Thanksgiving

This past Tuesday night we travelled down to Oregon for Thanksgiving. We had a good drive, with minimal traffic, and arrived around midnight at my mom's house. We had a great few days with my family. Thanksgiving is usually at my mom's house, and this year we gathered at my brother and sister-in-law's new house, right next door to my mom's house. It was really fun seeing so many family members (I think there were around 30-35). The food was delicious,of course. We even had home-raised turkey, which my brother and sister-in-law had raised this year. We all stuffed ourselves, and then returned to my mom's house to look at the ads and form a game-plan for Black Friday.

My niece, Sara, and I decided to take a short nap on Thursday night, and then we got up at 12:30 to begin our shopping. We went to Walmart, Target (although we didn't actually go in Target because after waiting outside for an hour I found out that all the tickets for the tv I wanted were already gone), Shopko, Fred Meyer, Kmart, and JC Penney. Sara and I went to Walmart and Target, then met some of our family at Shopko, and later we met with the rest of the family for breakfast, before doing the rest of our shopping. Jared and I got almost all our Christmas shopping done, and all of our shopping done for Ellie's birthday. And we found some awesome deals! I don't usually like crowds very much, but I love Black Friday shopping! It's one of my favorite days of the year!

We rested on Friday afternoon, and enjoyed the rest of our weekend, before driving back home on Sunday. It was a great weekend, and already I miss my family!

The kids love spending time with their Uncle Scott (who is famous in our family for his delicious pancakes that Ellie always looks forward to)!

We got to see my sweet great-nephew, baby Connor. The kids just LOVE him (so do I). He is one of the sweetest babies ever:)

I think I will just end by listing some of the things that I'm so very thankful for this year:

• My wonderful husband, who I fall more in love with every day.
• My two sweet kids, who are blessings from the Lord.
• Our new home.
• My extended family, on both sides.
• That I can stay at home with my kids, and homeschool Ellie this year.
• Good friends, both old and new.
• My wonderful Jesus, who came to earth as a baby and died on a cross so that I could one day live forever with Him in heaven.
• Our car, that (so far) runs so well and gets us where we need to be.
• Our new laptop.
• Jared's new job.
• SO much more!
  
  
  

Horses!

This past week the kids and I went to Oregon to visit family. The kids had a blast on my mom's farm, as always. But this time we did something a little different. We all rode horses! As a kid, I used to ride all the time. I loved it. And now, so many years later, I miss it. There were a few years recently when I couldn't really ride, either because of being pregnant or having very small children who needed my attention all the time. But I realized recently that it would be a wonderful idea to start riding again. My sister still has a few horses which are very well trained. So...even though it's been YEARS since I've been on a horse, I still feel somewhat confident on them. One evening my sister, my niece, and I went out and saddled up the horses (well, actually my niece rode bare-back, which I think is pretty neat). We rode a few times around the field while the kids watched with Grandma. We mostly walked, but we did trot and even gallop for a short time. It was a great time of riding to get back into it. The kids enjoyed watching, but really wanted to get on the horses themselves. So after several times around the field we got off and let the kids ride. They LOVED it! Last summer Ellie tried riding once, but once she got onto the horse's tall back she was frightened and didn't want the horse to move. And Parker had never been on a horse. But they both enjoyed it so much this time. It was already past there bedtime, so the rides were fairly short, but they both wanted to stay on longer. It was such a fun time, and we've decided to make this a tradition whenever we go stay with my mom. Someday I hope to be able to have a horse or two, but for now we're so thankful to my sister for sharing hers with us when we come to visit.

Oregon, Part 4

Okay, so life in Oregon got too busy to blog. Now I'll try to go back and remember the details.....

