Kindley's Blog

Winterhawks!

2012-02-18T20:47:00.000-08:00

I got a good deal on 2 Winterhawk tickets, and since Brandon has been asking to go to one I jumped. We got good seats, better than we should have, because I honestly sat in the 100 level rather than the 200 level like we should have. I didn't notice we were in the wrong seats until the 3rd period, and no one ever came to take our seats, so it was a lucky mistake. It was an exciting game, with the Winterhawks scoring an impressive 11 goals, to the Seattle Timberwolves sad 2. There was a great fight, that got 5 players ejected from the game. That alone made it worth the price of the tickets. It was lots of fun, and will definitely go back. Brandon enjoyed it more than the Blazer game, and they are definitely more affordable!

Brandon enjoyed his cotton candy!

Monster Jam

2012-02-12T10:22:00.000-08:00

Last night we gave Brandon some "culture" and took him to Monster Jam. We brought our ear plugs, which was a good thing. I think it was louder in there than on an aircraft carrier. Not that I have ever been on an aircraft carrier to compare the volume, but I can imagine. Brandon had a great time. His favorite part was when "Titan" burst into impressive flames after his run. Of course I didn't have my camera out to capture the most impressive part of the whole night. I was impressed with the flames, but honestly the rest of it was kind of boring and slow. It was a 2 hour event but I bet the trucks were only out on the course for a total of 45 minutes. It was fun, but I probably wouldn't go back. I like my sports with more action! Anna spent the night at Obachan's because we didn't think she would enjoy it as much. I am sure she had a great time getting spoiled rotten. We got home late, and Brandon didn't get into bed until nearly midnight. The best part is at 10:15 this morning, he is still asleep. Anna is gone, so it is just Rob and I to enjoy our newspaper and coffee!

Get This Boy a Bed

2012-02-04T09:49:00.000-08:00

I promise Brandon has a bed. It is a nice comfortable bed, with blankets and a good pillow, yet does he use it? Most nights yes, but every now and then he gets in a pattern of sleeping in other places, like the floor. The last few nights he has been sleeping in his fort. This fort is complete with a pile of dirty clothes for a pillow. What person wouldn't want to sleep on dirty socks and underwear! The next night, I was the "worst mom ever" because I broke up the fun so I could do the wash!

Go Blazers!

2012-01-23T22:57:00.000-08:00

Tonight I was lucky enough to get 2 free tickets to the Blazer game in the 100 level. It was really short notice, I got the call at 5:30, and the game started at 7:00. I was still at work, and Rob leaving to go to work at 7:00, made for some quick thinking of where to put Anna since there was only 2 tickets. Lucky for us, my mom came through and I was able to drop her off on the way home from work, then I picked up Brandon and we left in a hurry to get across town before the game was over! It was Brandon's first time to see a Blazer game. He was super excited. Well, as excited as Brandon gets for anything, which is pretty mild, but I could tell inside he wanted to scream! Our seats were behind the basket, so we had a great view. The Blazers won the game of course! Brandon loved watching the little mini games they played with some fans during the time-outs. He commented that we miss the best parts when we watch on TV because that is when the commercials come on! What a fantastic Mama and Son night!

Free-throw shot

Greg Oden during a time-out

So much fin!

Rob requested a picture of LaMarcus Aldridge - here you go Rob!

A Blazer Dancer picture for Anna

A Little Snow, A Lot of Fun

2012-01-15T12:06:00.001-08:00

There was snow this morning, not a lot of snow, just enough for 30 minutes of fun before it started to melt. For me this is the best kind of snow, noting that ruins our plans for the day, but enough that you can play! The kids had a nice time throwing snowballs at the garage door and making a "snowman". We might get snow tomorrow. I am hoping for enough that we can have a snow day.. not looking likely but one can hope!

Brandon's Job

2012-01-14T12:03:00.000-08:00

Back in October, my Mom got an iPad. Brandon loved it, and kept asking us for one. Well, I am not that mother who buys her then 7 year old a $600 iPad. In response, I told him to start saving his money that he gets for birthday & Christmas and the occasional money he makes from walking the neighbors dog. I made a deal with him (one that I soon regretted) that if he saved $500 I would contribute the remaining $100 towards the iPad. That conversation led him to going to our neighbors house and asking them to hire him to walk the dog on a regular basis. He was asking for $10 a week. I felt that was a reasonable amount for him to make, well they thought that was not enough and gave him the job for $40 a week. Stop the presses! That means the kid would have enough money to buy his iPad in 15 weeks. At that rate, I didn't feel like I needed to help the kid out with my donation. I just kept hoping he would forget my offer of cash, and with my luck he mostly did! So for the next 2 months he saved and saved. He started collecting cans to get money and any money he got for his birthday he saved too. He walked the dog in the pouring down rain & cold, and didn't complain about walking him on a daily basis.

He had enough money right before Christmas to buy his iPad, and this is how we see Brandon more often than I would like to admit now.

Now that he has his iPad, he still is going to keep up on the dog walking. Our new deal is that half of his money now needs to go into savings. Because really, what does a 8 year old need with $40 a week. He is saving up for more iPad accessories, Lego sets & new computer games.

Twice the Love

2012-01-08T18:59:00.000-08:00

Our friend Paula was blessed with beautiful twin girls last month, and today we were blessed to spend some time with them and their big sister Abra. Abra came swimming with us at the pool today, and then I convinced Paula that she needed to do her grocery shopping alone, and that we would watch her girls.
As nice as it was to have her babies for a little bit, and as easy as it was, It was nice to give them back and not have the sleep deprived nights that go with little babies. Anna was NOT happy to see them go, I think she would be thrilled to have them on a long term loan! Both she and Brandon enjoyed getting to hold them. What an experience to hold 2 babies at once.


Maggie with the brown hair & Reagen with the blond hair

Anna making sure Maggie was sleeping soundly

Anna's turn with the twins

My turn with the girls

Brandon's turn, he was was shocked at how little their fingers were!

Fancy Dinner

2012-01-01T22:16:00.000-08:00

Tonight we went to a fancy dinner with my Dad & Marlene to the Melting Pot. Rob and I have been before, but it has been years, and my Dad and Marlene, nor the kids have ever been before. It was a great experience. The kids ate lots and really enjoyed the whole 3 hour experience. We had 2 burners at our table we got to have 2 different kinds of cheese, cooking liquids & chocolates, so it was twice the fun! Our meal started with cheese fondue, then it was salad time. For the main course we had a plate with lobster, pork, chicken, shrimp and fancy ravioli. Then desert was flaming chocolate. For the kids they brought a separate plate of just plain chicken and shrimp. Brandon ate all the shrimp and Anna ate all the chicken then asked for more! Brandon loved the chocolate desert and watching him pour the flaming alcohol onto the chocolate. It was a great experience, one I plan to do again maybe same time next year!

New Years Eve

2012-01-01T09:36:00.000-08:00

We all took nice long naps this afternoon to prepare ourselves for the long night ahead. Anna and I did a last minute shopping trip for more munchies for our party. The kids were both really really excited to stay up late and more excited that Sophie and Saya were going to come over and entertain them for the evening.

Or menu was entirely kid created, and it included healthy choices like berries, oranges, and carrots. It also had some unhealthy choices like chocolate covered pretzels and white chocolate popcorn. Mine and Brandon's favorite was the pigs in a blanket. And Rob and Anna enjoyed the sausage.

Anna entertained herself by practicing her jump rope skills in the dark, and then we watched the movie Dolphin Tale while we waited for the Taylors to come join our party.
Once they got there, there was lots of girl silliness involved. There is a nice picture of Anna and Sophie and one that is overly silly from overly tired girls. 2011 was a great year, I know 2012 will be even better!

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T14:11:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we tried to keep everyone busy so there was less, "is it Christmas yet?", form the kids. We started by going to McDonald's to eat breakfast and play in the playland. That was good for at least an hour of entertainment. Then we walked next door to Safeway to get fruit for breakfast tomorrow. The kids started with tiny apples for each of them. Then they saw tiny oranges. These turned out to be kumquats. I have never had them, so after a quick Google search in the produce dept, we got 4. Then I tossed in a pomegranate and some strawberries. After our shopping trip, we went to the library to stock up on books. Then we went home and the adults took a quick snooze before heading over to my dad's for lunner. (Lunch and Dinner - Brandon's word for it!) We enjoyed a nice make your own sandwich lunner and than opened presents. Anna got a fantastically annoying dancing robot. Not only does it dance but it tells jokes. She LOVES it! I am happy she likes it. Brandon got 2 great Lego sets. I messed up and gave my dad the same present as I gave him for his birthday, at least he liked it, now he has 2! Good thing it is the thought that counts!
After presents we cudled under a blanket and watched the Christmas Story at their house. We didn't leave until late, which worked out well, because the kids went right to sleep and ended up sleeping in this morning!

This morning I heard Brandon up at 6:00am, but lucky for us he was just going to the bathroom, and then went back to bed. I woke up at 7:30, and Anna got up at 8:00. It just about killed her to wait till 9:00 when Brandon got up to start opening presents. Even with our late start we were done opening around 10:30. The kids absolutely loved everything they got. Anna got 3 new dresses/outfits and lots of art supplies. Brandon got a Oregon Duck jersey and lots of Lego sets and books. He also got a Nerf gun, which surprisingly might have been his favorite gift. Rob had already gotten his Kindle Fire earlier this month, so there wasn't much for him under the tree. I got a long awaited new electric blanket for our bed and a Roku player to watch movies on our TV. My mom came over for Breakfast and by 1:00, all they toys were cleaned up, and the kids were playing happily with their new toys! It was a fantastic Christmas!

Our Snowman doughnuts! Love them!

Brandon's Angry Duck Face

Christmas Preparation

2011-12-23T21:40:00.000-08:00

Christmas is on a Sunday this year, so that means we get Monday off. Rob has taken a week and a half off, and I took Thursday and Friday off so we can have a nice 5 days together as a family. Thursday turned in a cooking day. I had big plans to make all sorts of cookies and candies this year, but we have been having so much fun I hadn't quite gotten around to it. So I enlisted the help of the kids to make fudge. I gave them the messy but fun job of getting marshmallow fluff into the measuring cups. I encouraged them to use their fingers to scoop it out of the spoon (don't worry they washed!). Of course, the best part of helping is licking your fingers after.

The fudge turned out great. I am sure Santa will like it on his plate. I also made peanut butter balls for the first time. I love eating them, but I had never made them before.What threw me for a loop is that you melt paraffin wax into the chocolate and then dip the ball into that. So at first it didn't sound so bad, but as I was cutting wax and pouring it in to chocolate, I kind of lost my appetite. It probably didn't help that I read the box, about how you can use it to wax your skies or make candles out of it. Nowhere on the box does it say you can eat it. Anna loves them, but just can't get over the fact that I am eating wax. If anyone wants any, let me know... we have hundreds!
Today we had my Mom over for ham dinner. I love making a ham early like this, because than all weekend we can eat on it. While she was over she took our family Christmas picture. It took 11 tries, but we got one that looks good. Merry Christmas everyone!

