Christmas Vacation

We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. It seems like it takes forever to get everything prepared and then it is over in the blink of an eye, much like a wedding. We spent Christmas Eve at my parents house with my dad's side of the family and visited and ate until our belly's hurt. I had the best pumpkin "dump" dessert ever while I was there and I am hoping Rachel will so kindly share the secret of the dump. After everyone left the kids opened their Christmas Eve gift which every year happens to be the same thing, pajama's and slipper, however after all the consecutive years of this happening they seem to still be surprised. I am sure next year they will have it nailed. Then on Christmas day we spent the day with my brother and his kids, my grandma, and parents. I can't believe how big Kye, Zoe, and MaKenna are each time I see them. I shoved them out in the snow for a Christmas photo. Take note of Lex in her Christmas eve jammies, not coat.

Alexyss scored roller skates from grandma and grandpa and have not taken them off since we got home. Thanks so much mom and dad :) She is getting better but I fear bilateral broken wrists or a hole in my wall sometime soon.

Oh and I wanted to share a picture of my Dad at Christmas. I believe 50% or maybe more like 62% of my photos of him appear much like this one. He shared with me after my complaints that Grandma Golda's photos were much the same. I guess I can't blame him if it is a genetic defect. I love you dad!

Anyway, we had a wonderful Christmas. My mom was a saint getting up at the crack of dawn to start the turkey since we had to leave LG by 2 to be home so I could nap a little before work. Dinner was fabulous, the company great and now I am glad it is over and we can get the kids back to school (in a week) and start to get ready for our trip. Happy New Year to you all as well since I most likely will not post before them due to a hectic work schedule.

Merry Christmas!!

We just want to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! We hope everyone will take the time to remember the true meaning of Christmas and enjoy the time you are able to spend with family and friends.

Pathetic! We have another Lemon (aka Myah Lemon). This is what she does when we make her go outside in the snow. She sits on the steps and stares in the window or paws at the door. That's it I want a refund!

Here is the snowfall accumulated for the weekend so far. We get to go x-country skiing, snowshoeing and snowmobiling right out our front door. Today the neighbor was hauling the kids around town on sleds attached to his snowmobile. I was even able to sneak a little ride in. I have to say we are having a blast with the snow.

And a picture of my husbands "kill". He and the kids even decorated it while I was at work. I guess he wanted ALL the credit this year. We hope everyone is enjoying their beautiful White Christmas!

Annual Christmas Tree Hunt

This past Sunday we squeezed in our annual tree hunt. I got home from work that morning and had a monstrous headache, not to mention Tob and the children needed to search the area for Tiger Lemon's "real home" so I snoozed until they woke me up at 1:00 to go find our tree. I have to say that "usually" I have the most perfect, patient husband who waits for me to pick the perfect tree. It often goes on for hours something like this, "Oh look at that one", "wait no not that one", "nah that one is flat on one side", "what about this one", "nevermind it has a big hole", "oh oh lets go look at that one", until we end up miles from the car. Well, that wasn't exactly the case this year. First of all we ended up in a large batch of lodge pole and a few ponderosa pines, not my ideal choices for tree's. So the story starts off with...

the kids tromping off in their snowshoes, not so much I think to find a tree, but to roll, stomp, jump, push and shove each other in the snow. Whatever, as long as they were having fun. This is all about our memories so I am not going to try and sugar coat this. Our trip made me laugh at the time and I still laugh about it now. Tob was a "little" grumpy that morning, due to whatever, that's his prerogative to have days as such. Anyway we were out in the woods probably 2-3 hours, the dog wouldn't listen, or the kids, which precipitated comments such as these.... "hurry up" "stop throwing a fit" "get up out of the snow, your going to get wet", " I am sick and I am tired of this behavior" . Most of the time I was laughing although I know a few of the comments came out of me as well :0). Anyway with all of this going on Toby had disappeared into the tree's and Nojah yells "Dad's cutting down a tree"!! I thought "WHAT? I didn't authorize that?? So I go running over and sure enough Tob has made a decision and is hard at work sawing down some random tree. After he was done I asked "Did you just cut down a tree without asking me?" and his reply "YEP" "Merry Christmas"! Huh? This is a little out of character for him which made it even funnier, at least to me. On a positive note, I was lucky enough to get the best Christmas video ever in the process. So here is the annual family picture. Yes I know, I wasn't included and I am ok with that because this year was so ummm "memorable"!?

