The Way They Do It In Oregon...Fresh!

Cutting Down The Tree!

So I am up here in Oregon celebrating Mimi's birthday... and since it is December we got to have the experience of selecting and cutting down our own fresh Christmas tree to take home and decorate... It is such a fun experience similar to walking through a pumpkin patch and picking out your own pumpkin! It is ridiculiously inexpensive in comparsion to buying a 'fresh' Christmas tree in Utah... For a 8'-9' tree you will pay $35 where as in Utah it would run you close to $100! No wonder no one here in Oregon uses artifical trees! Not to mention there are at least 10-15 tree farms within a 10 mile radius!
As we wandered through a field of trees we tried to find the most "perfect" tree possible... You have the choice to choose between douglas fir, noble fir, and a grand fir. This year Mimi and Papa decided they wanted a noble fir so we headed to that part of the farm and looked and looked until we found the best one in the field then you cut it down yourself! Then you drag it back to the trailer to have the tree shook and bound. It is the coolest thing! They put the stump of the tree in this machine and it shakes the bajeezes out of this tree to shake out all of the loose and dry pine needles and bugs that might be living in the tree... then they take it over to the binding machine and it winds twine around the tree so that you can easily transport your tree home! Careful not to get to close! That machine was designed to mame! Yikes!
All done! This Christmas tree will last until June! The smell is so yummy and fresh! Delicious!

Who Says Kids Aren't Full of **It?

So lets begin explaining this picture with a little background story... So Wednesday morning I get the girls up and get Chloe ready for school. Kate loves to play in the bathtub so I let her stay in there and play while I use the time to scrub some toilets and sinks etc... etc... about every 3-5 minutes I would go and check on her to see if she was ready to get out. She would sprawl herself out in the water belly down and say, "no momma, no" so I figured as long as she was happy I would finish cleaning. So a few minutes later I went to check on her again but before I got to her I noticed two brown lumps on the bath mat in front of the tub... Hmmm... I get closer... GROSS! POOP! Kate had gotten herself out of the tub... pooped on the bath rug and got right back in the tub to finish playing! Honestly I was floored! Besides the fact that I never knew she could get herself out of the tub let alone back in... just as quiet as can be! I guess in the end I was greatful that she didn't poop IN the tub!

SO... to explain the picture above. Colin came home that night and I relayed the previous story and the next day, as Kate was hiding while she was pooping in the corner, Colin asked if she wanted to go on the potty. Sure enough she made a bee line for the bathroom and couldn't have been more thrilled to finish her business on the big girl potty! She has now pooped 3 or 4 times on the potty and I am in unfamiliar territory! She is not even 2 yet! I don't wanna force it so... I give her the opportunity when it is realistic (and let's be honest... when it is convient for me to let her go on the potty) we give it a shot. I have been surprised! So there you have it... kids are full of it!

The 3-Day Breast Cancer Walk

The 3-day...
My friend, Alyssa is leaving for the San Diego 3-Day tomorrow...
and I wish more than anything...
that I was going to be there with her.

For those who may have not heard of this event before it is AMAZING! The 3-Day Breast Cancer walk is a 60 mile walk in support of The Susan G Komen foundation and raises money for research, prevention, free mammograms and so much more. By no means is this an "easy" event to participate in. It was tough... probably the hardest thing I have ever done other than bearing a child. Imagine participating in a marathon for 3 days in a row and that is what the 3-day is all about. Did I mention that you have to pay to play? Oh yeah- you have to fund raise your butt off too because you are required to raise $2200 in donations! In the end when it all comes down to the finish... it is sooooo worth it!

Last year Alyssa and I participated in the Seattle 3-Day and it was an incredible experience. We trained for hours, we fundraised for hours, we stressed for months, and in the end we had tons of fun! Last year was Alyssa's 2nd walk and my first so she tried as much as she could to prep me for what I was about to face... little did I know that no matter what anyone tells you, you have no idea what your getting yourself into. The course was challenging, the adreneline was rushing, and the hills were steep... but we made it! We walked every single step of that 60 mile course.