Peacock Lane

2011-12-20T19:27:00.000-08:00

On the spur of the moment, we went to Peacock Lane tonight. Rob has never been, and I haven't been since I was a kid so we went for it. We got lucky when we got close we found a parking spot very easy and didn't get stuck in bad traffic. We walked a block to the lane, and was shocked with the large line on the sidewalk that wasn't moving at all. We stood and stood, wondering what was the hold up. A few minutes into the walk, Anna declared that she had to pee. For anyone who has heard this complaint from her, knows that this is an event ending plea. She just keeps complaining and whining until you take her pee. Brandon keep complaining that it was too slow of a line. So in interest of our sanity, we cut out of line, and walked down the street so we were still able to see the lights, but were able to walk at a more normal pace. We all thought the lights were pretty, but we all agreed ed that it wasn't worth the trouble. Glad we did it, but probably wont do it again!

Christmas Concert

2011-12-14T20:56:00.000-08:00

Anna had a very cute Christmas Concert today. She was great and sang nice and loud. After the concert there were arts and crafts and snacks. I was able to get off work for a little while to watch, which was priceless, and Rob woke up and dragged his tired butt to watch as well as Chieko came to support Anna. She loved having everyone there.

Anna and Taniyah

MISSING

2011-12-13T20:42:00.000-08:00

Missing: Brown Teddy Bear
Broken Arms and Legs
Answers to the name "Cutie"
Little girl heartbroken! If seen please return to Anna.

Cutie was only with us for a short time, but Anna loved her lots. We haven't seen her since Saturday, the day I cleaned out my closet and filled the trunk with mounds of clothes. I don't have the heart to tell Anna that I think she accidentally got sent to Goodwill. I really hope I am wrong and she shows up.

Fantasy Trail

2011-12-08T20:52:00.001-08:00

Tonight I talked my mom into freezing her buns off and enjoying some more holiday fun with us. We drove all the way out to Oregon City to Fantasy Trail. It was very cute and sweet. It reminded me of a small version of the storybook lane in Enchanted Forest. Lots of cute little houses to look at that had little decorations in the windows. There was a Christmas Pirate Maze that we were able to make it out in one piece, rather quickly. There also was a castle, slides and a tunnel to crawl through.

Sing to your Pet?!?!

2011-12-06T20:56:00.001-08:00

Here is Brandon singing Jingle Bells to Tater. Why you ask? Well, all in holiday fun and the Kindley House. Yesterday my friend gave me a fun book full of games, crafts & activities called Christmas Scratchers.It is little "games" where you scratch off different items and then do what it tells you to do. We tore out the first page tonight, and got to scratching. The idea behind today's game was to scratch off a music note to find your song to sing, then you scratch off a present to see who you are going to sing too. The lucky recipients of our singing ability were, my mom, the Christmas Tree, Tater, Me & Anna's best friend who happened to be a stuffed animal.

We will keep scratching every night, I wonder what other crazy things we will end up doing?

Holy Ho, Ho, Ho!

2011-12-03T19:59:00.001-08:00

What a busy holiday day! It started bright and early this morning when we went downtown to SantaLand to see Santa. We got there at 8:30 and Santa was busy feeding his reindeer until 9:00. That gave us plenty of time to wander and see the decorations.

We also had time to write letters to Santa.

Brandon's letter - written with out any spelling help

Anna's Letter - Written by her with spelling help

When Santa was done feeding his reindeer, we were first in line for pictures. I was shocked to see how the Macy's Santa looked. He didn't have a real beard. What a disappointment! But the kids still went and sat on his lap, but neither one smiled very well, and so we didn't buy the $18 picture. We wandered over to Pioneer Place to see what their Santa looked like, and he was much better. Real beard and all! He was the best Santa the kids have ever been too. He took a long time talking with them and figuring out the best things to bring them for Christmas. Also, their pictures were less expensive and came out great!

Then it was on to the festival of the trees. After standing in line to see 2 Santa's and then taking the max ride, the kids were less than thrilled to be at a festival of trees.

Looks like we might need a nap!

But once they got in to the room and saw all the pretty trees, their attitudes changed. The best part of the festival was the teddy bear hospital. Each kid got to pick a teddy bear, and then it went though a "hospital". Anna named her bear "cutie", She had fallen off a swing and broken her arm & leg and bonked her head. Brandon named his bear "frosty", He had fallen off a bike and broken both arms & legs, and had a bloody head. The kids really got into the process each giving their bear a shot, they took their blood pressure and saw the x-rays of the bears.The bears even got real stitches.

After the teddy bear hospital, we went to Ms. Claus' kitchen and got to frost cookies.

Then we were off to Santa's workshop to make ornaments.

Oh Yeah, don't forget there were trees there too!

And there was face painting.

The kids really enjoyed the festival of Trees. It was a real fun family activity. We got home around 3:00 and had about an hour to recover from our day, before we went out to Paula's house in Forest Grove to watch their light parade. It was a fun small town parade, with lot of candy being thrown! The kids were pretty frozen solid when we were done, but we all enjoyed ourselves. We are looking forward to a quiet day tomorrow to recover!

Rob, Abra, A very pregnant with twins Paula, Anna & Brandon

Thanksgiving Weekend

2011-11-27T20:52:00.001-08:00

We had a busy yet, relaxing Thanksgiving weekend this year. Thanksgiving morning, while Rob was sleeping, the kids and I decorated the house for Christmas. What starts as all these boxes, ends up several hours later as beautiful!

I started my department 56 collection 6 years ago, and while I haven't bought any new pieces for 3 years or so, I still love it. Every year, as the kids get older, they get to help put them out more and we always enjoy looking at them. I love the memories I am making for the kids. For Thanksgiving dinner we went Grandpa Bob's and Obachan's house. We had a lovely dinner of prime rib. Not your traditional Thanksgiving, but fantastic.
Friday we hung aournd the house in the morning, and then took Brandon to see the Muppet Movie. It was very good. We enjoyed our quiet day.
On Saturday I made a turkey with all the trimmings and had my mother over for dinner. It was yummy. After dinner the kids worked on the traditional gingerbread house.

Today we got our lights up on the house. And I made both kids their Christmas PJ's using old fabric left over from the first year I made them. I had patterns for bathrobes too, so I went to the fabric store and got some fleece on a really good sale, and made them each bathrobes. I started my sewing project at 1:00 in the afternoon, and didn't finish until 8:00. I love making things when they turn out. Granted, Brandon's bathrobe was tricky, but it turned out really good. They better wear them!

It was a great long weekend, we got a lot accomplished and are nearly ready for Christmas! And while we stayed busy, I felt like we relaxed a lot too!

Happy Birthday Brandon

2011-11-15T20:45:00.000-08:00

Brandon was 8 today! While I love watching him grow up, I still remember when he was just a little baby. I can't believe I am old enough to have an 8 year old! In good Kindley fashion we spread out his birthday celebration for several days. His party started on Saturday when we gave him some of his presents that he would want to play with during his sleepover that night. He had a small sleepover with 2 kids from school. It was a fun and small party.


Max, Brandon & Evan

The boys played games all night, and finally fell asleep after midnight. The next day we went to my dads house for a early Thanksgiving dinner and early party for Brandon too. Then tonight for his actual birthday my mom came over for one of his favorite dinners, waffles and sausages.
Happy Birthday Brandon!

Sleep

2011-11-14T20:16:00.001-08:00

I have been very tired for the last few months, so I went to the doctor a month ago to find out what was going on. In trying to rule out all the possibilities, she asked about snoring. Sure I snore, doesn't everyone! So that led to seeing a specialist who recommended I go to a sleep study. Last night was the big night. I got to the hotel where they run the sleep study at 7:45. Before I got all hooked up to the wires, they hooked me up to the CPAP machine which pushed air up your nose, which in theory will stop sleep apnea. Imagine having an elephant trunk on your face, and you will have a perfect image for the CPAP machine. The trick to the CPAP is to only breath in and out of your nose. If you open your mouth, the air that is being pumped into your nose, just flies right out your mouth! At one point, I tried to open my mouth to pop my ears, and a stream of saliva came flying out of my mouth! What an experience. After that, I got hooked up to all sorts of wires on my legs, arms, chest, head & face. I had to take a picture of my good looks when I went to the bathroom! This has to go on the blog! Then it was time for rest. I did sleep, not great, but I slept. It was really hard to roll over in the middle of the night with all the wires hanging off of me. But they never had to come in and put the CPAP machine on me in the middle of the night, so that is nice. I wasn't sure I could sleep with that on. No results yet, wait 4 to 6 weeks for those. Hope all is "normal."

Could you sleep looking like this!

Impromptu Photo Shoot

2011-11-06T19:08:00.000-08:00

My Mom & I took Anna to Al's Garden Center. I was looking for garlic to plant in my garden, and Mom had a gift card to spend. They were all decorated for Christmas, and Anna wanted a picture with a cute elf statue. So I pulled out my phone, and took a picture. That was how it started. It turned into a regular photo shoot. Every cute decoration, required a picture. Some of them turned out really cute. I wouldn't mind getting the kids dressed up in nice clothes, and bringing a good camera and going back to get a nice holiday picture.

Cute

2011-10-31T21:17:00.000-07:00

I was looking back at the blog history and I found a picture of Anna 3 years ago in the same firetruck at the airport open house that she sat in a few days ago. So cute! Crazy that that was only 3 years ago. It seems like forever ago! The nice thing about the blog, I can always go back and reminisce!

Anna October 2008- 2 Years Old

Anna October 2011 - 5 years old

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T20:56:00.000-07:00

Anna thought the time would never come to go trick-or-treating. After what seemed like a long day at school, filled with anticipation & parties, it was finally time to go out and beg for candy! We were out for an hour and a half, and made out like millionaires. Since Rob is working nights now, I went out with the kids. It was fun to have a chance to take them out trick-or-treating.

A bundled up Cinderella & Michael Jackson

Anna and the loot, complete with pinwheels

Brandon Loves candy!

Pumpkin Carving

2011-10-30T20:34:00.000-07:00

Time to carve the pumpkins! This year we had one bigger one and one tiny one. The tiny one is from Anna's trip to the pumpkin patch with school. It was too tiny to carve so we took out the paints and let her go at it.

On the bigger one, Brandon was going to try to carve it all by himself. It started off good, but it was much tougher than he expected so he enlisted his sister's help to get the guts out and my help with the knife work. He designed the face, I just cut it out!

Airport Open House

2011-10-30T10:11:00.000-07:00

Every year on the weekend before Halloween the Hillsboro Airport hosts an open house. We try to go most years, the kids enjoy it. They always have cookies, crafts and planes you can sit in. I go for the free pens & note pads! This year the weather was perfect so we ventured out. We got our fill of cookies, and coffee. We saw a firetruck and spoke to a fireman who talked to the kids about fire safety. Then the kids climbed into a tiny airplane. You couldn't pay me enough to actually fly in one! We skipped the bus tour of the airfield, which usually is boring to the kids, and chose to go get more cookies and coffee on our way out instead.