And here is the tree that was drug in unison to the car by both Toby and Alexyss. Later when I asked him how he found it he said "it was one of the only two fir tree's he saw on our hunt". I'll forgive him this year as it has turned out to be a pretty good tree.

So the story ends with the kids in the car, Nojah crying with frost bitten hands and Alexyss starting on the bag of goodies. Tob just happy the hunt is over and so proud of his kill.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!! BAH HUMMBUG!

Tiger Lemon Update

Tiger Lemon spent 2 nights with us before we took her to the shelter. Unfortunately the shelter was closed the day we drove an hour to get there. I stopped by the vet's office and our WONDERFUL friend Jeanne took her in for the night and offered to drop her off at animal shelter the next morning if she didn't find her a home first. I have been working so I haven't called her to see how things went. She was very cuddly (after she was fed & not starving anymore) and should be adopted in no time at all. Her and Myah had a special bond as you can see so it was a bummer to get rid of her, but what can ya do?

Free Kitten

Last night due to very LOUD uncontrolled meowing outside Toby assisted this little critter off of our fence and gently set her in the neighbors yard because she was clearly not ours. Next thing I knew I was getting a phone call at work explaining that there was a fuzzy orange kitten pawing at our front door. Huh? Due to freezing temperatures and the fact she is a baby Tob brought her in for the night. In the morning the kids and Toby went door to door and none of the neighbors seem to know where little Tiger Lemon came from. The kids came up with Tiger for reason's that are quite obvious and I came up with Lemon because she was very loud and obnoxious for the first 24 hours meowing and growling ferociously at her food so I figured someone dumped her because she was a "lemon". She has actually turned into quite the little cuddle bug tonight however she is going to be dropped off along with a donation to the humane society tomorrow. So if anyone is looking for a kitten let us know before 8 am tomorrow morning!! **
Bonus: She is becoming quickly litter box trained.

Weekend visit to Gramma Karen's & Grampa Tim's

Beware, LONG POST and some Fuzzy pictures. The story goes like this........ We left after I got off of work Thursday morning and arrived 10 hours later at Gramma Karen and Grampa Tim's house for a weekend of laughter and fun.

On Friday while Karen and Tim were at work we headed to Borders for a little coffee and some good reading material. We probably spent a good 2+ hours just wandering around reading books. A huge bookstore is one thing I yearn for in our little po-dunk town. After enriching our minds, we swung by Old Navy for some boys jeans, and then to Trader Joes. I LOVE TRADER JOES! A dark chocolate paradise for both girls and dogs. After shopping we had pizza for dinner visited awhile and then started a card game. That's when our night started to get interesting.

Please meet Dexter (those of you who haven't met of course). Dexter is an 11 year old 1/2 lab 1/2 dalmatian pup very well set in his ways. He's a great dog although he has a little problem he may not admit. He is addicted to food. Yes ...A COMPLETE ADDICT. There isn't anything he won't eat (to my knowledge and testing) including sweet ginger. While involved in a card game we noticed Dex was missing. We looked upstairs and then down and found him in our room indulging in an 8 pack of dark chocolate bars from various foreign countries, a purchase we had made at Trader Joes. While we weren't paying attention he managed to enjoy 4 (3"x3") bars as well as 1 & 1/2 raw hide bones. Needless to say after calling the vet and spending the next 36 hours with him, ferocious gas appeared to be the only major side effect.

On Saturday morning we went shopping at Target. I wish I would have brought my camera in the store because G & G gave both the kids gift cards to spend for Christmas and let them run with it. The look on Nojah's face was priceless. They picked out little MP3 players that will come in handy in Guatemala. I don't know what would have been more painful for them, picking out gifts for the kids without knowing really what they want or need or walking the isles of target playing with toys and listening to "I just can't decide", "It's just too hard", "mom, what should I get?", and on and on. The kids eventually made a great choice and had a blast doing it! Thank You Gramma Karen and Grampa Tim!! After Shopping and Nojah's hair cut, we went to pick out their Christmas Tree,

The tree farm had limited choices so we brought along these boys who were a key part in protecting and guarding the potential keepers, while we looked for the next best one.

