All Things New...

Shell, Mo, Trains, and Voodoo

2012-01-04T12:37:00.000-08:00

My sister and Chris came over from Idaho New Year's weekend to hang with us and watch the Rose Bowl. One of the fun things we did was head downtown on MAX to Voodoo Doughnut. For those of you not familiar, its a very funky shop that has crazy flavors of treats. It was Matthew's first ride on the train, which made it even more exciting!

Daddy and the kids heading down to the platform!

Love my big sis!

Chris (Mo) trying to calm Matthew's fears of the noisy incoming train! Poor thing was pretty scared!

Evelyn LOVED the ride.. can ya tell?

Me and my sweet boy!

Poor buddy was truly so scared in the tunnel! He clung to daddy and cried a few times. Hopefully next time it will be more fun for him! :(

Evelyn thought the tunnel was cool.. as was sitting with her cool aunt Michelle and "Mr. Chris".

Taking it all in!

The whole reason for the trip!! Voodoo!

As always, there was a line. We had to wait about 40 minutes (no kidding!) in line but made the best of it!

Group shot!

Evie and Chris.. one of my favorite pics of the day!

Me and the kids trying to decide what kind to get!

The choices were endless!!

Aunt "Shhhhell" loving on her nephew!

A feeble attempt to get a family shot (can you find the 2 year old who was having a meltdown? haha)

In the end, it was SO worth the wait!!

A fun morning indeed!

Natural

2012-01-03T12:27:00.000-08:00

It can be super difficult to get a picture of Evelyn showing her true, beautiful smile. She is just at an age where she does the "cheese-o" grin, as I call it, when I want to take a picture. The best way to get that pretty smile of hers on film is to not have her pose, but just try to capture it when I can. I happen to get several of these "natural" shots recently.

My pretty girl... naturally!

And then.. there's this!

Gosh I love this silly, pretty girl!!

The Carousel

2012-01-02T12:14:00.000-08:00

My mom and her husband found this Christmas carousel on sale before Christmas. It lights up and plays a fun melody. I don't think they had ANY idea what a hit it would be with both my kids, especially the boy! It kept him occupied for at least an hour when we were over there on New Years day. I'll just let the pics do the talking!

And my two favorites...

I am sure he will be equally excited when it comes out again next Christmas!!

Christmas Morning

2011-12-31T13:13:00.000-08:00

We had Christmas morning to ourselves and enjoyed it very much. So much, in fact, that I didn't get many photos!

Here is a small snipit of our morning...

My morning girl ready to get opening!

And my little man still trying to wake up!

He soon was just as excited as his sister!

"What in the world????"

A new crown for our princess! (the two she has are broken and will now be thrown out!)

A boy and a football.. it's a beautiful thing!

He open packages SO slow.. just like daddy!

Lovin' the slinky!

Trying out the new Nalgene bottle!

She has wanted this dress-up Minnie toy FOREVER! Its a bit young for her.. but she loves it nonetheless!

Reading books with Mr. Robert, our friend who we had over for dinner!

For the first time ever, I cooked Christmas dinner by myself!! Ham, bread, broccoli, jello and dessert (no potato dish.. neither of my kids are big potato eaters!). It turned out great and it was fun to entertain, even if it was just one person!

Happy Birthday, Jesus!!

Morris Christmas 2011

2011-12-26T20:16:00.000-08:00

We spent Christmas Eve with Doug's family in Dallas, but this year we did it a bit different as are SO glad we did!

We decided to head down the day before and spend some quality time with our dear friends the Gilberts down in Dallas/Falls City instead of doing our usual super quick visit with them in between family stuff on Christmas Eve. Doug and John have known each other for years and we never seem to see them enough.. so we decided to change that this year! Sadly, we had SO much fun that I forgot to take a lot of pictures... sigh.

We stopped first and Bill and Darlene's, John's parents. They are like parents to us, too.. and we care for them very much. We had a great couple of hours catching up and hanging out in "Crazy" Bill's big shop. They kids loved his old cars!

We then headed out to Falls City to John and Laura's place. We enjoyed time with them and their kids Nathan (14) and Shelby (9). They are such a fun family and John never ceased to make me laugh!

Nathan was REALLY into Thomas trains when he was little, and they have kept all of his train things. He decided he was ready to part with them and they gave them to OUR kids for a Christmas gift! Do you know how awesome that is? Oh my.. my kids LOVE it! Such an amazing and thoughtful gift. I told Nathan that I would keep all of the trains and give them back to him if he ever wants it.

Just some of the train loot. Amazing stuff.. train table, too!

We stayed at a hotel in Dallas. Again... no photos.. ugh! The kids had a blast and actually slept pretty good. We woke up on Christmas Eve, grabs some Starbucks and headed to Grandma and Granddads!

Have I mentioned that I became and aunt a few weeks ago? My sister-in-law and her husband are in the process of adopting a sweet baby girl. She was born 4 weeks early, so not all the paperwork and legal stuff is finished, but for all intensive purposes... she is THEIRS! Lillian Esther is such a sweet baby and was well doted on by all the family!

Tiny sweet baby!

Evelyn loving on her new cousin!

Stocking time!

His two favorite things.. a tractor and a tape measure!

For the past three years, after breakfast and stockings we have walked/drove up to the senior center in Dallas to sing carols. It is a way our family can serve and share Christmas cheer and a special time for all of us!

Waiting to go in (Cinderella came along, too!)

Don and Mary catching up.

Singing...

After singing we usually go around and visit with the residents. They are so sweet and loved all the kids!

Matthew making the rounds...

My brother-in-law's Grandmother lives at the center. She got to meet Lillian, her great granddaughter, for the first time. A special moment!

Great Grandma Brandt!

Evelyn and her oldest cousin Ben (almost 13...sigh) walking home. He's pretty awesome!

The required reading of the Christmas story by Granddad. LOVE the expressions on the big boys' faces... they just want to open gifts! Hilarious!

After opening gifts, we all hung out and ate and chatted. The big boys started to play with Matthew and oh, my did he ever love that. He thinks his big cousins are SO cool. I appreciated them for making my sweet boy feel special!

We left early evening and headed for home, all of us tired buy happy from such a great time. As I put Evelyn to bed when we got home, she realized that Christmas was the next morning.

"Mom.. I don't know if it can be better than today!"

Well, said, sweetie. Well said. A great day indeed!!

Tierney Christmas 2011

2011-12-20T21:37:00.000-08:00

This year the Christmas celebrations started with the Tierney/Harms/Bower/Morris/Jeub Christmas. My sister and family came over from Idaho for 5 days. They stayed with us and it was such a great time! Lots of crazy kids, laughter, food, chatting, presents, and just amazing time together!

I'll just let the pictures do most of the talking! Warning.. LOTS of pictures ahead!

The Fisher Price Nativity is a big hit at our house. This year Matthew was WAY into it, and put his own twist on it .. with a Nativity train!

My niece Abby is an early riser. The minute she heard us awake in the morning, she would head on upstairs to join us. She was great with her cousins, and read to them a lot. They think she is pretty cool!

Aunt "Shell" (I think that is what he calls her.. I can't quite make it out!) reading to her nephew!

All decked out in Christmas gear and ready to go to Grandma and Grandpa Doug's!!

Coloring with Aunt Michelle

Abby and my mom cooking up some amazing grub!

Geez.. I love that face!

Really I do!

I love this face, too... its just that my nephew Curtis does NOT like to have his picture taken!

My Christmas girl...

Shell and Chris.. they are so much fun!

Abbers and her favorite aunt.. haha!

Grandpa Doug trying to get some pictures

The kids solving the world's problems over good food! (Look at Cole's face.. so serious! HaHa!)