Halloween Fun

2011-10-30T10:03:00.000-07:00

Today we tried making spooky Halloween "Pizza" Cookies. It was a kit that I bought from Target, it had everything you needed including pre--baked cookies. It was fun to load up your pizza cookie with gummy fingers & gum eyeballs! Eating them were not so much fun. Both Rob & I decided they weren't good enough to eat, but the kids didn't seem to mind. They ate most of theirs.

Lodge Fun

2011-10-22T18:03:00.000-07:00

After sharing a bed with Anna last night, I felt like I had been in wrestling match. She likes to sleep on my head, my knees & any other spot but her side of the bed. Maybe she will sleep better tonight, because I know I have worn her out! We spent several hours in the pool. Anna skinned her toe & elbow on the pool and then when we went down a water slide, she fell out of the raft at the end and the raft ran over her. She was not hurt but scared. After hours in the pool having fun, we ate lunch at subway. Then Brandon & Rob went to play compass quest. And Anna, Sophie & I went to the kids club. Anna painted a picture frame and I made a stepping stone. Once we were done with the arts and crafts & Brandon was done running around the hotel finding clues, it was back to the pool.

Great Wolf Lodge Surprise

2011-10-22T09:36:00.000-07:00

A few months ago, we planned to go to Great Wolf Lodge again, with Jason, Kiyoko, Sophie & Saya. Rather than tell the kids about it we decided to keep it a surprise. Friday was a no school day for Brandon, so we all got the day off and we had told the kids we would do something fun, like maybe a pumpkin patch. I had packed the car the night before and lucky for us, the kids are not too observant as to why we put out extra food and water for Tater. I think Brandon started to catch on when we could see the lodge from the road. Anna was asleep in the car, so she had no clue. When we got there, I said we might as well go in too look around. Brandon was suspisous that we might be staying, so I told him to look in the trunk. They both shouted "hurray" when they found out. It was fun! The lodge is all decorated for Halloween. The decorations are all made from balloons.

Super Anna!

2011-10-22T09:27:00.000-07:00

This morning we were out riding bikes and Anna wanted to take off her training wheels. Before I agreed we tried her on Brandon's bike. She got on, while I held on to the back and she took off. I didn't even have to hold on. So it was time to take off her wheels. She hopped on, and went. I really didn't hold on to her at all. It was amazing! Brandon was a super easy kid to teach how to ride a bike, and I was amazed with him, but Anna was unbelievable! I have heard horror stories of kids learning to ride bikes, but lucky for us are kids are easy!

Fall Fun

2011-10-09T18:48:00.000-07:00

I had a blast today at Paula's baby shower. She is due on Christmas Day with twin girls. We are all very excited for her, better her than us! There was fantastic food, friends & fun. I got there around 10:30 and didn't leave until around 4:00. I guess I really needed to see my friends!

While I was at the shower Rob and the kids were outside for most of the day, enjoying some of the last dry days for months. Brandon was giving Anna rides on his bike. My first though was that looks dangerous, but they were having such a good time I didn't ban their fun but got the camera.

Run Brandon, Run

2011-09-27T21:02:00.000-07:00

In an attempt to get Brandon to join a sport or team, I had Rob take Brandon to a Cross County Club meet. It was Brandon's first experience in an organized sport other than a few sport camps. Both Rob and I figured that either Cross Country or Track and Field might be the sport for Brandon. Today's race was a three-quarter mile run. Brandon came in 5th place. There were probably 20 or so kids there, so that is a good placement! He seems excited to try it again next week. I am excited for the Turkey Trot. Maybe he will win us a Turkey!

First day of Kindergarten

2011-09-14T20:36:00.000-07:00

Anna got to start Kindergarten today, a day before her birthday! To say she was excited would be an understatement. She is thrilled. She was chomping at the bit to leave for school at 7:30 am. Her teacher is Mrs. Connie. She is a wonderful teacher and I am thrilled that Anna get a chance to do Kindergarten a year early. Connie told me that she is worried that Anna will be disappointed in Kindergarten, because Anna just keep asking Connie for more worksheets. I guess she didn't want to go play, she wanted to learn! When I asked her what she learned today, she said she learned how to use the bathroom. I guess that was an important first lesson!

Anna outside the Kindergarten room

Anna and Mrs. Connie

Sibling Love

2011-09-12T21:26:00.000-07:00

I love that as the kids get older, they seem to be nicer to each other too. Most days, they play very nicely together, sure they have their moments, but there are more good times than bad. A few days ago, Brandon helped Anna put together her first Lego set. It was very cute to watch him try to teach her how to read Lego directions. He was very patient with her.

Today, I got distracted in the garden getting tomatoes, when I should have been reading the kids books. So rather than quit what I was doing, I talked Brandon into reading her books. I was thrilled that he didn't put up a fight, so I could keep up the tomatoes. When I went up to see how they were doing, I brought the camera. I caught the picture before they knew that I was there. So cute! And also, I keep thinking I wonder if he will keep doing this, it would help save me lots of time!

Brandon's Cooking experiment

2011-09-10T16:44:00.000-07:00

Brandon picked some tomatoes & strawberries out of our garden this morning and asked me if he could make something to eat out of them. I couldn't imagine what he would want to make with tomatoes & strawberries, but not wanting to stifle his creativity, I said "sure honey."

Brandon's Strawberry & Tomato Soup
7 strawberries
5 cherry tomotoes
2 spoonfuls of sugar
1 cup water
1 ice cube
microwave on high for 1 minute or until hot

Have your sister eat it!

He asked me if I wanted to eat it, I stumbled for the words "OK", but was saved by the words "you don't have to if you don't want to!" I felt like it looked like vomit, but I would have had one small bite if I had too.
Anna on the other hand, thought it looked good. Heck, it has everything she loves!

The proud chef & his assistant

After her first bite, she liked it and went in for bite number 2. That bite had a tomato, and she wasn't very fond of that bite.

Yuck!

But she still went back for more. She ate the whole discusting bowl except for the tomatoes.

Taylor Swift Concert

2011-09-06T21:29:00.001-07:00

Way back in March Rob bought tickets for us to go see Taylor Swift. Today was the big day, I got off early, sweet talked my Mom in watching the kids on the first day of school, and we went to the show. I had a great time watching all the pre-teens who were there with their signs & home made shirts. It was fun to watch, glad I didn't have a pre-teen with me, but still fun to watch! We were in the 300 level, which was kind of like watching an ant on stage, but they did have big screen TV's so we enjoyed the show. In fact the show was great. It was one of the better concerts I have been too.
Here we are before the show started.

And here is a view of how far we were from the stage!

Without a super telephoto lens, this is as good as the pictures turned out.

It did get a little bit better when for her encore, she "flew" into the audience. Still, not much better, but a little!

First Day of School

2011-09-06T21:29:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it, but Brandon started 2nd grade today. The best part about starting second grade is that it is the same as first grade. Ok, they will learn different things, but they have the same teacher! I really liked Mrs. Hall last year, and am looking forward to another great year with her this year. It has really helped Brandon with the transition back to school to have the same teacher also.

Anna misses the cutoff to go to Kindergarten by 15 days, so for right now she is in the same class as last year. At some point this year, she may start Kindergarten at Learning Years, but until then, she is happy with Ms. Karen. She is great!

Labor Day is for Laboring

2011-09-05T20:47:00.000-07:00

Today I volunteered to stain Bob & Chieko's deck. Earlier this summer I power washed it and used cleaner on it, but hadn't gotten around to staining it. When I was first thinking about doing it today, I figured that I would just take a roller on the floor and be done 30 minutes later. What I had forgotten was all those damn rails! Both kids started by helping me. I hate to admit, it wasn't much help. Stain is not like paint and quite drippy, so I was spending a lot of time trying to wipe up their drips before they dried. After Brandon got frustrated with my comments about how he was making a mess, he gave up and left. Anna stuck it out a little longer, but when it started to drip on her shoes, she was out of there! Four hours later, I was basically done. Well I was done, because I had gone through the 2 gallons of stain we had bought. There is little bit left, but it is the part that is hidden by the fence. I love painting & staining because of the quick improvements it makes. Their deck looks almost brand new. Can't wait to have a nice BBQ on it, hopefully soon. When I got home I took 4 Advil, and paid Brandon a $1 to massage my back!

Yale Lake

2011-09-04T20:44:00.000-07:00

When we went to the Ape Caves with Mary we had stopped at Yale Lake to have a picnic lunch. At the time we had said we wanted to come back one day with swim suits and spend the day there, playing in the water and eating a BBQ lunch. After talking with Jason & Kiyoko we decided today was the day. With temperatures near the 90's, it was the perfect day to pack up and head north. We met the Taylor's at McDonald's, after we rounded up our pose of children we were on the road. Since we remembered an iTouch for each child we had a nice pleasant drive. We got to the lake around 11:30 and didn't end up leaving until after 5:00. The kids played in the ice cold water a lot. Anna and Sophie must be tougher than Brandon because after about 10 minutes he was wrapped in a towel sitting in the grass. Brandon and Rob had fun playing beach ball in the sun. The girls stayed in the lake the whole time. At one point I was sure Sophie had purple lips, but they wouldn't get out! We ate a delicious lunch of hamburgers, fruit, potato salad & chips. We wore Saya out, she crashed on Jason, so cute! What a fun day, we will do it again.

Train Ride

2011-09-03T22:15:00.000-07:00

Every so often Anna demands that we take her on a train ride. Not just the MAX but a "real" train. In the spring groupon had a good deal on a hour and a half train ride in Chehalis. I have been trying to get us up to ride the train all summer, but have been busy every weekend. It expires at the end of September, so it was almost now or never. The weather was perfect for an open air train ride. We got to the train depot around noon, the train departed at 1:00. We had enough time to wander around and look at the train getting ready.

Once we were on the train, there really wasn't much to to entertain the kids. The novelty of being on the train was over in about 5 minutes. We kept them entertained by pointing out all the cows that would run when the train came by. We also walked up to the front of the train to see the engine at one point.

Ready to go

Cows run when a train drives by, That is funny to watch

The best part of the train ride was the way back because they unhook the train from the front and put in on the back, which was the cab we were in. We were able to go up to the front and watch the train coupling, which is pretty cool to see. I think the kids were even slightly impressed with it too.

The train ran right into me, while I took this picture (don't worry I am ok, I was on the train!)

After our train ride, we went to our favorite hamburger joint that is right next Great Wolf Lodge. After we ate, the kids talked us in to going in to look around. Made me want to go again!

