A bit of catch up from the last couple of weeks...

We're a bit fuzzy in this picture, but we're accepting our certificates at the re-enlistment ceremony tonight. Even I got a certificate for being a supportive wife. It was past bedtime, that is why the little guy looks like he is asleep on my shoulder. However, he didn't fall asleep till much later once we had already arrived home and he had insisted on two stories!

Jared is now on his ship the Tarawa for another two week trip. Einar and I drove down to San Diego tonight to be a part of his re-enlistment ceremony and see the ship a bit. He's re-enlisted for two more years to get him to his 20 years of service in September 2009.

Jared pledging his oath at the re-enlistment ceremony this evening.

All dressed-up for the Marine Corps Ball on Friday night. Einar stayed overnight with the Fenell Family and Jared and I went down to San Diego for the ball and an overnight at the Navy Lodge. We had a great time and so did Einar playing with the kids.


Wow, he got to climb on a forklift too! What excitement there is on Dad's big ship.

Jared and Einar in front of a Humvee on board the Tarawa's vehicle deck.

Jared accepting his certificates of simultaneous discharge and re-enlistment tonight from the Colonel on board the USS Tarawa.

Playing trains and hanging out with Jason Fox Last Saturday afternoon while Jared was roasting a chicken for our dinner. Jason is stationed in Hawaii, but is on one of the ships that is deploying with Jared in November and has been in San Diego for training exercises. We haven't seen him in years and he was able to come up and spend some time with us before heading back to Hawaii for his pre-deployment leave time with his family.

Einar built this track all by himself after breakfast one morning. It utilized both a chair and the couch as tunnels, I am quite proud of his ingenuity!


Einar helping me cook dinner last week. He really enjoys helping us in the kitchen. And below, a picture of the birthday cake at the ball on Saturday. Jared was a part of the ceremony at the ball and had to eat a bite of cake since he was the oldest Marine present (well that is except for the Guest of Honor who also had to eat the cake so didn't qualify as the oldest since he was the speaker). Once the oldest Marine had a bite, the cake was passed on the the youngest Marine, who was born November 1988--when Jared was a senior in high school.

The Famous Trash Truck Dance!

Ok, so we need to remember to not turn the camera when we take videos. Enjoy! This is the dance and song that Einar now does when he sees the trash truck on Thursdays.

More pictures that didn't make it in the last entry

Last week I woke up one morning and had the urge to make a roasted tomato soup. It sounds really strange, but since I haven't been feeling like cooking anything lately I acted on my impulse and started on a vegetable stock and put the tomatoes in the oven while I was making our breakfast. The recipe I used was pretty easy and our soup was done before we went to the park that morning. For lunch then I made some grilled cheese sandwiches and dished up some of the warm soup. Einar hasn't touched soup in about a year, but I gave him a small bowl of it anyway and we sat down to eat. Well he was feeling adventurous and gave the soup a taste. "I tried it!" he said and then "It good!" He ate the whole serving and then asked for more! He wanted to know what vegetables were in the soup I think since he'd seen me make it in the big pot that morning. Needless to say, we enjoyed it for several more meals and have a bit left in the freezer for a future meal.

Rally Day at church was also last week. Our Savior's Lutheran here in San Clemente goes all out on Rally Day each Fall. It is the Sunday that begins all of the fall programs like Sunday School and Wednesday night activities. It is a HUGE party after the services complete with the IN-N-Out truck serving burgers, a dunk tank, snow cones, a bounce house, water games, face painting, etc. We weren't able to go last year, but this time Einar and I had a great time. The cheeseburger I had was really yummy (Einar ate his grilled cheese on the way home in the car since all of the excitement makes it hard to focus on food). He threw some tennis balls at the dunk tank, munched on a blue snow cone, and had a lizard painted on his arm. He thought the lizard was really cool! It later washed off in the pool when we went swimming.

Check out the new Cheesy Camera Smile

Einar's Scary New Smile!












Here is Einar posing with his potato head creations. He said that they were "scary," but I think that that smile of his is the scary thing! Whenever the camera comes out, this is the look that I get from him now

















Before Jared left for this current two weeks out on ship, he and Einar got to enjoy some snuggle/snooze time on the couch. Jared was really tired from being woken up all night by calls from base and Einar I think had just woken up from his nap. They might have been watching a bit of tv at the time too.







A dream come true for a boy who loves to play with his bulldozers! Einar gets to drive Scoop with Bob The Builder hanging on for the ride.

Chuck E. Cheese is now a household name in the Ogle Family. A few weeks ago we went to a friend's 3rd birthday at Chuck E. Cheese. I remember the place as a kid, but I think my brother and I were almost too big for the place when they arrived in our town. They had a ball Room that Tor and I were too big to play in. I do recall playing lots of skee (?) ball, however. It was also really dark with lots of animatronic shows in my memories. Our recent experience have been different. The Laguna Niguel Chuck E. Cheese isn't dark, doesn't have a ball room, only one animatronic Mouse, and the pizza's not bad. Einar spent all of his "money" riding the green trolley that first night. Unfortunately I forgot to bring the camera to that party. However, we got to go again the following week for a MOMS club outing. During that visit he branched out to enjoy the Bob The Builder and scoop ride, the fire engine, the carousel, the skee ball, and some other games as well. Not much pizza gets eaten in all of the excitement of it all, but we had a good time. With the tickets that were "earned" from the first night, Jared got Einar his first pair of fake Teeth. Today at breakfast when I asked Einar what he wanted to do, he said "Chuck E. Cheese!"

A visit from the Mouse himself while on the carousel

A Trip to Mission San Juan Capistrano

A few days before Jared returned from his month long excursion to Fort Irwin in the Mojave Desert, my friend Amy came to visit. She was attending a conference in San Diego and stayed over a few more days and drove up to San Clemente. We spent one morning and went to the Mission in San Juan Capistrano. It was lovely this time of year with it's elaborate gardens and koi ponds and we even saw Monarch Butterflies as caterpillars all over as they were trying to attach themselves to park benches to move on to the chrysalis stage. For lunch we crossed the street and had deep fried artichoke hearts with some other tasty lunch treats. I'm afraid we aren't the most exciting hosts after about 1:30 in the afternoon, however since both Einar and I are inclined to take part in a daily siesta these days.
Jared returned on the 30th and was home for a week before he left on his ship until the 21st. We had a good week at home with him. He had to work on Labor Day, but we did get to enjoy his company once he go home from work. He was also able to go with me to see a new OBGYN in Laguna. I like him much better than the first once I tried and we even had an ultrasound and saw the baby moving and kicking around. I guess I'm about 12 weeks along by now.









In front of the Mission ruins with Amy.





















Seeing the train go by is always exciting!














"Making Coffee" with Dad. Einar is always volunteering to make coffee while we make dinner. Here Jared is making a really yummy Phad Thai meal. I haven't been up to much cooking since I've been home. With the heat in the 90s for a week and the stomach that hasn't really been up to food much, food hasn't been my priority. Thankfully the guys are taking good care of me!