The beautiful tree.. with all the loot underneath!

I think Regan was excited about this horse!

And Evelyn was pretty excited about her Cinderella barbie, too!

"DIGGER!!!!"

Cool hat from Aunt Shell and cool tractor from Mr. Chris!

Taking a break from the crowd and playing with Grandma's legos!

Uncle Chris and Abby

A sweet moment...

Story time with Grandma!

Doug and Evelyn went upstairs to watch the bigger kids play the Wii.. so Matthew got some quality time with the other big boys boys.. he was laughing SO hard and had so much fun rough housing with them!

Winding down watching some football with Chris.

The next morning.. the proverbial "let's see how to put this toy together" moment!

They did it!

Doug did a "science experiment" with Curtis and Abby. It didn't work they way they had hoped.. but they had fun trying!

The scientists.. all in safety gear, of course!

The night before Shell, Chris and the kids left we had Chris, Lo and the kids over before we met mom and Doug for dinner.

Matching ballerina cousins!

The whole family, minus mom and I. Sorry I couldn't fit you in, momma!!

Such a fun time with my wonderful family during such a special time of year!

Evelyn's Birthday Celebration

2011-12-12T06:21:00.000-08:00

Even though we didn't have Birthday party for her this year (we will do parties every other year for the kids), we still made sure our sweet FIVE year old have a super day!

Sleepyhead waiting for breakfast!

It wouldn't be a birthday without a candle (or five) in a cinnamon roll!

This is what Evelyn requested for breakfast. Eggs, sausage, and a cinnamon roll! On a princess plate, of course!

Not the best shot, but she was pretty excited about her "huge" present!

Ready for church. New shirt and vest from Jody. She looks SO grown up!

Matthew wanted his picture taken, too. Silly boy!

Daddy and his girl chillaxin'.

Instead of a "quiet time", Evelyn got "mommy time"! She wanted to play with her polly pockets the whole time.

My girl has quite the imagination! We had a fun time!

Then.. it was off to her favorite restaurant. Red Robin, to meet Grandma and Grandpa Doug for dinner!

My sweet baby girl!

Getting sang to by the staff. She loves it but is also a bit overwhelmed by it!

Sundae time!!

Matthew got a small sundae, too.. and he enjoyed EVERY bite!

Bliss...

She went to bed happy.. and FIVE! Here's to another year of fun and adventures with my sweet Evelyn Joy!!

Things Pondered, Part 5

2011-12-11T20:15:00.000-08:00

One

Two

Three

Four

FIVE!!

Five.

One hand.

That's how old my baby is today. One. Whole. Hand. Sigh.....

Five years ago today, at 3:29pm, Evelyn Joy was born. A 6 pound, 11 ounce bundle of beauty. My life has never been the same.

My prayer for my sweet pea for this new year is that her joy for life will continue, and that she will continue to bring joy to others. I pray that God will foster in her a spirit of gratefulness, kindness, and goodness. I pray that she will be the kind of girl He wants her to be.

Mostly, I pray that she would truly know and believe that she is wholly loved, by her mom and dad and by her heavenly Father. Because we do love her. So very, very much.

These past five years are ones that I will cherish forever, and hopefully there will be many more years ahead for me to enjoy this amazing little girl.

Evelyn Joy, my heart overflows with love for you! I am so excited to see what God has in store for you! I love you baby girl!

One. Whole. Hand.

Thank you, God.

.. and Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.
Luke 2:19

for previous "things pondered" posts, click here, here, here and here!

A Cinderella Story

2011-12-09T22:06:00.000-08:00

Once upon a time, there was a little girl named Evelyn who LOVED princesses, especially Cinderella, her very favorite.

Evelyn was turning 5 soon, and in the kingdom where she resided (Beaverton) there happened to be a drama production of, you guessed it, Cinderella, being performed at the local high school. So her mommy and daddy thought it would be a fun treat to get tickets and take her to see it. Her first play. Her first "night on the town". Surely it would be an enchanting evening for her.

On the morning of the play, her mom told her about the fun surprise (mostly to convince Evelyn to take a nap that afternoon!). Needless to say, Evelyn was overjoyed with the plan. All day she was all smiles and was very curious as to what it would be like. Her mommy told her that it would be a night to remember.

The time came for Evelyn to get ready. She even let her mom curl her hair, a rare occasion indeed! She posed for some quick photos and then her and her mother were off.

She is quite the beautiful subject, don't you agree?

A lovely curtsy for her mother...

Excited = Goofiness!

One lucky mom, I am!

When Evelyn arrived at the theater to the time we left, she was just awestruck. Not many words, lots of looking around in amazement. She couldn't wait for the show to begin!

We're here!

"Is it time? Is it time?"

Taking it all in...

Evelyn sat on her mom's lap for the first half of the performance, wanting to get the best view of the stage. She held her mom's hand tightly. Her mom asked if she was having fun a few times and got a very strong nod of the head, so all was well! Even during intermission, she was silent, looking around and not wanting to miss a thing.

The play ended, a lovely show indeed, and the lights came back up. Opportunity to meet the cast was made available. Evelyn had brought one of her Cinderella books to have signed by, of course, Cinderella. Evelyn became quite shy and I think a bit overwhelmed at the sight of her favorite princess that her mom had to to most of the talking. Evelyn did, however, get an autograph and a hug. She managed to say a kind "thank you" as we left.

A moment to remember!

Upon returning home (quite late for her, although thankfully before the clock struck midnight), Evelyn quickly fell asleep. She was sure to have dreams of epic proportions after her thrilling night. It was a grand evening, indeed, for one almost five year old little girl, and her mom, who thanks God every day for her sweet Evelyn Joy.

She surely will live happily ever after....

BIrthday Celebrations!

2011-12-08T06:03:00.000-08:00

Matthew was well loved on last weekend. While he may not totally get what all the hoopla was about, my now TWO year old knew he was the center of attention! :)

Here's a look at how we celebrated!

Friday, his birthday:

Birthday cinnamon rolls... of course!

"Sissy" enjoyed them, too!

Crazy after nap hair... the craziest it has even been I think! Oh.. and he's wearing his new shirt he got from Jody!

I asked him what he wanted to do after his nap, and he immediately went to the back door! Outside it was!

Gotta teach 'em young! (Hey.. she offered!)

When Doug got home from work, we had wiener wraps and french fries (Matthew's pick!) and then he got to open his present from us!

He is a slow unwrapper.. he takes it off in little pieces, much to his sister's dismay!

Pretty excited about his new tools and tool bag!

Saying good bye to his toys an going to bed was HARD for him that night!

On Saturday, we had a small party with a couple of little buddies of Matthew's as well as both sets of parents coming to celebrate. It was the perfect size get together and we all had fun!

The spread!

Sweet Grant!

Evelyn loved the hats!

Cutie pie Parker, Grant's little brother!

Colin being a monkey!

My mom and her husband couldn't stay long so Matthew opened their gift. Mom put lots of tissue paper in the bag, and he took out each one very slowly! It was pretty cute.

The gang...

Matthew attempting to hug Colin... silly boys!

High fives with Grant, who is 3. Matthew thinks Grant is a pretty cool big kid!

A HUGE digger from Grandma and Grandad!

Which led to this sweet moment! Big hugs for BOTH of them!

Time for singing and treats!

Cupcake goodness!

Surveying the "damage" after everyone had gone..haha!

After being in hiding when everyone was here, Sam came out to play!

Oh my... I have a TWO year old!!

Matthew is TWO!

2011-12-02T20:26:00.000-08:00

He's two today, my sweet Matthew. There aren't enough words to express just how much I love this little boy. As much I as feared having a boy, God knew he was JUST what I needed, and I cannot imagine life without my son.