Early Birthday Party

2011-08-27T20:29:00.000-07:00

There is still 2 weeks before Anna's real birthday, but with school starting soon we were worried we would loose track of the girls who are starting kindergarten, so we decided to hold the party early this year. We invited her whole class, about 20 kids. Lucky for us only 4 showed up, Sophie & Saya were there too so it made for a nice little party. We held it at our neighborhood park which doesn't take reservations so I got there a little after noon to make sure I had a few tables reserved. There was already a party going on, so I just sat and waited. They were done before our party started at 2:00. It was rather hot today, upper 80's, so the kids didn't stay out and play for very long before they would come gather and drink water. At one of the water breaks we did the pinata. It was a pull string pinata, where each kid takes a turn pulling a string and one string opens up the pinata spilling the candy out.


Sophie, Anna, Lauren, Aubrey, Morgan, Lyndsey & a little brother Brady who came too.

Brandon found the string that opened it up!

Anna got lots of nice presents, her favorites being a Barbie from Grandpa & Grandma Marlene, jewelry from my Mom & Glitter glue from Jason & Kiyoko. It was too windy for the candles to stay lit, so we just pretended they were lit!
She had a great birthday, I can't believe she is almost 5!!!

Aquarium, Pirates & Sand

2011-08-21T18:52:00.000-07:00

After a half way restful night, it was time to use our groupon for the Oregon Coast Aquarium. This was the main reason for coming to the beach, so we loaded up our picnic food and headed north to Newport. Yesterday the sky was blue and perfect, today we were socked in all day, but it wasn't too bad. Before we left we had breakfast and played in the cabin a little bit. The kids really enjoy the bunk beds!

At the Aquarium we saw the scuba divers clean out the tank, Rob was good at pointing out all the spots they missed! We also got to see a octopus with eggs. They said it is a very rare thing to see, Anna was sad to learn that after the eggs hatch the mother dies.

After our picnic lunch we stopped at the pirate aquarium shops near the aquarium. I have never stopped before because they look like a total tourist trap. I was right, total trap, but in between the stores filled with junk made across the seas, there was a diamond in the rough. A glass blowing shop that had the artist there today and he was making an octopus. It was amazing to watch, not only does it look very dangerous & hot, but I am sure I could never do it. At one point when it was time to put the head on the octopus, it dropped to the floor, causing quite the commotion. People were running around getting gloves on to pick it up with, and the while paper was catching on fire because a blow torch got dropped. Once the fire was out and the head picked up, they were able to fix it and get it put on the legs. It would have been cool to buy it since we saw him make it, but I don't want an octopus, and it was $280.

Then it was on to Nye Beach to get our toes in the sand. I didn't come very prepared for the beach, no towel & no chairs, but we made the best of it. The kids really got into it getting drenched! At least I had shorts for them to change into in the car.

Kabin Kamping KOA style!

2011-08-20T21:26:00.000-07:00

Today we packed up and headed out to our rental cabin in Waldport. We didn't get a very early start, leaving around 11:30, and after a stop for lunch it was really closer to 12:15 by the time we were on the road. Well with weather hitting the 90's in Portland for the first time this year, I guess everyone else was headed to the beach too. What should have taken just under 3 hours, took nearly 5! But once we got to the cabin it was worth the drive!


Packed and Ready to go.

Once we got unpacked, we explored the camp ground. I sent Rob and the kids to play on the play structure so I could get our Hamburgers made for dinner. The kids had fun on our porch swing while we unpacked the car. The playgrounds have nice sand to play in which is nice, considering we have to go down a super steep hill to get to the beach.

"Hold on Anna, Brandon is going to push you."

Dinner Time!

Brandon practicing his Karate Kid pose

That's my boy!

What a strange tooth Anna has grown!

After our dinner entertainment from the kids, it was time for a walk. We went up a wooded path that took us to the top of the hill overlooking they bay. The view is gorgeous! Then we found our way to the bridge. Brandon really wanted to walk all the way across, but was worried he would miss the ice cream social, so we only went half way.

After our walk, it was time to come back to camp for the Ice Cream Social. After the kids had Ice Cream, we roasted marshmallows and then played Uno. The game went until dark with no winner. The kids are excited to sleep tonight because they have a bunk bed to sleep in. A first for them.

Anna enjoying her Ice Cream at the Social

Night at the Movies

2011-08-07T11:12:00.000-07:00

Last year we Rob and I had been to the Drive-In and decided it was something we wanted to do with the kids this summer. This is the last month of summer so no more procrastinating, it was time to go. This week they were playing Cars 2 & Cowboys & Aliens as a double feature. We have already seen Cars 2, but we all figured it was ok to go again, since it was a drive-in.

We got to the drive-in around 6:45. After we parked, we ate our dinner than walked around with the kids. It is quite the experience to see a drive-in. It was extra fun and weird tonight since they were having a Hearse Car Club "Coffin Cruisers" and a VW club there. Brandon was creeped out by the Hearse & the thought of a dead person in it. Once he figured out that there were not dead people in the back right now, he eased up. Anna liked this creepy baby doll that was on the hood of one car. The guy who owned the car was taken with her and let her pose with it.

Under the screen, lots of kids were playing catch under the screen.

An old speaker pole

Brandon is probably thinking she is crazy to pick up the creepy doll

Hope he enjoys the show

The kids were really tired, and didn't make it through their movie. They both fell asleep with only 30 minutes left to go of the movie. Which was good for us, because then we could watch Coyboys & Aliens. The second movie started at midnight, and got over at 2 am. I don't think I have stayed up that late for years. I am surprised we both made it through. It was fun, we will have to do it again!

Too bad they couldn't just stay sleeping in the trunk all night!

Brandon's House of Horror

2011-07-29T21:31:00.000-07:00

Brandon was busy in his room last night.. this morning I saw what he made. He is very proud of his "House of Horror's" I wonder if I should start saving for therapy now?? Maybe I need therapy too, because I chuckled at it, and commented that my favorite one was the Crocodile eating a head and the electric pole that took the tree down killing the person in the car. I know it is strange, poor boy!

Timberline

2011-07-25T16:34:00.000-07:00

On the way home from camping, we ventured up to Timberline. the kids have never been up to Timberline and I figured it would make Mary feel right at home! After a quick walk around the lodge we made the kids go walk in the snow for a picture opportunity. It was very comical, because Michael who is around snow often seemed to be afraid to walk on it. Granted he was in sandals & shorts, but still quite funny to watch. Then when he was back to "dry" land, he was pulling up his shorts like he was in a flood. One of those moments that made me smile!
It was a great trip right up until we were taking the tuck back. While filling it up with gas, Rob scraped the side of the truck on a pole. He felt horrible, lucky for us his dad took it ok. It was a bad way to end a fantastic vacation.

The adventure continues...

2011-07-24T22:44:00.000-07:00

Today started with a pancake breakfast, then it was off to try our hand in rock hounding. We had heard there was a ranch near by that had places to dig for thunder eggs. It was quite a long drive since most of it was on a bumpy dirt road, but once we made it to the site we were defiantly ready to dig. The only problem was we didn't really know where to dig. The lady in the shop had given us directions as to where to dig, but what I focused on was how dangerous it was if we dug in the wrong spots! Brandon got frustrated pretty quick and gave up. We were finding lots rocks, in fact every where we looked there were rocks, but it didn't appear to be any thunder eggs. Anna had a great time picking up pretty rocks and putting them in her bucket. We didn't take any of her rocks back with us to have cut, but we did find a pile on the side where someone else dumped their thunder eggs. We picked up a few of those and had them cut. It was fun to see them cut and see the different colors. While we were digging in the dirt, Mary stayed in the van and made us all sandwiches. I had remembered to bring all the food with us, but didn't remember any knives to spread the peanut butter. Mary was quick thinking and used a straw!

On the way back to the camp site, we found a tree that was full of shoes. Yes a tree decorated with shoes. Who wouldn't stop to take pictures!

After more swimming, it was time to make dinner. We made chili mac in the fire tonight. It was not exactly easy. The fire was not coorperating with us, and then I forgot a can opener! It is hard to open 3 cans of tomatoes with no can opener. Lucky for us, Rob had is leatherman and with his bruit man strength he was able to get the 3 cans open. Dinner turned out pretty good.

After dinner, Brandon rented a bike and rode around the campground and Anna bought a shirt that she got to color. It was another fun day, we are tired!

Camping Adventures

2011-07-23T22:40:00.000-07:00

Here we are in our KOA with wireless internet so I can blog. This is what I call camping! Our day started early with final packing and loading up Grandpa Bob's truck. We were on the road by 9:30 and happily on our way to the Madras KOA.


Mt. Hood

After the 2 hour process of setting up tents while wrangling 4 children, it was defiantly time for a dip in the pool before dinner. Anna and Michael had a great time jumping into the water, while Brandon took off his floaties and practiced his newly acquired swimming skills. He is getting to be a really good swimmer and all of his practice time got his confidence up, which is just what he needed.

The tents all set up and ready to go

Our "Kitchen"

After swimming for nearly 2 hours, it was time to get out and have dinner. When dinner was over and cleaned up, we went to feed the horses that live in the fields next to the campground. The kids had a blast feeding the horses, and the horses really like it too!

After the horses, it was time for S'mores. Once Brandon figured out that the marshmallows are better without the fire burn, he was quite good at getting them brown, but not burnt. Michael seemed to be a little afraid of the fire and didn't want to get too close, so I think his marshmallows were still cold when he ate them. Anna just wanted to see them catch on fire!

Now, you would think our day was done, but nope.. we are still going! At the KOA on Saturday nights they have a glow light parade. For a few dollars we were able to buy the kids some glow sticks and they walked around the campground waiving their glow sticks and saying chants about how fun camping is. Once that was over it was finally time for bed. We had such a fun busy first day, I wonder what tomorrow will bring.

The Harvest has Started

2011-07-22T22:08:00.000-07:00

This morning Anna was able to go out to the garden and get some fresh carrots & strawberries! She loves going out every morning to look for food.

When I am Home Alone...

2011-07-21T19:54:00.001-07:00

Brandon has always said that when he is old enough to be left alone he will eat ice cream and watch TV. He wasn't alone tonight, but I guess he was practicing!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Baby Shower

2011-07-17T21:42:00.000-07:00

Today Marlene and I ventured down to Umpqua to see Colleen and her baby to be Luciana, or Lucy. It was a great drive, granted I wasn't driving, just a passenger. Marlene and I enjoyed our time alone in the car. Heck, I value anytime I am alone or with only adults in a car! The shower had fun games & great gifts for the baby. Lots of cute clothes and some amazing homemade blankets. The yummy cookies & cupcakes were made by a friend of Colleen's. They were very good and amazingly professional looking! Can't wait to meet the baby, I bet she will be adorable!