Let me give you a little background to explain why this event is so important to me. Alyssa's mom is a brilliant woman and a breast cancer survivor. Joanne was so kind and sincere and welcomed me with open arms into her family circle. Joanne was diagnosed about 15 years ago with breast cancer and she valiantly battelled it into remission and was clean for 7 years. Unfortunately, the cancer returned. This time it was terminal because it had metastisized into her bones and there is no cure. But there was still hope! There were 5 different medications that would help her maintain the cancer and prevent it from spreading further throughout her body. If each drug worked to its greatest potential she would get 2 years from each drug... 10 years! That is a substantial amount of time considering the diagnosis was 'terminal'. So the battle continued. Joanne continued to work full time and be an active part in her grandchildren's lives (plus she had adopted my daughters for a few more grandchildren). She managed her pain and if you didn't know her personally... you would have never guessed she was in a battle for her life.

So last year 2007 after hearing of Alyssa's previous 3-Day walk with her sister I wanted in. I wanted to support the cause. Even though I have no personal family history of breast cancer... 80% currently diagnosed have no prior family history... so... I walked.
I walked for me, I walked for my daughters, I walked for my friend, and I walked for Joanne.
I knew that some day my best friend would lose her mom to this deadly disease and what else could I do to support her than to walk with her side by side for 60 miles...
To see Joanne at the finish line was more than I can explain...
It was uplifting. It was inspiring. It was spiritual.

This year was to be a story similar to last... train, walk, enjoy. Unfortunately that was not the case. In April Joanne's health took a turn for the worse. She quickly declined. Within a month she passed. She fought and incredible battle but in the end she was so fragile and frail there was no chance for her to overcome. The cancer had spread... To say her death was tragic would be no exaggeration. We (speaking as a collective family) were not ready to say goodbye. So what do you say to your best friend who just lost her mother? Nothing. You walk. This year I would walk in HONOR of Joanne Zaharias.

Unfortunately due to extenuating circumstances... I cannot participate. It breaks my heart.
So to you Alyssa- I say this.
I love you and good luck! I will be walking with you in spirit, right alongside your mom!
I pray for you and this journey you are embarking on this Friday.
My thoughts are with you.
This will be your toughest walk yet... and you will make it.
I can't wait to hear about every step of the way when you get back!
I can't wait to crew it up next year in Georgia!
I love you Momma Lyssa!

Family Pictures at the Lake

This was our first attempt... Colin was more worried to get the mountains 

in the background then get our faces in the picture... bless his heart. 

Yes... the kids are sitting on Colin's skateboard!  The sad thing is... 

this is one of the better pics! Besides the peculiar look on Kate's face... 

we got the usual scowl from her. 

So every year we try to go somewhere scenic and get a picture of our family.  We use this opportunity to use this picture for our Christmas card for this up coming holiday season. So here was one of the many attempts at a successful photo.  I couldn't find my tripod so I carried around a little step latter to prop up the camera.  

I was amazed at how well Kate did with no one behind the camera to keep her attention facing the camera... as I was pushing the button and running to get in the picture were all yelling "cheese" at the camera so loud to keep her focused and thanks to the little flashing light on the camera... she did it!  It worked! 

My Guilty Pleasure

In attempt to consume some of my free time since moving to a new neighborhood and Chloe starting kindergarten... Kate still napping... and I can only stand to clean my house so much (before I go crazy) I have resorted to scrapbooking.  I have found a new passion for scrapbooking but the digital way.  I love it! There is NO MESS!  I used to traditional scrapbook but found that I never had just the right stuff or tools or time to get the pages looking just the way I wanted them.  I found a few companies that provided me with a new insight into scrapbooking digitally and gave me the jump started I needed to work on a project that I have wanted to conquer since getting married and having children.  I have spent many hours working to organize and collect photos from the last 7 years of our lives and put them together in a form other than a CD titled "Pics" or a rubbermaid tupperware full of random pictures stashed away in the basement. This way I can work on a page or two at a time and when motherhood calls I can close my computer and come back to it at any free time I might steal during the day.  Did I mention, there is no mess of paper scraps or other embellishments hanging around... NO MESS! 