He wakes in the morning about 7am. He is a good sleeper, 12 hours and night plus a 2 hour nap. He is like his daddy in that it takes him a while to wake up (unlike his sister, who, like me, is ready to go once her eyes are open!). He usually will ask for one of two things: "Dadda?", wondering if Doug is home. If he is home and still asleep, Matthew will put a finger to his mouth and says the sweetest and quietest "shhhh".. it really is the cutest thing that comes out of his mouth! Or "Mi Mo?" meaning "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse", his FAVORITE show. The kids watch one show a day, and the smile that comes to my son's face when he sees that famous mouse is pretty huge!

After a show its breakfast time, where oatmeal, bananas or cereal are his top choices. He always asks if something is "haaaaaaa" (hot) and will still blow on it even if you say it isn't. Silly boy. He uses a spoon and fork very well now and does NOT like his food cut up. He wants to do it himself!! Lately he has been boycotting lunch and dinner foods that he has usually eaten without a fuss. Like chicken, corn, even some breads... crazy kid! Truly, though, if he could live on fruit, oatmeal, granola bard, pizza and hot dogs, he would be happy! We are working on that.... *sigh*

Between meals, he is all about his toys, being a monkey, and books. He LOVES his "diggers", fire trucks and hot wheels cars and I love the noises he makes for each separate one. He is starting to get into leggos and even some pretend play with our play "food" (he and Evelyn play "restaurant" a lot). He loves to read books, especially "Hot Rod" magazine (seriously) and sometimes will go into his room, close the door and read. Of course, usually he will fill his pants during that time (he prefers privacy apparently) which makes for a lovely surprise when I go check on him. He simply adores his "sissy" and wants to play with her as much as possible. Whatever she is playing with, he wants to join in, at times to her dismay!

Matthew is my active child, but at a level that I can handle (thank you, Jesus!)! He loves to run, climb, jump and tumble. He loves being outside, finding sticks and taking in the fresh air. Give this boy a soccer ball and he will kick it around the yard with pretty good skill. He likes to play basketball, too. He can be a maniac on his trike... seriously, the faster he can make that thing go, the better (I think this activity will give me the most gray hair...haha). I have a feeling he will be my athlete!

Unlike his sister, who was speaking clear, full sentences at 18 months of age, Matthew isn't talking a bunch yet. He has come a LONG way the past few months, though! He is smart and knows exactly what you are asking/talking about, tho. I love it when you are taking to him and he shakes his head when he understands.. its pretty cute. He does have plenty to say.. he just uses his own language. Thankfully we have learned how to decipher his "code" and can understand him. I am sure he will be talking our ears off in no time!

Matthew is the happiest, kindest, sweetest soul, who already shows love to those around him. He is social, and is more than willing to give you "knuckles" or a high five. He is quick to give you a hug if you are sad, and is such a good sharer. I love how he just grabs your hand and leads you to go play or snuggle. Gosh, he is just so sweet.. I can't even find words to describe it. He is gonna be just like his daddy: kind, caring, and one who serves. I love that! He loves his mommy and daddy, that's for sure, and likes to know where we are at all times. And his sister is the apple of his eye.. he really loves her so much! We have had some pretty severe separation "issues" this year, but the past 2 months we have conquered those and we are so thankful for that!

That's my two year old in a (kind of rambly) nutshell! We know God has big plans for our boy!

I'll end with a look back....

Dec 2, 2010

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

Today, Dec 2, 2011

Happy Birthday, son... you are a treasure worth more than gold!! We love you, Matthew!

Christmas Tree Time!!

2011-11-27T09:04:00.000-08:00

We were blessed with some non-rainy Oregon weather yesterday, so our tradition of getting our Christmas tree over Thanksgiving weekend was a very fun (and dry!) experience.

We once again went to Hagg's. Such a great farm, even if it is WAY out in the sticks!

Getting the kids' boots on.. they were SO excited!

Ready to find a tree!!

Evelyn trudging ahead up the muddy hill.. she couldn't wait!

The "ooooh ooooh"!! That is what Matthew calls dogs. This is the farm's dog. He was very friendly. He met us AT our truck and followed us around for a while, much to Matthew's delight!

Getting a kiss! :)

Group shot!

My sweet pea.. love her!

Matthew spotted something! Who could it be?

Yeah!! Jody and Lori found us!

The girls...

Jo Jo and the boy! He really was happy to see her, even if he wasn't smiling in this shot!
:)

After a while of looking, we found our tree!!
The "saw guys" getting ready to chop it down!

TIMBER!!!

My sweet family...

At the farm store, they have lots of animals, crafts, and food. Matthew LOVED petting the animals!

Evelyn, on the other hand, didn't like the smell!!

She opted for the fake animals instead!!

She loves nativities... and she had to have her picture taken with the one at the farm!

Afterwards we were going to go to the new Five Guys near our house.. until we found out it didn't open until Monday! So sad! Oh, well.. we hit McDonalds instead.

He must do it himself!!

Yummy lunch!

Time to go decorate and enjoy the Christmas spirit! LOVE this time of year!! Merry Christmas!

Gobble Gobble Gobble

2011-11-25T06:32:00.000-08:00

I really do have SO much to be thankful for. Every day. Our Thanksgiving was full of family, food and fun. I didn't get many pictures, and the ones I did get aren't the best, but here is a glimpse at our day!!

In the morning, my friend Jody and I went for a long run, which was a great way to start the day. Then all of us, and I do mean ALL of us, read through all the ads that were in the paper. It was a pretty funny sight. All 4 of us, in different spots in the living room, looking through stuff. The kids LOVE looking at "catalogs" as Evelyn calls them. It was great to have a lazy morning.

Matthew loves Sam.. and Sam actually let him give him a hug. Very rare occurance! (... and notice the pile of "well loved" ads behind him!)

We started our festivites at Doug's aunts house. It was a nice gathering as usual. I am SO thankful to have married into the Morris family!

Some of the "grownup" chatting

My nephews brought a HUGH tackle box full of Hot Wheels. Matthew was in HEAVEN!! It kept him entertained the entire time!

We also, as usual, celebrated Matthew and Evelyn's birthdays with Doug's family. Always a highlight for both my kids!

A new digger.. so excited!

My sweet mother in law always make the kids individual "birthday pies". I think Evelyn gets more excited about it than presents!

This is the face he made every time the camera was out! Silly boy!

Happy Girl!

If you haven't heard Doug's family sing "Happy Birthday", you are in luck, cuz the vidoes are below. It makes me cry.. every time!

Matthew making sure he has ALL his diggers!

We left Mary's and headed to my mom's for a little bit. It was fun to see the cousins and hang with my family.

Evelyn and Regan

I. Love. Her.! She wanted to "dress pretty" today and was very excited about her dress!

Me and my sweet boy!

The girls in their fancy coats!

.. and that's all I have. Our day was full, fun, and lovely. Happy Thanksgiving!!

Grace

2011-11-16T19:31:00.000-08:00

It has been a hard day with the kids. Not a lot of listening and obeying. Not many kind words shared between them. Not much sharing with each other. LOTS of redirection, distraction, discipline and tears. I had both proud and not so proud mom moments today as well.

Days like today I am thankful for grace.

And for the brief glimpse of my kids' true love for each other shining through to my camera a couple of times today!

"Look mom, we're the "Hat Team!"
(they played nicely for almost 20 minutes!)

Cinderella dancing with her prince at the ball! It was a sweet moment.

Small moments of grace. They kept me going today.

Here's to a better day tomorrow!!