Ape Cave Adventure

2011-07-10T18:34:00.000-07:00

While Mary and her kids are in town with us for nearly a month, we are trying to come up with some new adventures to try out. Today it was going to be a trip up to Johnston Ridge Observatory, but the weather didn't seem like it would be clear enough to see the crater, so we changed our plans last night to go to the Ape Caves and explore instead. That ideal included a last minute track down of a baby backpack, but Jenna came through at 10:00 for me! We stopped at Yale Lake to use the bathroom and eat our picnic lunch. The lake is beautiful and we decided we would have to come back sometime to picnic & play in the lake.

Here we are enjoying our picnic lunch, It was in the shade and a little cool.

Anna & Michael posing by the lake.

Once we got the the caves I realized I had forgotten to get the lantern out of my moms house. Luckily I had brought little flashlights for all the kids and one big one, but lighting was a little dim and that made for a little bit of a treacherous walk until we remembered I had an app for a flashlight. Once we got that going it made the walking easier, at least for me! It took us longer than the 1 hour it said it would take to get there and back. Both Anna & Michael fell, but it was mostly drama, no blood. But other than 2 tired 4 year olds we did really good. It was fun to walk in to the dark, cold cave.

Are we brave enough to go down?

Here we go, can we turn back now?

Michael was the only kid willing to go crouch down in the little cave for a photo.


Margaret slept for the majority of the ride in, guess it didn't thrill her much!

Brandon's Hair Cut

2011-07-09T15:23:00.000-07:00

Brandon has always wanted a Mohawk or shaved head. I had told him during summer I would do it.. well he remembered and so today it was shaved head day. I can't say I am crazy about his new look, but I guess he likes it. He said his head felt cold. Good thing his hair grows quick!

4th Of July Hamburger

2011-07-04T21:05:00.000-07:00

It was Bob's 78th Birthday today, I didn't need a better reason to make a cake that looks like a hamburger. It was in the current month's issue of Food Network Magazine, and mine looks almost like their picture! This is my 3rd attempt at a cake from their magazine, and unfortunately I am not getting better at it! Today's cake was defiantly the most difficult one I attempted. While it looked pretty good, I would do a few things different if I made it again. It also didn't help that I couldn't find the right candy to make the "lettuce". But it tasted delicious, and at least everyone knew what it was! Happy Birthday Bob!

3rd of July Fireworks

2011-07-03T23:53:00.000-07:00

I know you are supposed to light off fireworks on the 4th of July, but this year it was the 3rd that got spectacular firework display. We went to the Taylor's house after dinner for Saya's 2nd birthday party, and then fireworks. It was a really fun night, late night, but really fun.

After the cute birthday girl ate her cake & opened a present, it was time to blow stuff up! We started with sparklers & Popper's.

Then the kids got all settled down to watch the fireworks. They even all got on a broom, too bad it wouldn't blast off. I guess there are no witches in our group!

Sometimes the fireworks were a little loud for little ears, and sometimes they just had a nice time watching the fountains!

Tomorrow on the 4th we are going to our traditional BBQ at Chieko's for Grandpa's birthday. I am making a cake that looks like a hamburger, hope it turns out!

How Does Your Garden Grow?

2011-07-02T08:03:00.000-07:00

Mine apparently grows pretty well. I wasn't holding out much hope for a few reasons. This is my first year at a vegetable garden. Other than when I was a child, and I hated having to go out and help weed the garden, I have never grown my own vegetables. It also has been such a cold, wet spring and not a great June either.. I wasn't sure what would grow. Well I guess I picked some good vegetables to grow in those conditions, because they are flourishing.
Here is the very beginning of the garden, in the end of April. I was so excited to get things planted and to start growing.

I now have a garden, that has plants taller than Anna & Brandon. The sugar snap peas have grown over their cages. The Zucchini has at least 2 small zucchinis starting and I can see at least 10 more blossoms! I have tomatoes that are taking over the world. Walla Walla Onions that are starting to poke their heads out of the ground, they are getting big. We have had two bathes of radishes & lots of lettuce. The rainbow carrots are trying hard to grow, now they are baby sized, maybe one more month? The cucumbers are working on growing up, no fruit yet, but I know it is coming. The only plants that haven't been too impressive are the peppers. They are hot weather plant, and we defiantly haven't had hot weather. The spicy black pepper has lots of flowers on it, so maybe we will get some peppers after all! Rob will be so happy. I have learned that snails won't cross copper so I bought copper strips to put around all the beds. It really ruins my appetite to find a snail on the lettuce I just picked for a salad. I also lost a few plants to the cold weather and some animal that was pulling up the baby seedlings. I would like to see any animal get these big plants now!

My, what big vegetables you have

Look a baby zucchini!

Take over of the killer tomatoes!

Baby radish & baby white carrot, keep growing!

Here is the black pepper plant, wonder if all the flowers will make peppers?

The other plants that really need warm sun to grow and ripen are the strawberries. My plants are growing great and we have hundreds of flowers and tinny strawberries. Anna has been able to eat about 4 strawberries, but they are so small! They need warm sun to grow big, before they ripen.I have the bird netting up in hopes that there will be strawberries on the plants one day that the birds will want to eat. Maybe July will be the amazing strawberry month!

Busy Seattle Day

2011-06-26T21:32:00.000-07:00

The plan for today was to see Pikes Place & go to the FAO Schwartz downtown. As we were driving in, we noticed the main road was closed. It looked to us they were going to have a parade, possibly a Gay Pride Parade. While that made driving downtown more difficult, we were still determined to go shopping downtown. After we found parking, we wandered around, looking for the FAO Schwartz. I finally asked a security guard, who told me the store had probably been closed for 5 years. Oops, guess I was out of the loop. So we scratched that plan and walked down to Pikes Place Market. When we crossed the road that the parade was going to be on we could defiantly tell it was a Gay Pride parade. Figured that would make for some unusual people sightings in town! Boy was I right, while we were eating our Piroshiy's standing by a store front, we were witness to 10 or 15 people getting dressed for the parade. Or should I say "Undressed". Brandon and Anna were standing around, not sure what to make of the scene. At one point, a lady came out in her bustier and thong! That was followed by the kids quietly talking to themselves and pointing. "I can see her bottom!" Then the men in underwear came out and they were followed by a professional photographer. I had to snap a picture too, just for proof of course! As you can see, I wasn't the only one taking their picture!

Anna was mortified that I took their pictures. She kept telling me it wasn't appropriate to be in the street in your underwear. So we left the underwear models for something that was more "appropriate". We found a street performer who had a parrot who does tricks, including "sleeping" and juggling. It was pretty amazing, I have never seen a parrot do tricks! He finished his act by letting Anna hold the parrot. She was thrilled.

After the market, we went to find the troll. There is a giant troll that lives under a bridge and he is holding a Volkswagen Beetle. The kids had a blast climbing on him and picking his nose.

On our duck tour, we learned of this park called GasWorks Park. It is an old coal gasification plant that is no longer used. Because the ground was toxic, they filled in most of the plant with mounds of dirt, but left some structures as a form of art. We happened to be there when they were having a peace concert. So we got to see more interesting people. Lots of hippies, and old veteran looking people. While we were walking around, we got the kids popsicles to enjoy. It was a very fun and interesting park. They had a big hill that was filled with people flying kites. It had amazing views of the city. As well as a "play barn" that had reconditioned pipes for the kids to play on.

Since this seemed to be the day of finding unusual people, we found a group of people in the kids sand pit doing what only could be described as stripper routines on a pole. Granted, they were fully clothed, and it was more of an gymnastic routine, but still a lady dancing on a pole. It was fun to watch, and then Anna wanted to try. Lucky for me she knows going out in public in just your underwear is not appropriate, so I don't think I have to worry too much!

We really had a nice time exploring the city. It was fun to see some different areas today. I enjoyed it so much more than just staying downtown and shopping.

Ride the Duck & Space Needle

2011-06-25T22:07:00.000-07:00

Today is day 1 of our Seattle Adventure. Jenna had done a similar trip over Spring Break and it really made me want to go. We had to make the adventure much shorter than Jenna's due to funding, but hope to still see several things and have a good time. I had packed a picnic lunch in hopes that we would find a table someplace to sit at and eat, but knowing that if worse came to worse, we could eat in the car. Lucky for us, we stopped at a McDonald's for a restroom break, and they had tables outside! We were able to sit and enjoy our food. Only to realize that we didn't bring any coats or sweatshirts, and it is colder in Seattle than Portland! Boy when the wind picked up it was chilly!


Anna is a "Cheese Monster" from Cheetos!

We made it to the Ride the Duck Tour with just a few minutes to spare. Just enough time to look in the gift shop. We were hoping to find sweatshirts, but only found t-shirts. It was chilly on the ride, but enough fun that you weren't really bothered by it. The tour consisted of lots of bad, but half way funny jokes. It was nice to learn some of the history of Seattle, while having a good time. The tour came with quackers for the kids, which kept them very busy the rest of the day. They had lots of "quack-offs"

The first of many "quacks"

Hope it floats!

A different boat, in Lake Washington

One of these houses was used in Sleepless in Seattle.


Love the Duck!

Just a little windy!

After our fun tour, we decided to go up the Space Needle. We were going to wait until tomorrow, but since it was right across the street, it didn't make much since to wait till tomorrow. Unfortunately by then, our stomachs were all running on empty so it was a fairly quick walk around the lookout deck. But the kids had fun playing a few quick rounds of I-spy and finding things we had seen on the tour.

After the Space Needle, it was really time for dinner. We had see the Hard Rock Cafe near Pike's Place, and decided to go there. It was very hard to find parking, and when we finally did it was nearly 7:00. Too bad Hard Rock had a 2 hour wait... no way I was going to wait for that. Since we were right by the market we went to Lowell's. It is good food, and has won lots of awards. We are staying at a hotel near the Airport, so when we got here the first thing we did was swim. If you ask Anna & Brandon the best part about vacation is swimming. This always cracks me up, because neither like taking swimming lessons. By the time they got to bed it was 9:30. Hope they sleep well!

The greatest Yard Sale there ever was...

2011-06-24T18:08:00.000-07:00

Or so was the hope we had when we started off this morning at 8:00. Little did we know, it wouldn't quite turn out that way. I started the morning off by picking up Rachele, a 12 year old girl from my school. She brought cookies to sell at the lemonade stand Brandon had set up. And I was hoping she would help entertain the kids and keep them busy for me while I was busy with all the paying customers.
Well, here is the sale at 8:15 & 2 eager sellers, just waiting for customers!

And here are the kids, 2 or 3 hours later. We still had not had any customers. There was lots of traffic on the other side of the street, but I guess no one wanted to come look at our poor layout on blankets! The kids managed to keep themselves busy and have a good time, but I got squished!

At noon, we decided to pack it in and take everything too Goodwill. I did end up selling some nice magnet dolls & the shopping cart. We had fun walking around and buying things from other garage sales. We ended up spending $20 at other garage sales and only making $5. Is that good finances? Unfortunately Brandon only sold one cup of lemonade, and that was to Anna. And where do you think she got her quarter from? But in all truthfulness I did sell the lawnmower earlier for $50 & the wagon for $20... so $75 in all, not too bad!