After choosing a little (but very pretty) tree we went for a walk. The lighting was terrible so the pictures are a result of that as well as my lack of true photography knowledge and skill.

Here is Gramma Karen and Lex on the sketchy deck at the small pond we had wandered up to. Notice the reindeer antlers off at this time. I think this was a first for her during the trip. Once she discovered those she wore them everywhere even to bed. I wish I would have gotten my camera out when I woke up at 2am and found her fast asleep with them still attached to her head. Such a funny little girl. She finally took them off for school this morning but that was the only exception.

We played cards again on Saturday night when Tim could join in and kept a better eye on Dex too. Nojah won and was pretty excited about it as you can see. He is such a humble young man...

Last but not least the forced arm around the shoulder sibling love picture in front of the Christmas tree. Our drive was long and we didn't get home until almost 10:30 last night but we stopped and let the kids go to the make a bear workshop. Nojah gave birth to a husky dog he named Myah and Alexyss a puppy in pj's named Gloria. It was a lot of fun. Anyway, congrats if you actually read all of this. Lucky for you I have to go as I have an exhausted little girl lying on her daddy's lap snoring while I am in here typing away. All in all we had a WONDERFUL weekend and were so glad for the opportunity to go visit! Hopefully it won't be another year and a half before we see each other again.

Little Critters

This weekend Isaac came to visit. We love having the happy little man here. He is always full of smiles and the kids play well together. He is so sweet with Alexyss and I don't ever recall him yelling at her or upsetting her (I mean EVER not only this weekend) even when Nojah isn't so sweet to her. Between work and sleep we went up to the lake and did a small 2-3 mile hike up to a little waterfall with beautiful views overlooking the lake. Other then that, the kids hung out with grandma, played basketball, football, ran around acting crazy, watched movies and played video games. I am happy to say that now Tob and are sitting at home this morning relaxing without the little critters. We are looking forward to a trip to Eugene this week after I get done with work!! Yippee! Can't wait to see Karen, Tim and Dexter of course!

A scary story

So there I was sitting at home yesterday and thought wow the sun is shining I should go for a hike/trail run. I laced up my new gore-tex running shoes (which I LOVE by the way) and off the dogs and I went. I drove about a 1/2 an hour to the trail and headed off to find that I couldn't cross the river due to the thin ice and very cold water so we scooted off to another trail head on the other side of the canyon to try this again. This time things were good, except as I was running along I looked behind me and saw these................................................................


So I stopped to take a look and realized.........................................................

That it was just my dog!

Hope everyone has a great thanksgiving! I am so thankful for my family, friends, fabulous jobs, and the opportunity to take our kids on trips around the world! Oh yes and I am thankful for being blessed with the ability to write such fantastic short stories :0)

~*~What a boring blog~*~

So really I have NO new pictures to post or anything profound to say! I am working this week, until Thursday morning and then I have 7 days off! I know, I know I always get 7 days off every other week but for some reason every time it gets close to my days off I get excited again. I get to go to the dentist on Friday and then a shopping trip in tri-cities with my mama on Saturday and then my plans are up in the air. That's about it! Hope everyone has a fun filled week!

A walk in the woods

This weekend Grandma came to visit and while she was here we went for a drive and a walk through the woods to get out of the house.

On our little trot we came across some wood piles where the kids and grandma went snail hunting. At first they only found one little snail and both kids were begging to keep it so grandma said "whoever will eat it gets it". Alexyss without any hesitation stated
"I WILL!!"

After all the walking, skipping, snail and mushroom hunting we headed back to the car for snacks that grandma provided. Watching Nojah guzzle the pear water from this bottle made me laugh because it doesn't look like an ordinary bottle for a child of his age to be sipping from. Later that evening I questioned what was really in the bottle with his unstoppable belly laughter but I think that was just him. We had a good relaxing weekend, playing games, watching some football, reading, and eating in addition to our walk through the woods. Now the kids are gone, grandma is gone, Toby is gone and I am all alone in the house with peace and quiet. AHHHH!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! HOPE YOU HAVE A GREAT DAY! WE LOVE YOU!
NOVEMBER 8, 1954?