Halloween 2011

2011-10-31T07:26:00.000-07:00

I was acutely aware that this is the last year that I will be able to "do" halloween the way we have since Evelyn has been born. Next year she will be in kindergarten (sigh...) so things will be different. So.. I made the most of today with my favorite little people!

My sweet pumpkin and cute ladybug!

Per our usual routine we started our "rounds" at Doug's office. His coworkers are like our second family, and they always enjoy seeing the kids and always have candy for them!

Trick-or-Treating with "Mr. Chris"!

Since ladybugs apparently eat bananas, "Mr. Michael" tried to give Evelyn a banana, not know that she does NOT like them. At all. I love her face in this picture!

I think the kids were more excited about coloring on "the big board" at Doug's office than getting candy!!

My sweet family!

We then made our other stops. First, the hospital where I used to work. Jody wasn't working but we got to see some of my old coworkers who I love and miss. A lot. Its always nice to go back to my other "home"!

Evelyn and "Miss Lori". She had treats for the kids.. so sweet!

Then, it was off to Grandma's work!

They love their Grandma!!

Then it was off to Jody's! Both the kids were getting tired of having their picture taken at this point!

Then once the sun went down.. it was time to head out for some trick or treating!!

Headed out!

Evelyn was SUCH a big helper and showed Matthew the ropes..as well as held his hand. It was pretty sweet to see them together!

Enjoying the walk around the neighborhood!

Evelyn and our neighbor/babysitter Miss Sarah. Both kids thought it was silly that she dressed up!

Happy with her loot!!

What a beautiful night. Lot of stars, cute kids, and candy. Happy Sugar High!!

Win The Day

2011-10-29T12:21:00.000-07:00

In 1977, a young coach named Rick Brooks took over the helm of the dire football program at the University of Oregon. He had a dream. He had vision. He worked his tail off to make it happen. My dad was one of the ones who bought into Rich's dream, and became a season ticket holder. 50 yard line seats, no less. Year after year, rain or shine, good team or bad, my dad supported his "Duckies" and went to as many games as he could. I spent many a Saturday morning tailgating at Autzen and running around the rather empty stadium enjoying the game and playing with friends whose dads had also purchased season tickets.

As the years went on, Rich's dreams became reality and now the Ducks have one of the best football programs in the nation. And we still have some of the best seats in the house!! After my dad died in 2002, we knew there was no way we were letting go of the tickets. Too much attachment, and the seats were too good! Due to season of life (my sisters and I have young families) and the price of the tickets, we sell most of our tickets to pay for them. One of us tries to get to at least one game a season.

For the first time in 6 years it was ME who got to go to a game this year. WITH my sister Michelle, her friend Chris, and my nephew Curtis! It was such a great day, surrounded by dad's spirit and watching a great game!

Chris is a Cougar fan, and we made it clear how we felt about that! :) Actually, it was SO fun to have him along, he is a hoot! (And do you see the magnet on my sister's car door? My sweet and talented hubby made those for me, for us to take to Eugene. I heart him!)

One of my favorite picture of the whole day, and only Chris and Shell will get it (one word: wikipedia!)! :)

Autzen Stadium.. one of the most beautiful places on the earth!

Curtis, Michelle and I

My "Best Man"! Brian was the best man in my sister's wedding almost 20 years ago; I was the maid of honor. I haven't seen him in years. He actually teaches at UO now and met up with us for lunch.

Here comes Chip and the boys! (Chip is in the white visor.. his trademark!)

The view from our seats. Told you they were good!

The reason we are here.....

Curtis had a great time. What a great nephew I have!

Chris watching his boys LOSE! Haha! He actually was a really good sport about it!

Sister love!!

The next morning the whole gang went to breakfast before Michelle, Chris and the kids headed back home to Idaho.

My sweet niece Abby

Matthew loves his Grandpa Doug!!

I love my sisters!

What a great weekend! Win the Day! Every day!

Fun in the Fall Sun

2011-10-27T13:42:00.000-07:00

It is currently raining outside, but we have had some beautiful crisp fall sunshine this past week. The kids made the most of it for sure!!

We raked leaves. Well, I raked, they played!

We went to our friends Faith and Eva's soccer game and Matthew got to play with his buddy Colin.

Both the kids had a blast rolling down the hill. In the dark. Hilarious!

And we rode bikes. Matthew is all boy and the faster he can go the better.

I hope you enjoyed the sunshine, too... then enjoyed a cup of cocoa when you came in from the cold. We did! :)

Visting

2011-10-26T07:12:00.000-07:00

Our dear neighbors Troy and Lucille sadly moved to an assisted living facility in Albany a couple of months ago. It was the right move for them for many reasons, but we love them dearly and miss them very much. We took a trip down to visit them last weekend. It was so great to see them and their new place!

The kids weren't in the mood for pictures, can you tell?

Such a sweet couple.. married 66 years this week, too!!

The kids LOVED playing with this deer in their "yard"!

Matthew, Mr. Social, was happy to give hugs...

... and high fives!

Evelyn has always been shy around Troy. "You and me, we'll be friends someday, you just wait!" Troy always tells her!

Yep.. I miss them even more now. We plan on visiting them again soon!

( A Somewhat Silly but) Sentimental Goodbye

2011-10-18T12:19:00.000-07:00

When Evelyn was a newborn, we found that she seemed to be soothed by the Twila Paris lullaby CD we had playing in her room. Thus began our time of having Twila as the only thing ever playing on her CD player.

There were days when it was on 24/7, even as she got older. When we would leave the house, Doug or I would usually ask the other, "Is Twila off?". It became such a normal thing in our house that Evelyn started to call the CD player "Twila", too. The player and the music were synonymous in her eyes. For almost 3 years.

When Matthew was on his way 2 years ago and Evelyn moved rooms, there was no doubt in her mind that "Twila" was moving with her. We knew we wanted the CD for Matthew, so we slowly started weaning her off night time music. We bought a new CD player for Matthew's room and he, too, enjoyed that lullaby CD for over a year.

For the past 2 years she has listened to different types music on "Twila" during nap/quiet time. About 6 months ago the player started to show signs of wearing out. The lid wouldn't stay shut, the CD wouldn't play sometimes, etc. We knew its time was drawing close to an end.

We had a small power outage last week and when it came back on, "Twila" wouldn't work at all. We told Evelyn we would try to fix it but new she was most likely a goner.

Yesterday I told her that we couldn't fix "Twila". Bless her heart, she started to cry. Of course, I did, too. We will get her a new player, I told her. "But it won't be Twila, momma!" Oh, honey...

A chapter coming to an end for us. For her.

Kind of a silly chapter, but a big one for my sweet girl.

Thanks for the memories, Twila!!

Pumpkin Patch 2011

2011-10-16T19:56:00.000-07:00

Such a beautiful October day like today just screams "hey, let's go to the pumpkin patch!" So when the kids (okay, all of us) woke up from a nap we headed to our favorite place to procure those orange, carvable squash.. Baggenstos Farm.

I am really trying hard to NOT get frustrated that my beautiful and sweet children do NOT like to have their picture taken often and do not pose well at all. It is just where they are right now.. and I am learning to just go with it and get the best ones I can!

That being said.. here's a glimpse of our fun family outing!

Playing on the big tractor while we waited for our turn on the hay ride

My and my sweet pea.. she thinks self portraits are fun!

Matthew LOVES tractors, but he gets scared of their loud noise. Doug is trying to convince him that the tractor is not out to get him! :)

Snacking on the hay ride. Notice Matthew keeping an eye on the tractor pulling us.. he really is quite concerned!

Pumpkins, pumpkins everywhere!

Doug and Matthew having yet another talk about tractor safety!