Last Thursday the kids and I met my dad at the playground near his house for a picnic. It was such a blessing that it didn't rain! The kids had a great time, and I know Dad had a lot of fun watching them play on the playground. We went back to Mom's house for naptime, and then drove to visit my sister-in-law, Annie, and her sweet family. She has a 2-year-old daughter, Kya, and Ellie and Parker love to play with her. It's always special to get together with cousins! We played outside in the rain, read books, and had dinner together. It was great to get a chance to visit with Annie for a while.

Friday was "my" day. Mom watched the kids while I went into Portland and got my hair cut and colored, and then went out to sushi with my brother, Rob. It's always great to spend time with Rob. He's an amazing guy, and a very talented hair dresser. Friday evening Ellie had a slumber party with two of her cousins, and I went to visit my sister-in-law, Willy. We had a nice visit, and ended up talking for hours!

Saturday was my niece Lisa's graduation. We had the graduation party at my sister Karey's house. We spent the morning decorating and setting up for the party. Then the graduation in the afternoon, followed by the party. It was the only sunny day while I was in Oregon, which was perfect timing! It was a nice graduation (although it could have done without so many speakers), and the party was a lot of fun. Again, the older cousins played with Ellie and Parker, giving me a chance to just visit!

Sunday we went to church with my mom and my grandma. Ellie was very excited to be able to go to children's church, and Grandma Kathy was the helper, which made it extra special! Sunday afternoon, after naptime, we went to my sister Jill's house for a family gathering of my dad's side. It was great to see all the kids running around, and Ellie and Parker got to hold another baby, their second cousin, Isabelle. We had a b.b.q. and really enjoyed spending time together. Then we went back, the kids went to bed, and I packed up the car.

Monday morning we left at about 4:30 for home. We had an uneventful ride home, and were super excited to get home and smother Jared with hugs and kisses!

Oregon, Part 3

Our trip is about halfway through, and I've been having a wonderful time, but am missing my hubby very much! Yesterday the kids and I went into town with my mom and we did a little shopping and met my sister for lunch. Other than that, we spent time playing out on the farm (my mom's).

Today we drove to Lincoln City for the day. It was super windy and rainy, but it was our only chance to go to the beach, and we wouldn't have missed it! The kids and I were accompanied by my mom, three of my nieces, and one of my nephews. We did some shopping at the outlet stores (much different experience than my last outlet shopping trip without the kids!). Ellie was super excited to get a Hello Kitty umbrella, Parker got a new puzzle, and they got their Father's Day present for Jared. We ate lunch at Mo's, which was yummy as always. Then we spent all of twenty minutes on the beach, and by the end we were all wet, sandy, and cold. Both kids slept all the way back to my mom's house. It was an adventure! I would have loved a warm, sunny day on the beach, but God had something more exciting in store for us, and it was great! In fact, I don't think my two kids even noticed the cold and rain. They were just happy to be in the sand! Oh, to have the excitement of children!

Oregon, Part 2

Today has been a fabulously relaxing day. It was our "down day," during which we never left my mom's house/property. With visiting family and so much going on, my kids get very worn out, so it's essential to have at least one day like this in each trip to Oregon. In fact, Friday will be another day like this for the kids because my mom will be watching them while I get my hair cut and go out to lunch with my eldest brother (thanks, Mom!). Today has been spent playing out in the sunshine, doing chores with Grandma (ie. feeding the many farm animals she has), blowing bubbles, coloring pictures, etc. Some of the cousins came over to play for a while, which of course made Ellie and Parker very happy! Now the kids are in bed and I'm off to watch some tv with the family...

Oregon, Part 1

Today is day #4 in Oregon. It's been a great trip so far. Friday we mostly just hung out at my mom's house, and lots of family came to visit. We were able to see my new grand-nephew, Connor. He is such a cutie, and so sweet and calm! It was very fun spending time with family that I haven't seen in quite a while. And we had mom's tacos and burritos for lunch, which is one of my favorite meals!