It has been lots of fun and has taken on a life of it's own and taken me down memory lane many times.  I have posted all of my scrapbook pages on my facebook page but here are a couple that I just finished up yesterday.  

Our Project... Thanks for the extra hands Mimi!

Chloe, Mimi and Kate

Just wanted to add a little post and picture of the project we finished today! Thanks so much... That's what mom's are for right?

Our Weekend with Mimi

Feeding the ducks at Daybreak Lake!

Yummy Picnic!

This weekend we were able to spend some time with our Mimi. We were so excited to have her here and we had a fabulous time! We started out with some Trick-or-Treating and finished up with some shopping and home decorating. On Saturday we took a walk to the lake just 2 blocks away and had a little picnic and tried to feed the ducks (although they were not too interested in tortilla bits and potato chips)! Saturday night Mimi and I got to take some time out to work on preserving some memories of childhood with a little scrapbooking retreat that was too cool.
Three more sleeps to go...
Sunday Uncle Jason came over to have some yummy cheesy lasagna... he was such a good sport to play with the girls. Chloe whooped him in a game of Wii bowling... but don't be fooled she is hard to beat!
Two more sleeps left...
Monday we did a little "Utah shopping" for Mimi to get her some stuff that is not readily available to her where she lives! Love to shop! Then we had some delicious lunch at the Cheesecake Factory. Then I put Mimi to work- she helped me apply some vinyl lettering to the wall and spruce up the house a bit... I guess we can call it a little payback for all the 'projects' we have done at her house when I visit! Monday night we got to visit with Mimi's sister and 'Great' Aunt Bobbi... it was so fun to see her and the family... we made some incredible tortilla soup and caught up on the events of the families.
My anxiety of my mom's departure set in... and a few tears were shed.
The LAST sleep!
Today was the day Mimi had to leave so we had to pack our day with activities... This morning it was my Tuesday to volunteer in Chloe's kindergarten class and Mimi jumped at the opportunity to come and help out... I was grateful it was nice to have her help and Chloe was more than thrilled to have her Mimi come visit her class. We went to lunch to catch up with Alyssa (my bestest friend) at Rumbi Island Grill. We finished up some shopping and came home to do some more decorating while I had a extra set of hands. Then it was time... we had to take Mimi to the airport... her visit had come to and end and Papa was looking forward to having her home! We love you Mimi- Thanks for coming! We can't wait to have to you back... oh yeah, next time bring Papa so we can include him in the fun! Miss you so much already!

The Costumes

This is our beautiful Belle with her handcrafted dress from her Mimi and this is Kate before... the meanest mom ever... forced her into her costume!



Kate was soooooo pissed to be in a costume... it took her quite a while to warm up to the idea of Trick or Treating this year... but she sure makes a cute "Kate-d-bug" without the stink face though!



Colin had the FANTASTIC idea of dressing up in this hideous costume and camping out on the front porch and scaring all of the innocent trick or treaters... seriously I think a few left some small wet puddles behind them... Towards the end of the night he started chasing the older kids and about made our poor little neigbhors dog go into cardiac arrest! But he was entertaining as usual!



Here are the girls after their rounds of Trick or Treating... with full bellys of sugar and exhausted feet!

Our Happy Halloween!

Pumpkin Carvin' Time!

This year Mimi made a surprise visit to come trick or treating with her two little granddaughters... and it was such a surprise!  I had such a hard time keeping it a secret from Chloe I was bursting at the seams! Needless to say Mimi has finally come and we are so excited she is here!  This will be our first Halloween together ever! First item of business... carve them pumpkins! Mimi was more patient that I would ever be with Chloe carving her very own.  Thanks Mom!  

Here is the masterpiece that Chloe created all on her very own!