But my oldest LOVES it here and ran and ran and ran! (Oh.. if you are thinking, hey there are a lot of green pumpkins... you're right. It was strange. Not the best crop this year.. but we did find some good ones!)

Off to find her treasure!

This was her first pick but she wanted to keep looking!

Our trip wouldn't be complete without romping thru the Christmas trees!

and yet again... poor buddy was really kinda freaked out by the noise!

She found THE ONE!!

And Matthew did too!

Needless to say we did NOT ride the hay ride back to the farm. We walked (not far really) and enjoyed that much better!

Enjoying some kettle corn.. and trying to keep the bees away! Yikes there were SO many!

This is him saying "noooooo".. as in, don't take my picture! *sigh*

We then took the kids to the kids hay maze and man, oh man they had a blast running and jumping on the hay bales!

Happy Boy!

My favorite picture of the day... catch me sissy!

My little ray of sunshine! :)

The best "group" shot of the day. Again.. *sigh*

Days like today I am reminded that it is not about getting the best photo, but enjoying the time making fun memories together.

Happy Fall, friends!

Happy Fall Photo Time!

2011-10-02T07:09:00.001-07:00

If you read my blog, you know that every year since Evelyn was almost 2, I have taken a Happy Fall picture at the beginning of October. The cute $5 Target Halloween shirts made an easy photo op.. most of the time.

Here's a look back over the years.

2008

2009

2010

This year there were two issues. One, Target didn't have any shirts that were appropriate (too scary, witchy, etc). I found one for Evelyn at Old Navy, but there was nothing for Matthew that I like anywhere, so I just got him a plain orange shirt. Second, well.. my kids are just monkeys!

See for yourself:

This is their latest "silly face".. cracks me up!

"Action" shot!

Matthew is laughing at Doug, Evelyn is looking at the cat!

I have SEVERAL like this....

Evelyn did pose nicely for me... she likes the camera!!

Finally we got something decent!

But this next one is just "them"... and my favorite of the bunch!

My silly kids being their silly selves!

I know I will be thankful when they sit and smile on command for me... but I will also cherish this time when they are so young and sweet.. and silly!!

Happy Fall, friends!

Family Vacation

2011-09-18T20:33:00.000-07:00

After 9 months of working WAY too much, Doug finally got some extended vacation time! It has been such a blessing to have him home this past week, and none of us are looking forward to him heading back to work tomorrow!!

The big thing we did was take our first ever "family of 4" vacation to the beach! I can't begin to tell you how much fun we had. God orchestrated an absolutely amazing time together (including practically perfect weather!), "unplugged" and having no plans but to play in the sand.

We stayed in Lincoln City and on our way there we decided to go through Tillamook and hit the Cheese Factory to look around and get lunch. It was a hit with both the kids!

Watching cheese!

My silly kids!

MOO!!

We stayed at the D Sands Motel in central Lincoln City. It was perfect for our family, with a separate bedroom for the kids, full kitchen and RIGHT on the ocean!

We're here!! (ok.. is it me or does she look really grown up in this picture? sigh..)

Matthew was excited too.. about the rocks! :)

Our room wasn't quite ready when we got there, so we walked around for a bit. There were TONS of seagulls swarming around this car that was throwing potato chip at them. The kids thought it was the funniest thing. Then the people in the car had to leave so they handed us the bag of chips. Then the birds started swarming US!! Both Evelyn and Matthew laughed and laughed. It was a great way to kill time and to have fun!

We got settled into our room and then hit the beach for just a little bit before dinner! Matthew has never been, so we were curious what his reaction would be.

He LOVED it from the moment he got his feet in the sand!

If I had one complaint about the trip, it was that neither of my kids slept great. I ended up sleeping with one or the other every night! The first night was rough, but we got thru is and awoke to lightly cloudy skies and kids who were ready to hit the sand!

My big boy enjoying breakfast with a big boy fork and plate. He is growing up so fast!!

Making her first sand castle of our trip!

The kids played so well together, too!

Matthew's face is priceless!

Sand wrestling!

We took breaks everyday for naps. For all of us. The fresh air and running around in the sand wore us out! SO nice to nap and not worry about what I am NOT getting done! :)

Post-nap snuggle time!

Evelyn had one request for our vacation: that we have a "picnic". So Friday after naps we headed south to Gleneden Beach to play and have a beach picnic. Needless to say, Ev was super excited.
The weather was glorious, too... bonus!

My girl rockin' the Tinkerbell sunglasses!

It was just a stunning afternoon on this beautiful beach!

Matthew and daddy solving the world's problems!

Evelyn proud of her sand work!

"Come back, birdie, come back...." He could have chased birds all day!

I've got one cute boy, don't I?

Daddy and Evelyn heading up to the picnic area

My stunning baby girl....

You know what phase of life you are in when you carry fire wood around in a diaper box! haha

Daddy showing Matthew how to start a good fire...

... and helping Evelyn roast her hot dog.

Hot dogs, beans, and chips... the perfect meal!

If my sunglasses weren't all crazy this would be a really cute photo! :)

We then ended our picnic with roasting marshmallows. The kids had never had one before. The verdict?

Matthew liked them, but they were too hard for him to handle so he didn't like that.

Ya think she liked 'em? :)

My tired by happy kids before bed.

This amazing sunset topped off our pretty much perfect day!

Saturday was a bit cloudy so we went swimming in the morning, hoping it would clear up. Evelyn and I had a super time splashing around. Matthew really was not into it. At all. Fussed the entire time and Doug pretty much sat on the steps of the pool with Matthew on his lap the whole time we were there. Oh, well.. at least one of the kids enjoyed it!

The rain then began to fall, so we decided to go into Taft and have lunch at Mo's. One of my favorite beach stops ever.

We had lots of leftovers and already had dinner plans so we went to the dock and fed the birds with our french fries and chicken strips. The kids had a blast, even in the rain!

She is always posing...

I'm gonna get you, birdie....

Time to head back.. the rain was coming down pretty good!

It was cold but not raining after naps so we went onto the beach. It didn't take long before all of us were too cold and had to go back to the room, but we had fun for a little while.

A boy with his diggers. Its a beautiful thing.I happen to think he is pretty amazing!

Evelyn burying my feet.

After we got back to the room the kids started playing hide and seek. Matthew really got into it! Even after we were done playing he would mysteriously disappear and go hide, waiting for us to find him! He cracks us up!

He WAS hiding his head in Doug's sweatshirt counting right before I took this!

Saturday night we got a pizza and had movie night. It was a great way to end our time at the beach!

We came home Sunday morning, grateful for such a special time together. I am looking forward to many more fun adventures for the "Morris 4"!

I Knew This Day Would Come

2011-09-10T12:22:00.001-07:00

This morning, during breakfast, Evelyn happened to notice something in the newspaper I was reading.

A picture of the Tribute Towers in New York. Next to it was a picture of a the second plane going into the World Trade Center with a huge fireball. 10 years ago tomorrow.

"That's a pretty tall building, momma!", she said about the new tower.

"Yes, isn't it pretty?", I asked, knowing exactly what the next question out of her mouth would be. My daughter is smart. She is observant. She doesn't miss much.

E:"Mommy.. why did that plane crash into that other building?"

I knew I couldn't just make up something. She is still only 4 and I didn't want to go into too much detail, but I am not going to lie to her, either.

Doug is gone for the morning, helping friends move. He's so much better at this kinda thing than me. Drat! It's all me. Here we go..... (silently praying as I begin. Lord, help me!)

"Well, sweetie, some bad men flew that plane into that building and the building fell down. It was a very bad thing to do and it was a very sad time. The pretty new building is to honor and remember what happened." (Of course, in true Stephanie fashion, I start to cry while I am talking to her!)