Halloween fun

This last week has been busy with Halloween parties, carving pumpkins, baking, parent teacher conferences, work and among other things, throwing up. I am now re-cooping from barfing the past 24hrs so I am not into writing a lot but I'll share a few pictures with some captions.

Toby took the kids trick or treating Halloween night since I had to work. They were accompanied by the neighbors, so we have 5 star wars characters and Miss Hannah Montana.

After getting the gang out the door it was my turn to get ready for work! My co-workers and I dressed up in vintage nursing uniforms for work which was a lot of fun. Some of our elderly patients didn't even realize we were dressed up. Too funny. It was a great night and the dress was actually fairly comfortable!


Here is Lex's pumpkin that she carved. Nojah's turned out blurry in the pictures but looked really cute.

Dinner in a Pumpkin

One of the days I helped out at school the first grade class had dinner in a pumpkin for lunch. It was SO yummy that I got the recipe from the teacher and we made it for dinner one night as well. Ok so I am back off to the couch for the rest of the evening! I've been great at holding it down all day!
Hope everyone is having a good Sunday and enjoying their kids candy :0)

Happy Birthday Grandma!

Just wanting to wish my Grandma a Happy Birthday and Happy Halloween! We love you and miss you tons! Hope you have a wonderful day.

Spider Snack

Spider Snacks
2 round crackers
8 stick pretzels
creamy peanut butter
Raisins for eyes glued on with peanut butter

Ok, so these little guys don't photograph well but they are pretty cute and a healthy alternative to most Halloween snacks for kids. They are great for after school or a class party. These ones are crawling to Lex's first grade class this afternoon for their Halloween festivities.

Donde Estan los banos?

Where are the toilets? A phrase we may need for our next trip, especially traveling with Lex! We have been planning this trip since we got home from Thailand in 2006, however the destination has changed numerous times for numerous reasons. I am very excited to say that we have chosen to go to Guatemala for 5 weeks. I wish we had longer but really I can't complain. Our tickets are booked and there is NO turning back! We have chosen this destination for it's ancient Mayan culture, natural wonders, outdoor adventures, festivals & markets and we leave in 96 days! Ahh, it seems like forever when I count it in days. Although this does mean we only have 96 days to learn Spanish. Rosetta Stone here we come. Wish us luck!!

Ghouls, Goblins, and Pumpkins

Today after Nojah's last football game we headed to the pumpkin patch to play in the maze and find the best pumpkins available. Grandma Val, Isaac, and Danny joined us for the adventure.

The kids played running away from and after the creepy ghouls and goblins inhabiting the maze. Isaac was ditched by all the other kids and then was stuffed in the coffin by the goblins. Danny wouldn't go into the maze, I think for that very fear of himself being buried, Alexyss had no fear and attacked the poor monsters, and Nojah just ran around like a banshee. Fun was had by all.

After the kids wore themselves out running around we headed up to the mercantile store and picked out some pumpkins, the kids begged for popcorn balls, books, and a hay ride. Lex's first pumpkin was close to 50lbs so I encouraged or should I say enforced littler pumpkins for my punkins. So after the "small" pumpkins were picked out, paid for and the kids were satisfied, Nojah toted them and his sister off to the car.

A new post for the sake of a new post!

This post is in celebration of my SLOW but working internet connection. I have not been connected since my last post!

Here are the cousins lovin on each other after the last FFB game!

and my little man scoring a touchdown!

Lex awaiting her soccer game!

Nojah and his oh so bushy long hair! I think I will do pigtails for the next game!


So there you have it a post for the heck of it! Things have been slowing down for me this past week. I attended Tersh's baby shower and got to feel the baby kick! I also won TWO games! Yeah, I never win! Now I cant say that anymore! I also got to play with Karisa and Katie's little ones! I LOVE those ages so much. Can't wait to see them again.

