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!