E: "Oh. That is not good!"

"It was a very bad thing that happened. But do you remember the verse you learned at VBS?" (it just finished last week)

E: "Yes.".. and she recites Romans 8:28, "For we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, those who are called according to His purpose." (NIV)

"Yes. God took the bad stuff, the plane crash and the building falling, turned it into good stuff. People of the United States became stronger and started to love each other better. We fought back against those bad people and won."

"Another good thing that happened was that I got to spend time with aunt Michelle. She had taken a plane to visit aunt Carolyn, but she got really sick and needed to go home. No planes could fly after this (pointing to the plane-into-tower photo) so daddy and I drove up to Aunt Carolyn's and drove her, Uncle Jim, and baby Curtis home. We got to stay at their house and help Aunt Michelle get better!"

(I didn't go into the fact that my sister was sick from the side effects of treatment of her salivary gland cancer, a battle she fought while pregnant with my miracle niece Abby! She certainly didn't need to know that!)

*long pause as she is looking at the pictures again*

E: "I bet God doesn't love those bad guys."

Oh. Boy.

"God loves all of us, Evelyn. Even those bad men. It is our choice to love Him back and ask Jesus into our hearts, like you did earlier this year! With Jesus in our hearts, we can ask Him to help us do the right thing and help us be good people."

E:"And not do bad things."

"Exactly!"

Just then Matthew walked into the kitchen, smelling like he had just filled his pants. Not only had he filled his pants, but it was climbing up his back. Seriously.. the biggest poo he has had since he was an infant. Evelyn thought it was hilarious and we immediately headed to his room to take care of the situation.

The September 11th conversation was now over and we had moved on. Thanks, Mr. Dude for filling your pants at the PERFECT time!

I am curious how much she will remember about our conversation.

I pray I didn't create fear in her or make her question her God.

I pray I did okay.

Wow.. that was tough.

Never Forget....

Green Thumb, Burgerville Style

2011-09-09T06:15:00.001-07:00

I am not known for my horticultural abilities. Even tho I really enjoy taking care of my BFF's garden when she is out of town (and have even nursed a plant or two back to health!), I have a hard time keeping things alive at my own place. Sounds crazy, but its true. That's why I don't have any living plants in my house. They would surely die.

In May..yes, May... we went to Burgerville for lunch. In the kids meal the "toy" was.. get this.. a tomato plant!! The package of seeds came with a small plastic pot to start them growing and a little book on healthy eating. What a great idea!! Evelyn was SO excited to go home and plant it and have tomatoes "just like Jody!" (my BFF).

I got nervous. Like I said, I kill plants. I didn't want to kill Evelyn's sweet little heart, too!!

We got home and planted them and put them on the window sill in the kitchen, where I would see it every day and hopefully remember to water it. Thankfully I did, and the window sill acted like a little greenhouse. Low and behold, in few weeks, we had little sprouts!! Evelyn was overjoyed... but not as much as me! Phew!!

That little plant grew and grew, and I did my best (with help from Ev and Doug) to water it and care for it. We repotted it when it got bigger and moved it outside. We had to nurse it back to health a few times, but it kept chugging' along and growing. Evelyn enjoyed watching it get bigger.

And, finally, last month, we. Got. Tomatoes. A total of 12 of them!! Those little green balls were a beautiful sight to this momma's eyes, for sure!!

I didn't kill it. And they are the best tomatoes I have ever tasted! :)

Pink Bunnies are NOT for Boys!

2011-09-06T20:38:00.000-07:00

When Evelyn was 2, we thought it was time to buy her a trike and have her start the road to bike riding excellence. Because I am a nurse, and a safety nazi, we of course got her a helmet. A cute pink one with bunnies on it.

Our rule is that if you are on a bike (or trike, or scooter) you have a helmet on. No helmet, no riding. Period.

If you know my daughter, you know that from birth she has NOT liked hats. Still doesn't. The bike helmet was no exception. You can imagine how often the trike was ridden. (That would be hardly. at. all.)

Therefore, I think the photo below is one of 5 pictures I have of her in the pink bunny helmet. 3 of those are blurry.

Look how little she is!!

Thankfully, although she still isn't a fan of wearing a helmet, she loves her "big girl" princess bike that she got last year and is riding well. With a helmet on at all times, of course. Cuz I am a safety nazi.

Fast forward to Matthew. My on-the-go-all-the-time guy. He has been hopping on and off of the trike (that ironically Evelyn still calls "hers". Go figure!) since he was 18 months old and wants to ride. We hadn't gotten him a helmet.. we didn't know when he was gonna start getting interested in it. We did have the pink bunny one, tho. Doug (somewhat jokingly) protested at first, saying he didn't want Matthew to be permanently emotionally damaged by wearing a girly helmet. Better his ego damaged than his brain, however... so we were going to let him wear it until we found him a more "manly"one.

And, like his sister, he completely protested the helmet. Completely. But, unlike Evelyn, he can ride the trike well and we want to encourage that! We needed to decided what to do, and I admit that we let him ride helmet-free for a while (I know. The horror!). It wasn't many times, tho. I swear!

We have been looking at helmets for him but really don't want to spend a bunch on one he will outgrow in a year. Then my amazingly smart husband said he could just paint the pink one. He had a can of blue rattle can paint. He prepped the helmet very carefully and painted it. And it. Looks. Fantastic.

And wouldn't ya know, the boy child LOVES it, too, and wore it proudly for most of the evening. At bedtime he kept patting his head and telling us, with his "words", how much he likes it.

Apparently the pink bunnies were NOT okay with my sweet boy! Good call, son. Good call.

My blue helmeted big boy:

My husband rocks. My son is adorable. And this crazy safety nazi nurse momma is happy tonight.

A Great Day

2011-09-03T20:27:00.000-07:00

Doug and I both admit we need to get away more with the kids. Not big vacations, but just day trips to places around this beautiful part of the country where we call home. Due to this and that we just don't do it, and its a shame. After today, we made a commitment to change that!

We decided to head to the gorge and to Multnomah Falls. We knew Matthew would need to nap so we went early hoping to eat lunch somewhere near there and have him nap on the way home. It was the perfect plan, and it was the perfect day!!

We got there and it was SO windy. Evelyn wasn't a huge fan. I am glad Doug encouraged me to bring jackets for the kids.. they both used them!

So pretty!

"Can we dive off the top and into the lake, mom?" Um.. no.! Crazy girl! She thought the falls were the coolest and prettiest thing ever!

Matthew just wanted to climb the fence. Lovely.

My little hiker. He walked the entire way to the first big bride. About 1/4 mile.. that's a lot for his little legs!

My sweet family at the first bridge.

Me and my girl. Her and I were hiking buddies.

Matthew could have stayed at the bridge all day. Of course, he really wanted to lean over between the openings in the bridge and look at the water. Yeah.. I am glad Doug was his hiking buddy and not me. I just didn't watch.. and prayed he would be okay! ;)

There's a little cave up from the bridge that Evelyn LOVED. She crawled around in it and just laughed and laughed.

This is where my boy spent the rest of the hike!

Evelyn REALLY wanted to go all the way to the top. I knew she didn't realize just how far it was, but I was proud of her determination and excitement. We decided to walk on until she got tired, which wasn't until the 3rd switchback after the bridge. Pretty good for her! We headed back down and were almost to the bottom and kersplat! She tripped and fell in front of me, then I tripped and fell over her. Not the best way to end our fun trek at all. We both were scrapped up (me more than her, thankfully) and she was pretty upset, but we got thru it and made it back to the car.

We headed to Cascade Locks and ate at the Char Burger. Such a cool place! The kids loved looking out at the river from their seats.