I have been nursing a hamstring injury since the Eagle cap hike so you are all spared of the wilderness pictures for awhile. Honestly I have been sitting around the house, reading, watching TV, taking the dog for walks, and relaxing! It's kind of nice! Back to work tonight although I don't think I mind, which is funny because usually I don't feel like I had any time off.

Also a BIG thanks to anyone who commented about my needing help. Last Saturday we were again arguing with both the kids about something and I just stepped back and listened to Tob, and Waa Laa, I had 5 rules instantly! I don't have a printer right now or shall I say it's sick so I have to write them out and frame them so I can send the kids to read them instead of arguing with them. When I get this done I'll post!
Hope everyone is getting ready for the SNOW! It's coming Early! Suppose to be a great season for it! :0)

In Search of Ideas.......... Please Help!!

I have been wanting to create a very SIMPLE and EASY to read list of rules for the home. The problem is I can come up with about 50 (not simple or always easy) to follow rules. My goal is to frame these in a good location where we will see them frequently! I have been butting heads with Nojah lately and it seems like the arguing just goes in circles. Many say it's the age. Well that isn't a good enough excuse for me. The things I am tired of hearing are I WANT, WHY DON'T I GET TO EVER DO ANYTHING I WANT?, WHY DO I HAVE TO DO EVERYTHING?, I, I, I, I, etc!! Honestly this phase doesn't seem to be phasing out and I would love to hear simple family rules that all you guys out there had as kids or rules you have for your kids. I'd like to be able to say go look at the "family rules" instead of getting into the non-ending arguments that we have been having. Maybe"rules" isn't the right word either............. maybe "guidelines, values, morals," I don't know, just looking for some direction on easier ways to avoid conflict at home. Seriously, how do you get children to appreciate the opportunities and experiences as well as all the things they have?

I would love to hear any ideas from ANYONE who even runs across my blog even by accident! Please help me!

****My ultimate goal with this post is to find the 5 best rules to be framed in our house. You know the "If you can't say anything nice don't say anything at all" type of rules, simple to read and simple to understand. Thanks in advance!! HAVE A FANTASTIC WEEK!!

The Center of The Wilderness

Looking ahead at our destination. Eagle Cap

Sandy and I on top of Eagle Cap yesterday. 20 mile round trip, Elevation about 9600 ft, 360 degree view of ALL of the eagle cap wilderness. Simply Amazing, Truly no words can describe this!

Lazy Sunday

So 2 post's in 1 day! Pretty impressive for me at least! Frankly I was tired of seeing everyone else with their cute little fall decor and idea's so I soaked up everyone else's idea's and did some fall shopping yesterday. First of all I have to say I love Fall! The colors are so amazing. It was actually fall when Toby and I decided to consider the move to where we live now. So after blogging this morning I went outside and began my work.................................

When I was at Wal-mart yesterday I ran into Rachel and she suggested instead of purchasing 4 corn stalks for $10 I should just ask those I knew who grew corn. Great IDEA!! So that's just what I did and I scored corn stalks, corn, and carrots. We have such good friends! Thanks Tasha and Andy I owe you one big bowl of ooey gooey carmel corn!!

I also purchased a couple pumpkins and some barrels, regularly 39.99 for a whopping $15 each. They gave me a sale price of $18 and I guess I looked like I was going to walk away so they dropped it even lower to $15. I left with 3. Gotta love it!

Then I pulled all the dead flowers out of my window boxes and the kids and I created this. I don't think the pictures do it justice but both windows turned out pretty darn cute, with mums, pumpkins, and free cornstalks.

After all the yard work was complete I came inside and baked some pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. I got the recipe from my friend Daphne in nursing school and crave them about this time every year!

After dinner I found the kids and Tob playing a game of football out in the yard and Lex was just cracking me up. Here is my daughter barefoot, in a skirt, with a cowboys helmet on, bound and determined to tackle her father. Anyway, it's been a good productive day. I still have to get ready for my hike tomorrow. I think I will make some pasta salad, and muffins, maybe a yummy sandwich, I don't know. Hope everyone else enjoyed their Sunday. It was good to have some family time this weekend!