Begining of Field Trip Season

2011-06-23T19:04:00.000-07:00

The first week of summer vacation is nearing the end and we have successfully completed 2 field trips with the school so far. Tuesday we were at Out of this World pizza. We had 26 kids with us and we were successful in wearing the kids out. Brandon was so tired he fell asleep on the way back to school. He fell asleep on his friend Cinder.

Today we went to Shute Park and were pleasantly surprised to see the Hillsboro Police Dept. there showing off their cars and motorcycles. The kids got turns to sit in the cars & and on the motorcycles. Then we got to see 5 motorcycles "show off" by driving in their drill formations. It was a fun treat!

Sunshine!

2011-06-17T19:00:00.000-07:00

It has been a very cool and wet spring, but the sun is trying to come out more and more. Tonight was one of those nights that the sun was out, so we grabbed a McDonald's dinner and took the kids to the park. Anna really wanted to get in the fountain & Brandon was really thrilled with the playground. I was thrilled to sit in my chair and relax!

Dog Wash

2011-06-12T21:00:00.000-07:00

We were at my dad's house for dinner, and after dinner they let the dogs in. Sailor was totally in love with Brandon and decided to give him a full body bath. The majority of the kisses were focused on his face. It was very funny to watch!

Anna was not as thrilled with the kisses and tried her best to hide her face.

Even though these dogs weigh more than Rob, they still would very much like to be lap dogs. At one point Heartman came over and "sat" on Rob's lap!

Rose Festival Floats & Ships

2011-06-11T21:17:00.000-07:00

While sitting around the house this morning in our PJ's watching the Rose Festival Parade on TV, I decided we should go downtown to see the floats and the Navy ships on display. We procrastinated just enough that it was perfect nap time for Anna, which led to a very whiny and crabby kid to drag along with us. It didn't help that she has only been cast free since Monday, and she still walks a little like she is still in the cast and she kept saying her leg hurt, so she got a free ride on Rob's shoulder most of the time. Unfortunately in our procrastination we just missed all the tour times on the big ships. But we did get on a little dredger ship & and old Vietnam ship that was really rusted and beat up looking. I was surprised it didn't sink!

After the boats we found the floats. Brandon was really impressed with all the flowers & details. He didn't really understand when we were watching it on TV that every thing was covered in flowers or natural material. But when he saw them up close he was quite interested in trying to find out all the different materials they used. Anna was only interested in seeing the purple horse that she had see on TV so this was her look for the majority of the trip.

I had fun taking lots of pictures!

Rose Festival, Pizza & Star Wars??

2011-06-05T18:28:00.000-07:00

Rose Festival, Pizza & Star Wars don't really have anything in common, other than there was a little of all of them this weekend. The weekend started with me going downtown with April, a friend from work, to shop & eat. Since it was such a beautiful day, we walked along the waterfront where the rose festival fun zone is going on. We stopped and watched a bridge lift and a race boat showing off.

We also stopped in the hot sun for a few minutes to listen to the "One More Time Again" marching band perform. If it hadn't been so hot, we might have listened longer, but what we saw was fun.

We also saw the flowers in the square. It was a map of the world, but either our map skills are not that great, or the map was not too accurate, because it took us quite a long time to find America.

When I got home on Saturday, we loaded right back up in the car and ventured to John's Incredible Pizza with Jason & Kiyoko. Rob and I likened it to Kiddie Vegas. Part of that, was the size & sounds, but also because you lose track of time. It was after 9:30 when we finally left. We had no idea that we had been there for more than 3 hours! The kids had a blast, riding bumper cars, a "twister" ride & playing video games. Rob and I had a blast eating the buffet! Can't wait to go back!

And then today, Brandon had a few friends over and they played Star Wars, among many other things. Brandon was Commander Fox (red) Evan is Anakin Skywalker, and Matt was Commander Cody (yellow)

Anna's Bad Day

2011-05-31T20:55:00.000-07:00

It was a bad day for Anna. She had to get 2 cavities filled. She wasn't too concerned about it all this morning. I told her there would be a pinch and then she wouldn't feel much. Well, I guess it is much more traumatic to have your lips numb when you are 4 than when you are 30 something. Here she is, before the trauma. So sweet & unaware of how the next hour would go.

She took the shot like a champ. A little whimper & and few tears, but nothing too bad. But then came the "pillow". It was a little device they used to keep her mouth open. That was all it took to ruin her day. To say she hated it is putting it mildly. As soon as it went in the whining & protesting started. Then came the screams of "my lips hurt." She was referring to the numb feeling, but since she had never experience it before it was terrifying. After many breaks from the pillow and lots of whining from Anna, including a lot of begging & pleading from the hygienist to open her mouth, we finally got the first tooth ready for the filling. Then came the stubborn side of Anna. She was DONE and not opening her mouth anymore. She wanted to go home and she wanted to go NOW. I kept thinking to myself, that I wanted to leave too! After a trip to the bathroom, not home, I was able to reason enough with her that she had to go back and finish. They can't let her leave with a hole in her teeth & she didn't want to have to come back. The next half went better than the first half, but it was not pleasant. There was still lots of whining going on... but we made it! I bet the dentist was glad to see us go!

After dinner tonight we took her to get her hair cut! I was so happy. For months I have been trying to get her hair cut, but I get the response, "No, I want Rapunzel hair." Well, not sure what changed, but yesterday we got agreement out of her that it was time for a hair cut. I love her with her short hair, not only is it cute on her, but so much easier to take care of.

Weekend of Beauty

2011-05-22T21:29:00.000-07:00

It turned in to a weekend of beauty for me. It started on Saturday with the girls belated birthday celebration for me. It is the year of lets try something new. Tina is picking white water rafting & Jenna is going zip lining. I chose something very safe, makeovers! It started with a fantastic lunch at Olive Garden.

Then it was off to the the mall and Nordstrom to have our makeovers. I went first and felt like I was famous. Jenna was snapping pictures left and right! It is always nice to have beautiful makeup on. Makes you feel good. I am really good Jenna got good pictures of it, because I will never be able to do the look again! We all look pretty nice when we are all made up!

The next day I was able to use a gift certificate that I got for my birthday for a facial. They are so relaxing. At least they usually are, I of course had to go pee about 20 minutes into the 50 minute facial, then that was all I could think about. That made it not as enjoyable as normal. But it was still a fantastic relaxing beautiful weekend!

Sports

2011-05-19T20:46:00.000-07:00

After dinner the sun was still out so a little t-ball and basketball practice was in order. Now Anna is wanting to play softball. She was excited to find out there are girl teams! I think she will do better when her leg is not in cast. maybe next year....

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Break in the Rain

2011-05-08T19:36:00.000-07:00

There was a short break in the rain today so we went to the park and there were 2 friends of Brandon's there. Those boys are CRAZY. I know this wasn't Brandon's idea, but he went with it. It was the only crazy thing he did, but the other kids got really wild and crazy. This is triangle that normally one kid would hold on to, but when boys are put to their own devices, they hang three to the triangle! It was hilarious to watch.

Anna and her broken leg stuck to the swings. She had a good time getting pushed, she has been able to pump for probably 2 years, so doesn't get the privilege of getting pushes to the sky very often!

Bath Time

2011-05-03T20:56:00.000-07:00

I used to bath the kids in the kitchen sink when they were babies. I never would have thought I would be washing hair in kitchen sink 4 years later. But today, we gave it a whirl. It was quite successful. She smells good again. Ok most of her smells good.. her toes that are in the cast are already pretty ripe.. she should really stink by June!

Pinkalicious!

2011-05-02T19:34:00.000-07:00

We got the call late this afternoon from the cast doctors that they wanted to see Anna today to get her cast on. Anna was excited to get the pink cast, but nervous just the same. She won all the doctors over with her smile, so they were extra careful! The cast will be on for a month. Luckily it is a walking cast. It does go over her knee, but now her knee is straight so once she feels like she can, she got the go ahead to walk. No steps have been taken yet.. she is worried it will hurt. Here she is waiting for the new pink cast.

The drive home was quite dramatic. I think a combination of being tired, hungry & probably stressed out by the experience led to a huge melt down. We stopped at my mom's house to give her a break (ok the break was for me too!) and get her something to eat. Grandma got to be the first one to sign the bright pink cast.

When we got home, we all got a chance to sign the cast and now that she has food in her belly the trauma is over. Now to have a good night sleep. Hopefully she sleeps better in the cast than in the splint.

Jackson Bottom Wetlands

2011-05-02T19:23:00.000-07:00

Today the first grader went on a field trip to Jackson Bottom Wetlands. They are learning all about amphibians, which as Brandon informed me are animals that can both breath under water and on land. We lucked out that the weather was as good as it was. It was cold, but not too rainy. I thought the best part was looking at the tubs that had all sorts of insects & tadpoles in them. I learned a lot about different insects and frogs. After lunch, we got to hike around. It was a very interesting field trip. I hope Brandon learned a lot!

BUSTED!

2011-05-01T13:02:00.000-07:00

Anna woke up this morning in tears, still claiming she can't walk. Her leg was swollen today, and since she wasn't putting any weight on it so it was time for urgent care. We got there at 9:30 this morning and luckily didn't have to wait too long.

Anna got to ride in style because she can't walk, here she is waiting to be called back. Once we got checked out, it was time for x-ray. We got some pretty pictures of her bones, and when the doctor checked them out we all could see the fracture. There is a little crack in her tibia near her knee. She was not happy to hear she was getting a cast. Today they gave her a splint. Unfortunately it goes all the way up to her thigh, so she can't walk. Hopefully when she gets her cast, she will be able to walk on it. She is not one to sit still very long, so hopefully she behaves and gets through this and heals quickly!

Great Grandma's 95th Party

2011-04-30T21:18:00.000-07:00

You only turn 95th once, and if you ask my Grandma you don't want to make it to 95! But since she has made it to 95, she deserved a party. Aunt Becky flew in from Texas & Uncle Pete came from Vegas for the big occasion. We went to a good Chinese food restaurant in Tigard, since that is one of Grandma's favorite meals.

After lunch, I went back to my Grandma's house for desert & conversation. Rob & the kids went to Sky High with Jason & Kiyoko. They had a good time bouncing off the walls, literally. They way I know this is that almost no pictures are in focus. I guess it is hard to photograph a moving target! About 40 minutes into the hour session Anna fell and hurt her knee. Rob said she was very dramatic & loud. And by the time she got home, she was still not putting any weight on it or moving it. A call in to the advice nurse, led to Rob going to buy an ACE bandage. Hopefully tomorrow the "magic" bandage will cure it. If not, a trip to urgent care is in our future.

Orthodontist & Benihana

2011-04-26T22:11:00.000-07:00

Today started with the second trip to the Orthodontist for Brandon. This happens to be the same Orthodontist that I saw when I was a kid. Granted this was the younger partner, but non the less, my orthodontist. They have moved locations since then, but in his office he has one of the old chairs. Such a flash back when I saw that. Last time Brandon went, I kicked my self for not bringing the camera. They take pictures of his teeth, and it was so funny to watch, I wanted a picture. This time I didn't forget! Brandon is not thrilled that I remembered the camera!