Yesterday was my niece Sara's wedding reception. My mom has always been the cake decorator of the family. Last August I helped her with my niece Emily's wedding cake and yesterday I helped with Sara's. It was a lot of fun, although there are parts of cake decorating that I am definitely not great at yet (ie. smoothing the frosting around the cake before decorating it). It was a 3-tiered, square cake with daisies on it. It ended up turning out really nice (I'll add pics later). The reception was fun and I am so thankful that Ellie and Parker have older cousins who love to play with them and give me a little break!

Today I went to church with my daddy. It was a great service, and I enjoyed spending the time with Dad. The kids took a great nap this afternoon (which was very much needed), and then we headed over to my brother and sister-in-law's beautiful new house (right next to my mom's house) for dinner. We had one of my brother's famous dishes - beef stroganoff. It was delicious! My brother is a man who can cook:) Then Ellie and Parker took a bubble bath in their huge jacuzzi tub. Parker wasn't too fond of it, but Ellie LOVED it! She could have stayed in there for hours, I think. What a fun night!

Busy life

Well, by now you are probably thinking that I've given up on blogging. I promise I haven't; I'm sorry it's taken me so long to post anything new. We have been out of town more days than not this past week and a half, and our few days home were filled with getting ready to leave again. But here I am, writing from Oregon. Lets go back a little farther, though, and I'll try to fill you in on the past couple weeks. I will add pictures once I'm back home, in about a week and a half.

Last Thursday our family packed up our car and travelled over the pass to Woodinville, where we stayed the night with some good friends of ours. Jared and I were able to go on a double date while we were there, with our friends Sean and Cathy. We went out for very yummy Thai food! The next day our friend Phyllis, with whom we were staying, took the kids and I around Woodinville. We did a little shopping and then went for lunch at a super fun place called The Tot Spot. It was a restaurant with a huge play area in the middle for kids! Ellie and Parker loved it! Ellie found the dress-up clothes right away, and Parker quickly found all the riding toys. Later that day Phyllis took me with her to the YMCA, where she has a membership, and we worked out together. It was so much fun! If it weren't such a long drive for me, I would definitely join a gym! Friday afternoon we left Woodinville and drove to a camp a little north of there, where our friends Sean and Cathy work. The staff from our camp was having a retreat there for the weekend. I really didn't do much with our camp staff, besides eating meals. I spent most of the weekend with Cathy. We went to the outlet mall Saturday morning (without kids!), and had so much fun. We spent Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning at the camp, playing outside, on the playground, and in the gym. It's a beautiful camp and we all had a wonderful weekend (although it was nice to get home and get a little better sleep again)!

Monday and Tuesday were spent recovering from our trip, cleaning, doing lots of loads of laundry, and preparing for our last MOPS of the year on Wednesday (the past three years I have been coordinator of our MOPS group). Wednesday was Ellie's last day of preschool for the year and my last day of MOPS for the year. It ended up being an emotional day for me (sometimes I wish I wasn't such a crier). We packed up the car, washed the car, cleaned house, and got ready to leave for Oregon early the next morning.

Thursday morning I got up at 5:00 (planned on 4:00, but was too tired to get up and drive), and we left the house at 5:30. The kids and I headed down to Oregon, while Jared stayed home to work. It was a long, mostly fun day of driving. Unfortunately I got a speeding ticket on my way. You know, in my younger years I sped intentionally, and of course I felt I deserved the two tickets that I got in my first couple years of driving. However, yesterday's speeding was completely unintentional. I thought I was in a 70mph area, and hadn't seen the sign marking that it was now a 60mph construction zone. So I was pretty sad about getting the ticket. Oh well, I guess I need to pay better attention to signs!

So now we're here in Oregon, enjoying a week and a half with family. There's a wedding reception on Saturday and a graduation the Saturday after, and I'm sure we'll be busily getting ready for both of those. But I'm hoping for some great relaxation, too, and just enjoying spending time with family. So for now, that's what's going on with us. I will hopefully continue to post updates daily, and will post pictures as soon as we get back home. God's blessings on you today, and I am off to visit.....