Here are the masterpieces created by the 4 of us! This is the first year that Colin has carved something other than a "Charlie Brown Pumpkin"- he said he wasn't feelin' it because he hadn't been able to watch the "Charlie Brown and The Great Pumpkin" because someone (me) forgot to set the DVR to record... Poor Colin!  Maybe I'll forget next year again if it inspires more creativity!  Mimi worked on the intricate tree with a owl in the middle and I worked up a little Boo in my ghost!  What a mess pumpkin carving can be!

So this was our annual adventure to the local pumpkin patch. We have quite the group of pumpkin hunters... I don't know who makes it the hardes to find the perfect pumpkin, Chloe or her Dad! Tons of fun though... Kate didn't want to leave once we had made our selections- hence the pouting face... but 82 lbs of pumpkin later we finally found the perfect pumpkins to grace our porch! And we got to pick and extra one for a suprise visitor coming our way on Halloween to suprise the girls! Mimi!

Witchapalooza Girls Night Out

Hey Ladies... did we have a good time or what?  So last night us ladies attended a dinner show at Gardener Village called Witchapalooza!  I am sure that no one knew what we were getting ourselves into... but we had some fun!  Dinner, witches and music, can't get any better than that... oh wait until there was some dancin'! Holla!  We were killin' it with a little YMCA and Madonna's Material Girl and I am pretty sure I tagged along in a limbo line!  The sad part, we made ourselves look like fools and we weren't even drinking! Who cares... we had a blast!  And our kids didn't even miss us, they were 'trunk or treating' at the church!

The Family

So here is the family.  This picture is about a year old but it is the most recent I have of all of us!  This was taken in Sun Valley in front of the Opera House. We spent Thanksgiving there last year with Colin's parents! We had a blast! It was beautiful but FREEZING! 

The Girls

So here are my girls... Chloe is on the left, she is 5 and a busy kindergartner, then Kate on the right she is almost 2 (22 months for those who keep track) and just as busy as her big sister!  So this is my posse that I hang with everyday!  We love to ride bikes, play at the park, watch movies, and do those occasional mandatory chores around the house!  

Here is a little update on what these two are up to... 

Chloe is busy with being a Kindergartner, she LOVES school!  She came home one day and said that she wanted to be a teacher but a skinny one? (Yikes! I don't even want to know where she got her definition of skinny... do I have to start fighting the self image battle at 5? Really?) Besides loving school she is currently enrolled in a gymnastics program that she is absolutely loving!  I am so excited for her!  We did a few seasons of soccer but she seems to enjoy gymnastics just as much if not more!  Her grandpa already figured out the which Olympics she could participate... Wow... one step at a time!  Let's just have some fun!  

Kate is momma's little hip attachment... honestly, as I am writing this we are sitting on the couch together and she is practically sitting on top of me.  If she had her choice I am sure she would have me tote her around all day!  All in all her little personality is developing more and more every day and even through the tantrums and inability to communicate her needs and mom sucking at guessing what she wants, I will keep her as my little hip attachment for a little longer.  

Gearing up for Halloween!

So only 3 more sleeps until Halloween!  That's how we keep track of things around this house is "how many sleeps until"... But I am counting down the days until Halloween because my mom is coming into town!  I can't wait!  We get to see her often but not often enough.  

This year Chloe will be Belle from Beauty and the Beast (and her dress was made by Grandma Mimi and it is Gorgeous!)  and Kate will be either a ladybug, a skunk, or a 3 eyed monster... at this point I believe the 3 eyed monster to be the most appropriate costume for her, I guess I need to hurry up and decide. I am sure that there will be a picture to follow but for now, we will just keep you waiting!  

Well... What the heck?

So over the last week or so I have found a small grundle of friends that have these incredible family blogs with the most witty things to say! Needless to say, I am curious about the whole blogging scene, so here is my pitiful attempt at my first blog... I will put this out there and hope that it finds it's appropriate audience... Here we go for a ride!