Brandon was happy to hear that he doesn't have to have teeth pulled, at least not yet. There is some major crowding that is going to happen when the next teeth come in, but the dentist thinks we can wait another 6 months and see what happens. I also took a copy of his x-ray. It is quite scary!! Look at all those teeth he has!

After work, we were able to go to dinner with Obachan, Grandpa, Ted & Cuc for my birthday. It was very good and Anna was super entertained with our Chef. She had the best reactions to their silly jokes! I bet the Chef liked her at his table. Rob & Brandon were more interested at who was sitting at a near by table. LaMarcus Aldridge from the Blazers. Rob took a picture with my cell phone, pretty bad quality, so you will just have to trust me that it was him. Tables at Benihana seat 8, and every time I have been when you don't have 8 people, they fill up the table with other people... well not when you are a Blazer. He got the table all to himself!

Easter

2011-04-24T21:34:00.000-07:00

The kids were very happy to see that the Easter Bunny had remembered to stop by our house. Brandon was happy to see the "Cheese Touch" Game and the new sets of Mr. Stetch markers. Anna was very happy with the paint your own water bottle & the "fur real" bunny. I made a cute "carrot" cake for the dinner. It was quite expensive to buy all the jelly beans for the cake, but it turned out cute so it was worth it. I left a few minutes early to get my Grandmother and left Rob in charge of bringing the cake. You can imagine my "delight" when he called and said he dropped the cake outside while he was taking it to the car! Lucky for him, it didn't do too much damage, and with a little more frosting, my mom was able to fix it so we could still eat it. The kids got to do a little Easter egg hunt at my moms house. After a good dinner we took over my mom's room and took a nap before we went to the next big meal at Rob's parents house. It was a fun Easter filled with lots of good food & family!

Super Family

2011-04-23T22:08:00.000-07:00

My other birthday present from Rob. We are now super parents!

Birthday projects

2011-04-23T12:53:00.001-07:00

Our backyard project was one of my birthday presents, and today I helped it out by painting an old bistro set. I love how it turned out, the bright colors make me smile. Now just a few potted flowers and a little more spray paint on the pots and it will be a colorful funky yard.

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School Easter Egg Hunt

2011-04-22T14:58:00.001-07:00

I was lucky enough to be in Anna's classroom today when they had their Egg Hunt. I snapped a few pictures of her. She had fun!

Plants & Eggs

2011-04-17T20:43:00.000-07:00

Another busy day today. I wonder when I will have a whole day with nothing on the agenda? We started with a trip to the nursery & to Costco. To get potting soil & a few plants to get our garden started. We dumped out the sand in the sand box & were going to use it for a kids garden. I had extra dirt yesterday, but forgot to fill up the sand box so today I had to go buy potting soil to fill up the sand box. Then we decided to use that box as a strawberry garden. The kids had a good time planting their strawberries. I know they will have a good time eating them too!

Then I put in my plants. My bed is divided into square foot sections. I have read a book called square foot gardening that is a method for using raised beds & getting the most plants out of a square foot. I planted 2 squares with Walla Walla Onions, 4 squares have different varieties of leaf lettuce, 2 squares have carrots (different colors, orange, white & purple!) & 2 squares have radishes. Hope they all grow!

After dinner we colored our eggs. They both really love doing this, we may be doing this again next weekend.

All Done, well almost!

2011-04-16T16:11:00.000-07:00

The hard part is done at least. Now it is time for the fun part! We started bright an early this morning, by digging the holes for the raised bed. Once that was done, it was off to my mom's house to get a wheelbarrow & shovel. While I was doing that Rob was dumping the sand box & digging out a few more plants that I didn't want anymore. Anna and I went to get the load of dirt first. She was thrilled to see them dump it in the truck.

Then came the digging it out of the truck. We all got in on the action. We even recruited my mom to help!

After the dirt was put out & the weed block went down it was time for 4 loads of pea gravel. It was a lot of work, but it wasn't as bad as I had imagined. By 3:00 we were all cleaned up and eating lunch! I am so glad the hard work is done, now we get to plant the bed, and get some pots to put flowers out on the rocks. Hope it warms out and dries up a little so I can get growing!

Raised Garden Bed

2011-04-10T17:34:00.000-07:00

Here we go again, it is time for a back yard remodel! Can believe that I have changed the backyard so many times. Considering there is just 300 square feet of grass, it is hard to believe there is much to do with it. Well, that was the point of this project, there is not much to do in our backyard. I got the idea for a raised garden bed, when we were at the Oregon Gardens for our anniversary trip. My wheels started turning about how to put one in our little yard. I finally found a design that I thought I could build, and figured out how it would set in the yard. Last week I bought all the materials. So far, for lumber, weed block cloth & grass killer I am out $180. I still need to get soil & rocks next weekend so I can finish the project. I am pleased with how much I spent. I found smaller beds, that I would have had to put together in catalogs for $200 and I would have still spent more money. I am really pleased with how it turned out. It was quite easy to build. Can't wait to finish next week and then we can start growing a garden!

Brandon's trip to Seattle

2011-04-10T11:00:00.000-07:00

When I found out that the Pacific Science Center in Seattle was having the Star Wars Exhibit, I figured we better take a day trip up to Seattle to take Brandon to it. The last time we took Brandon to see it was when it was at OMSI, he was 2, and he was scared to death. Brandon & I ended up leaving the exhibit early and going to the kids play area. I had to make it up to Brandon for the trauma I caused him when he was 2! We decided not to take Anna. We figured, she wouldn't be impressed, and since it is a long drive up why make her go with us. She stayed with Grandma, and had a great day. They spent the day working in her yard, dying eggs, and running errands. Anna said she had a great time!
We got to the Rainforest Cafe around 11:30. We always stop there to eat, on the way to Seattle.

We had tickets for the exhibit at 1:15 and since we were only 15 minutes away, I was feeling very comfortable in our time frame, and so we didn't rush. We got back on the road at 12:30, and didn't expect such traffic. It took us more than 1 hour to go the 15 minutes that our navigation said it should have taken. Of course when we got there, the parking was full, and so we had to drive around and find a place, after running up a huge hill (that nearly killed me!) we made it. I was concerned they wouldn't let us in since we had missed our time by 45 minutes, but lucky for us, they let us in and sent us to the front of the line! I guess it pays to be late! Brandon seemed to like the exhibit this time. He wasn't jumping for joy or anything, but at least he wasn't crying like last time. He seemed to be more interested in the movie props from the clone wars & episodes 1 & 2, than from the older stuff that Rob really liked.

After the Star Wars exhibit, it was off to the rest of the museum. We didn't like the museum as well as OMSI. It was really crowded & hard to get in to see any exhibits, so mostly we hung out at the bug area and the Butterfly house. I wish my camera would focus better on the butterfly than the leaves around it. I didn't get very many good pictures, but it didn't stop me from trying!

After the museum we headed to Pikes Place Market. We mostly wanted to go for the Pirosky's they sell there, and we had heard they have good Cannoli's too. We have never had a Cannoli, but have always wanted to try one. We didn't want to do too much in Seattle, because we are going back as a mini vacation with Anna in June, but we HAD to stop at Pikes Place. We loved the flowers & were really taken with this vendor who sells flavored pasta. I bought the very colorful fruit flavored pasta & some garlic pasta. They come with recipes, so hopefully they taste as good as they look!

After seeing all we could and eating all we could, it was time to head home. We were exhausted by the time we got home at 10:00, but it was a fun day.

Early Easter Egg Hunt

2011-04-03T21:21:00.000-07:00

Paula hosted a early Easter Egg hunt at her house this year. We really lucked out that it was a beautiful day. No rain! Her yard is so large, that at one point I "lost" Brandon in the yard, that is a strange feeling. I surely couldn't lose a kid in our back yard! There was so many eggs there was no fighting, or stealing from others to get eggs. It was fun to watch all the kids from the little 2 year old, up to the 10 year old and the different strategies they had to find eggs. The kids made out, I won't need to buy candy again until Halloween!

Busy Saturday

2011-03-26T21:27:00.000-07:00

Another fun, yet productive day. It started with Rob & I mapping out our backyard for our grand backyard re-do. We are going to tear up the grass, and put a raised planting bed to grow veggies. The first step is to map it all out, and decided if it is really going to work! When that was done, we loaded up Rob's tires and took his care to Les Schwab to get the studded tires removed.

After that it was time to go to the bank. Brandon gets $1 a week for allowance, and he has 3 jars that he puts his money in. He puts 50 cents in to the spend jar & 25 cents in both the save & give jar. Hopefully this helps him learn how to save & why sometimes I don't buy him everything he wants, because everything costs money. Well anyway, because he has to divide it, he gets his allowance in change. I guess a 7 year old boy would rather have paper money so every few weeks we are required to take a trip to the bank to change the money into paper money.
After a trip to a car wash, which both kids love, it was time for a trip to Outdoor In. The new indoor park downtown Hillsboro. Brandon was anything but impressed and sat on the floor with Rob & I for most of the 30 minutes we were there. Anna liked it, but can't see why I would be going back.

We went to the Library, Lunch at Panera Bread Co., & book store. After picking up Robs car, it was home for a little bit. Rob and I tried to clean up the garage from our winter mess. While trying to hang up the large bag that holds all of our boots. Rob was on the ladder and I was under the bag, pushing it up. Well, the hook held the bag last year, this year not so much. My face took a beating when the bag fell on my face while I was looking up. I was sure my face was broken, but after a few choice words and Anna's boo-boo buddy, it felt better. I don't think I will get a black eye, but it would be a good story if I did!
Then it was back out for a quick trip to Target. Once back at home for the night it was time for dinner & family game night. A exciting game of Lego Adventure was just what the busy needed for and exciting end!

Crazy Hair Day

2011-03-22T20:46:00.000-07:00

Need I say more!

Birthday Re-do

2011-03-20T20:20:00.000-07:00

Today we had my Dad & Marlene over for dinner, and while looking at the Food Network magazine for recipe ideas, I ran across a recipe for a spaghetti and meatball cake. Since Rob's birthday cake, was such a horrible mess, I thought I would try the cute cake to make up for it! It turned out amazing! Looked pretty and tasted good. I am glad Rob got a birthday re-do cake.

Easter Necklace

2011-03-19T17:12:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking of making Anna a necklace to go with her earrings that I made last month. I thought it would be nice for her to wear with her Easter Dress. So today, I made it! I think it is cute!