No high chair for him today.. he wanted to sit in the booth like sissy and look at the "wa wa"! :)

They both enjoyed the cool old machinery outside the restaurant.

Evelyn and I are reading the "Little House" series. We told her that this wagon was probably similar to the one the Ingalls' had. She thought that was the coolest!!

Heading home... notice Matthew peeking? :)

Bad forest fires burning up near Mt. Hood made for a pretty, yet sad sky.

He was asleep in moments!!

As was she!

We truly had a super day!

The Sandbox

2011-08-21T06:24:00.000-07:00

My son has an innate need to dig. He lives for it, truly! After weeks of him digging in (and throwing) rocks and bark in our backyard, Doug knew it was time to make a sandbox for him and Evelyn to play in. A place where our boy could dig to his heart's content.

My husband doesn't do anything half way. He's all in, and does things thoroughly and well. The sand box was no exception. It turned out SO good, better than any store bought one around. He is so talented. Me and my kids are blessed. Beyond measure!

He added those little benches, which also help hold the cover on, which he made slightly domed so rain won't pool on it. The box also is made of nice solid wood, stained very nicely. The lid is painted heavily and fits tight so critters don't use it for an outhouse! Yes, he is thorough!

We splurged and got real beach sand (way more money), but it really is so nice and soft for them!

They LOVE it!

I found this SPF 50 umbrella on clearance. It punched in and out of the rocks with ease and folds up, too. Perfect to keep them out of the sun while enjoying the sand!

Matthew wanted all of his diggers in there.. we let him have 2! :)

Get this girl to the beach.. she loves digging in the sand and burying her feet!

Just one more reason to love and appreciate my husband and his talents....

I'm Growing... part 2

2011-08-20T20:51:00.000-07:00

When I found out I was having a boy things like this came to mind:

"I don't know about dinosaurs!"

"I don't know about trains or heavy equipment!"

"I don't like bugs"

"I'll have to let him fall down!"

" I'll have to let him get dirty!"

Let's focus on the last one for this post. Because really, what happened Thursday was pretty epic for me. Those of you who know me will probably laugh at the pictures that follow, knowing full well how this must have made me cringe.

Doug is building a sand box for the kids. He is building it into the shop's back driveway. Needless to say, he had to dig out rocks and dirt to make a place for it. He made a big pile, thinking the kids (namely Matthew) would love to play in it.

Thursday was hot (yay) and the kids wanted the sprinkler on. I got them sunscreened up and out we went. They both went into the sprinkler for a bit then Matthew (who also has a super snotty nose from a lingering cold) decided he wanted to dig. Then go in the water. Then dig some more. Nothing like sun screen and water mixed with dirt to make paste. Dirt paste, that is. I thought about stopping him. But I took a deep breath... and let him just go for it!

5 minutes in and his legs are covered!

Showing me he has dirt in his boo boo. He survived!

Snot > Dirt here.. but that will soon change!

Had to get a couple of my Evelyn in, too.. she stayed fairly clean..heehee!

Dirt beard!

He really did have it everywhere!

Even I am proud of me for letting him get this filthy!

I love this... "I am done!" To be honest, he just wanted his hands wiped off so he could hold his cup easier!

He was SO dirty. Caked on dirt. From head to toe. I am SO thankful Doug came home from work early (he wasn't feeling super great.. poor guy!). He hung out with Evelyn, who wasn't dirty and didn't want to come in yet, and I did my best to get Matthew into the tub without tracking/dropping dirt thru the house! Two baths later and he was clean. Phew!

To be honest, as much as I cringed when this all started, it was so much fun just to sit and watch my kids play and let them play, dirty or not. They had so much fun. I did, too.

And ya know.. dirt does wash off pretty well!!

I'm growing.. still!

(for my first "I'm Growing" post, click here)

Birthday Day!

2011-08-13T20:58:00.000-07:00

Saturday was Doug's birthday. Woohoo!! Per usual, we had a big family BBQ in our backyard and had a lovely day celebrating my husband (as well as other summer birthdays).

Breakfast cinnamon rolls... of course!

Both the kids LOVE their daddy.. and love birthdays! Poor Matthew is sick... and not in the best mood, as you can see!

Good friend Erik stopped by with coffee and he and Doug had a nice time chatting.

Grandpa Doug and Grandma eating lunch with the kids.. Evelyn was SO excited to see them!

Doug's brother, aunt and sis relaxing over good food!

Um... related? Yup!

The "older cousins" played with Matthew in the rocks. He LOVED hanging out with them, and they were very sweet to him!

Always performing!

I made homemade strawberry ice cream for the party. My nephews decided they would have a contest to see who could hold onto the super cold container the longest. It was pretty funny!

.. and they're off!

lots of pain!

Mitchell was the first out!

Ben and Zach battled to a tie!

...so they ended it a different way: cold hands to the face!

SO yummy!!

Sweet Mitchell!

Enjoying every bite.. all by himself!

Angel food cake fun!

Lots of good times had by all!

He did it again. Click here to and scroll down a bit to know the story!

Gregory showing his tree climbing skills!

An attempt at a family photo....

The best we got!

Doug got lots of thoughtful gifts, but I think I scored the best gift! He LOVES the movie "A Christmas Story". I found this "Major Award" night light and HAD to get it for him. He, as you can see, thought it was the coolest!

A fun birthday for my favorite guy, indeed!!

Picnic

2011-08-06T20:29:00.000-07:00

Doug's company picnic was today at Blue Lake Park. This was by far the funnest time we have had at this event in a LONG time. The kids are old enough to do most of the kids activities there which made it so fun. That plus seeing and catching up with people that I usually (and sadly) only see at the picnic every year (yes, Ellen.. that means YOU! heehee).

Matthew really got into the food. He loves to eat by himself now and is pretty good with silverware. He also makes a mess. The napkin "bib" helped some.. but I am glad I had baby wipes with me!!

Evelyn thought the face painting "tickled a lot" but she LOVED her flower!

She could have gone on this bouncy slide the entire time we were there! Matthew was too little for this, but Doug was super daddy and took him into the "bouncy house" that they also had. It was too dark to take pictures of that, but be assured that he LOVED it!

One of the features at the picnic was a rock wall. Evelyn spotted it when we first got there. She said she wanted to try it, so we asked if she was big enough. Thankfully, she was by a whisker!

Daddy (a former climber himself) giving her a pep talk!

Strapping in and helmeted up!

She was scared at first, but quickly got the hang of it and did SO great!

She went way higher than this, but I think I was to nervous too take pictures! :)

Almost down (from her SECOND trip.. she did it twice!)!

Happy climber!! Time to sign her up for classes I think!

Matthew found sticks (and he LOVES sticks) ... and was entertained for a long while!

There was a old fashioned popcorn machine... both the kids enjoyed that as well as the other desserts that were there!

Evelyn also went in the "big kid" bouncy house, as she called it.

She was pretty proud of herself!

Our friends the Barley's (Dean works with Doug.. they have shared a cube wall for years!) were playing miniature golf so we went to join them. My kids haven't ever done it before.. as you will see!

Well, sweetie.. that's one way to do it.

"Hey.. its a 4.. just like me!"

Matthew... well.. he just didn't have a clue! But he was cute!

Heading home after a long day.. his car seat sits behind the driver seat, so I don't get to look at him a lot since I am usually driving. He would just grin at me every time I looked back at him from the passenger seat. I love him!

Evelyn wearing the gloves we got as a gift.. she wore them the whole way home (which, due to traffic.. was LONG time!)!

Tired sweetness!

Both the kids were SO tired when we got home. They were both in bed a little after 7 and I expect them to sleep very, very well!!

A very fun day indeed!

