lately (video on Facebook) and he enjoys being outside. When we come in from playing outside he always gives a little whimper. Sometimes it's a big whimper and a body shake, which means it's also nap time. He also has discovered that he doesn't need to be walking to me to walk by himself and has been going between furniture. The longest he's gone is about twelve steps. He has even gotten used to walking in his sandals.