St. Paddy's Birthday

2011-03-17T20:58:00.000-07:00

Happy 38th Birthday Rob! To honor your special day, the Leprechaun came and peed green pee in the toilet, then left a trail of green plastic coins with lifesavers for the kids! After a breakfast at McDonald's I took Brandon to school. Then Anna took us to school so we could celebrate St. Patrick's day with her class. Her party had lots of green food, green chips, pickles, green grapes, broccoli & green jello! After the party we went to the traditional lunch at Benihana with Rob's Mom & Dad. After lunch, I had to go back to work, but I guess Rob & Anna had fun at the park & playing at home. After dinner we opened his presents. I let the kids pick their own presents for Dad. Brandon got him pistachios and Anna got him the beer pong game "cuponk". I don't think Rob has played it yet, but Brandon & Anna love it! Then it was time for cake. I must admit, this is the UGLIEST cake I have ever made. I used the giant cupcake pan, but was tired when I made it and didn't trim it so it would lay flat... hence, if there was an ugly cake contest this would win hands down. To top it off, I frosted it when it was warm because I wanted to go to bed.. so the frosting made the cake crumble! But despite it's looks, it tastes good!

Maria's Bridal Shower

2011-03-12T21:09:00.001-08:00

I hosted a Bridal shower for my co-worker Maria who is getting married latter this month. While I was happy to host, I was worried not everyone would fit in my house! But what do you know, 18 people can fit! It was crowded, but fun. I got the decorations from the dollar tree, as well as a banner that should have said "Bridal Shower". I hung it up last night and after a while noticed that Bridal was mis-spelled Brdial. Well there was no fixing it, so it stayed up spelled wrong! I wonder if I can send it to The Tonight Show for his "found at the dollar store" segment! We played 3 fun games and had lots of good food! Maria got very nice gifts which I know she will put to good use. I always enjoy having people over, as it is a good excuse to clean my house. It was nice to have a clean house, even if it only lasts for a day or two!

When the kids got home, they ended the evening with a dance, I guess they were in the mood for romance!

Walking the Dog

2011-03-10T20:03:00.000-08:00

Our neighbors have had their nice dog ever since we have know them, and Brandon has always been afraid of him. Recently it has been better, but you can tell Brandon would rather not see Rosco. Tonight they were both out of town and needed someone to go let the dog out. When I told the kids after dinner that I was going to take Rosco on a short walk, I was surprised that they both jumped at the opportunity to tag along. I was even more surprised when I offered Brandon the leash and he said yes! In the short 5 minute walk around the block, the novelty of a dog was gone with both of my kids. Anna was mad that Rosco was taking so long and peeing on every bush. And while Brandon was more patient, he clearly was irritated at all the stops. The real icing on the "no dog" cake was when Rosco stopped to poop. Funny how they were both willing to walk the dog, but no one was willing to pick up the poop!

Great Wolf Lodge

2011-02-26T22:08:00.000-08:00

The kids and us are having just as much fun here this year as last. This year we went with Jason, Kiyoko, Sophie & Saya. Anna and Sophie are inseparable and are having a blast. This morning all the kids were in our beds watching TV and eating danish's that we had brought from home. Sophie & Anna were very focused on watching "Special Agent Oso" and didn't realize we got a picture of their better ends!

After our breakfast in the room we gorged ourselves at the buffet or as Anna called it "the buffalo" and then it was on to swimming. We did everything. Brandon even went on one of the big water slides. He loved it, even though I had to drag him up the first time with tears. Anna was tall enough this time for the big water slides, she loved every one and would probably still be there if we hadn't pooped out! We spent several hours in the water park, leaving around 2:00. We went and cleaned up and the boys went out and did magic quest. We were able to convince Anna that we didn't need to buy her a wand this year and that we would just take turns. I was glad we didn't spend the $30 on her, because she loses interest in it rather quickly. Brandon and Rob though, had a blast running all over and getting all the quests done. When they finished our game, Brandon happily helped Kiyoko finish hers.

We ended the evening with story time at the clock tower. Anna and Sophie were thrilled to see the girl wolf was there tonight. Notice how neither of them were standing by the boy wolf. After our "real" picture, they struck the "glamor" pose. I know we will all sleep good tonight. This place is exhausting!

Snow Day

2011-02-24T09:24:00.000-08:00

As with all good "blizzards" in Oregon, there is a lot of talk, and then not always a lot of snow. Earlier this week we were going to get 4-6 inches, but about the time it was supposed to start, of course the weather men revised their forecast and said it would snow later and less than previously thought. I was pleasantly surprised to wake up to see a good 2 inches of snow on the ground and more coming down. There is no school for Brandon and hopefully the kids at my school stay home so I get to stay home too! Anna was up bright and early at 6:00 and it was all I could do to keep her inside until 8:00. It sure is fun to play in the snow. Brandon & I had a good snowball fight, until he put snow down my pants! Anna decided to gang up on me too and rub the snow into my bottom! We were able to make a little snowman. It wasn't the best snow for a snowman, but he turned out cute! It sure was nice to come in for hot chocolate & coffee for me!

My New Hobby

2011-02-19T14:43:00.000-08:00

Any time I see pretty beaded earrings, I think to myself, I could do that. Today I learned how, and I love it! I took a class at a bead class downtown Hillsboro where they taught us some basic beading techniques to make earrings & a bracelet. During the class, I made a bracelet that I am going to give to someone as a gift. Someone who reads the blog, so there will be no more mention of the bracelet! But I made the earrings for myself. After the class I had fun buying some beads and supplies to make earrings with and came home and made 4 more pairs of earrings in about 20 minutes. The little pink ones on the top left are for Anna, the rest are all mine! I think I will make different bracelets, necklaces & earrings for people for gifts. If you have a color preference, let me know!

Da Plane, Da Plane..

2011-02-18T21:35:00.000-08:00

Ok, so it wasn't a plane, yet a helicopter. Not just any helicopter, but Marine One. The Presidents helicopter. It was dumb luck that Rob & Anna were at the right place at right time. We found out that President Obama was coming to Hillsboro to speak at an Intel Campus, a week or so ago. At that time Rob was planning on taking just the morning off, (to do errands, not wait for the president) and then going to work in the afternoon, but when we heard that the President would be in town, thought that it might be very difficult for Rob to get to work, considering he takes the MAX train that is right across the street from the Airport, therefore, he took the whole day off. Rob and Anna happened to be at the Library trying to get a free pass to the Children's Museum. The passes were all gone, so they went out the the parking lot to leave but noticed the large police presence outside, and heard that Marine One was landing and they couldn't leave. Luckily Rob came prepared with his camera and got pictures!! What luck!

Notice, that behind Anna's head are the helicopters and police!

Could this be Marine One??

Or is this Marine One?

Could that be Mr. Obama walking to one of the vehicles? We may never know, but exciting none the less.
I also, had my brush with the President today. The helicopters fly right over my school on the way to PDX. I have seen lots of military helicopters the last few weeks, but never put two and two together! But today, on one of my bus runs, I heard very loud chopper blades and looked up to see the 3 helicopters flying right over my head. It was quite exciting!

After Rob and Anna struck out with the children's museum, they did their favorite activity, Shopping! Not sure why there is a picture of Anna with the mannequins at Dick's. I wonder if I should be worried about what her teenage years will hold for us??

Happy Valentines Day

2011-02-13T19:58:00.000-08:00

I guess this is the weekend of food & festivities. 2 entries about food in a row.. that must be some kind of record. Tonight we celebrated valentines day early with our traditional fondue desert. This year, Brandon was not into it. I think he was more interested in the new "Diary of the Wimpy Kid" book that he had gotten as a present. Anna on the other hand, was very into it! I am so blessed to have so a wonderful loving family to spend the holiday with!

FOOD!

2011-02-13T08:35:00.000-08:00

I think Toy Story 3 gave Brandon the inspiration for the "Mr Tortilla Head" creation he came up with at dinner the other day.

Yesterday Rob and I went out with our friends Tom & Lisa to a restaurant in downtown Hillsboro and Rob instantly decided he was going to have the "sixth deadly sin" burger. It was 1 pound of beef, with egg and bacon. It came with chips and a salad. I was sure he couldn't do it, but low and behold he did! Not to be outdone, Tom also got the same burger and was able to finish his too!

Auto Show

2011-01-30T17:58:00.000-08:00

We went to the Portland Auto Show today with my Dad & Marlene. We ended up taking the kids, although Rob and I would have had more fun with out them, it was "fun" with them. There was only one meltdown from Brandon who is over-tired from 2 exciting birthday parties yesterday. We had fun looking at all the pretty cars. The last time we went was right after Brandon was born (he would have been like 3 months old) I remember looking more at the sports cars and less at the SUV's and Vans. My how times change! I wish we were in the market for a new car...but sadly it is a least a few years away. But when we are I know it will either be the Honda Van or the Toyota Van. The Toyota van at the show had reclining second row seats, it was nearly as comfortable as a La-z-boy recliner! The kids were very good at "test driving" most of the cars & our official back seat testers. After a little break for a snack the kids attitudes improved, so I took them to the Kids Zone where they had free face paining, clowns & a big slide to go down. The kids were good and tired by the time we got home. I think an early bed time is in-order tonight!

Of Course Anna found a pink sports car & a mascot to pose with. Brandon on the other had had to try out the real race car.

The face painters had lots of choices for the kids to pick from, Anna chose the rainbow heart and Brandon's choice was appropriate for his mood of the day, "Hot Head"

They also got airbrushed tattoos. Brandon chose Superman & the Blazer logo. Anna a ballerina & horse.

A Walk into a Flood

2011-01-17T17:49:00.000-08:00

Rob and Brandon have the day off for MLK day and I was able to get off at 2:30 and since the sun was shining, we took advantage and went to explore a local park. We have been to Noble Woods Park in the past, but as it is a walking trail only park, not necessarily one we go to often with the kids. The kids were in a great mood and had a good time pretending they were Storm Troopers running through the woods, until we got to the flood. We were stuck, couldn't go any further! But after posing on some rocks for some more pictures. We went down the other trail hopping for better luck, but alas, also a flood. Since we had only been at the park for a few minutes, we went to our favorite walking park, behind the library. Anna had the job to lead us to a spot and then Brandon had to get us back to the library. It was a great little outing before dinner. Hopefully we all worked up an appetite for a good chicken dinner!

Fun with Friends

2011-01-15T20:34:00.000-08:00

Tonight Sophie & Saya came over for a while while their parents went out for dinner. Sophie loves to come over and usually ends up spending the night. The kids have a blast playing with each other. Sophie brought over her Leapster and so all the kids sat down and played video games for a little bit, then it was on to Anna's room to play with the doll house. Saya is 18 months old, and usually doesn't like us much, but today she loved us. She had a great time, and other than kept taking her clothes & diaper off, there was no drama! Can't wait to have them over again!

Doughnut Fun

2011-01-12T20:22:00.000-08:00

Today was a rare night that I got off early, and the kids were really well behaved, we ventured out to Krispy Kreme for a fun desert of doughnuts. The kids were silly as normal!! And on the way out we bought the cutest snowman doughnuts for breakfast tomorrow. It was fun to spend some extra time with the family!