Love

2011-08-03T20:15:00.000-07:00

My aunt Bobbie posted this picture of her and my dad on facebook today. I had not seen it before. My sister said it best when she said it took her breath away when she saw it.

His baby sister was super special to him. You can see that so clearly in this picture.

Just this morning I was thinking about how there was such love in my dad for his family.
Unconditional love.
Fierce love.

Then I saw this picture.

Man.. I miss him. So much.

Every day!

Water Monster...

2011-08-02T06:16:00.000-07:00

... is the name I was given yesterday by Evelyn and her friend Juliet as they played in the sprinkler. I decided to play with them some and would come down, grab one of them and run them through. I was fully clothed, mind you, but it seemed like a fun thing to do. They thought it was hilarious and fun. Here's some pics of our afternoon.

He was thirsty apparently!

The sun must really dehydrate this kid!

Really.. I do give him water in a cup... I swear!

I got some time with this little man, too... he even smiled for me and his mommy!

Lovin' that summer is finally here!

What We've Been Doin'

2011-07-31T20:25:00.000-07:00

We've been busy doing this and that lately. Seems like blogging time, even in the evening, doesn't come easily!!

*We've been on walks.. I am thankful we live around lots of walking paths and schools with big grassy fields!

Who says you can't go for a walk in a tutu?

She was so excited to find 3 feathers on one of our walks

Looking for airplanes on our walk. The kids is obsessed with them.. he hears the slightest sound of a plane engine and his head is looking up until he finds it!

*We've been in trouble... well, one of us, anyway!

Matthew has been showing his onery side lately. Throwing, hitting.. toddler/boy stuff. Stuff that Evelyn really didn't do much of. We say "no" WAY more with him it seems. New learning curve for both Doug and I for sure!

But its SO hard to get mad at this sweet face!! He knows it too! (This was taken right after he threw his raisins and cheerios all over the floor. Ugh..)

*We've enjoyed time at Grandma's

My nephew turned 5 and we had a party at my mom's. I didn't get many pictures but we had a fun time!

Cooling off by playing in the water!

The cousins gathered around the water bucket!

My pretty girl!

*We've purchased/installed a new furnace and heat pump

Our 20+ year old furnace has been on the fritz for the last 3 years. We (ok.. Doug and the nice furnace repair man) have milked it along so we could save money to get a new one. We got a heat pump, too.. so now we have a cool house for the summer. It has been at least 20+ years since either of us lived in a house with air conditioning. It became our anniversary gift to each other.. in a way.. since we got it the week after our anniversary!

Isn't she a beauty? HaHa!

Yes.. it is THAT big! We plan to plant something on one side and build a fence on another to block the view of this monster.

*We've played.

Evelyn came up with this "princess wedding veil" all by herself. She was so proud!! She LOVES to play anything pretend and anything princess or wedding or mommy/baby. She has the best imagination, too. Love it!

Daddy took the kids to a car show at a church down the street from us. They had a super time. Matthew's favorite sound to make is the "hot rod" sound.. and he can do it well, too! Like father, like son!

*We got new towels!

The above picture is of one of the towels we registered for when we married. These great towels Meier and Frank have stood the test of time and have worn well. They are tired, tattered and ready to be replaced. Doug got a bonus at work, so he got a new drill, I got towels. Fair enough!

Above are our new ones.. a pretty dark gray (looks green in this pic, tho) and an off white. They were on a smokin' deal.. saved almost $250 off the regular price of all I got. Crazy. AND I learned a ton about towel care. Did you know that you should NOT dry your towels with a fabric softener sheet like Bounce? They actually LOSE softness and absorbency when you do. Who knew?

That's about all I 've got time for... happy day, y'all!!

A Walk Around the Block

2011-07-17T20:16:00.000-07:00

With Matthew still not feeling well and with the pouring rain that fell today (don't even get me started...), we laid low and had a lazy day. The sun came out during dinner and Matthew actually ate something which gave him a little more energy (he hasn't eaten hardly a thing since Friday morning). We felt like a (small) walk would maybe do all of us good after being inside all day. Both the kids were so excited, although all it takes is saying the word "outside" and Matthew is at the door pounding on it, ready to go.. whether he is sick or not! Around the block we went!

Matthew:

Evie Joy:

My Three Loves

Ten Years...

2011-07-16T19:58:00.001-07:00

July 14, 2001, I became Mrs. Doug Morris. The best day of my life. Hands down. I could do a whole blog series on my wedding preparations and wedding day (don't hold your breath, tho..heehee). It was simply a dream come true to be marrying such a wonderful man and having it be such a perfect day.

July 14th, 2011. Our TEN year anniversary. Man.. how did THAT happen? We were excited to celebrate this special day.. and turned it into an (almost) 3 day affair!

Our anniversary was on Thursday. Doug took the day off (as well as Friday). My mom and her husband graciously offered to watch the kids so we could go to dinner.

We look happy, but a lot older and more tired in this picture than the one above, don't we? :)

Both of us lived in Multnomah Village while we were dating. This was one of our favorite restaurants that we certainly kept frequenting after moving out of the area. We haven't been there in years, so we decided to head back. Yay!

We had an amazing meal and super yummy margaritas (we each had two... they were that good!) It was SO nice to just sit and chat (we haven't really been on a date since Matthew was born) and be together. Love, love, love spending one on one time with my husband!

Matthew did very well while we were out, much to our delight. We are hoping to be able to do more date nights if he keeps this up! Thanks, mom and Doug.. it meant the world to us that you took such good care of them!

THEN.... Friday, we left town. Did you read that?.. WE LEFT TOWN!! Without our children!

Okay.. pick yourself off the floor and keep reading...heehee!

My BFF Jody offered to watch the kids so we could get away for the weekend. While I was ready to get away (really, I was), I wasn't quite ready for the entire weekend. So we decided to go away for two full days, staying over one night.

We decided on a "Wine Enthusiast's" package thru the historic Columbia Gorge Hotel in Hood River. The hotel has reopened this past year and we were excited to go visit and go taste some good wine!

Ready to go!!

Okay.. yes. I did cry when I left. A lot. But I really tried to be strong, especially for the kids. Evelyn was excited to spend time with Jody, but Matthew is still dealing with horrible "I only want to be with mommy" syndrome. Jody is the one I knew he would do the best with overnight. He also had been super cranky. He is getting his back molars so I figured the low fever and crankiness he had Friday morning was that. Jody wasn't worried. So we headed out. It was still hard to leave. Once we got going, tho.. I was really excited!

We arrived in Hood River to find lots of sunshine and just a little wind. It was beautiful. At the hotel we were greeted warmly by Donna at the front dest, who wished us a Happy Anniversary and then told us she had complimentary upgraded our room to a river/waterfall view room. WOW!

Look! We're on the reader board!!

Our quaint and lovely room.. so pretty!

A bottle of wine with commemorative glasses were waiting for us in our room as well!

We got checked in and then headed off to taste some wine! We had 5 wineries with free tastings available to us. The Hood River area is full of wineries that were new to both of us. We hit a tasting room (The Pines... highly recommended!) and then went to Mt. Hood Winery, which was out in the beautiful countryside.

After visiting those places, we were a bit tipsy and super hungry! We spent some time relaxing outside at the winery just talking and enjoying the views and the sunshine. We don't relax much these days.. it was so nice! We decided to change our dinner reservation to a bit earlier time and headed back to the hotel. We would do more tasting Saturday.

We got back to our room to find this:

A bottle of champagne from Doug's boss with a thoughtful note. We were so spoiled!

Our package came with a credit toward dinner at the hotels fancy restaurant, Simon's. I would have taken more pictures, but it just didn't seem right in such a nice place! We had an amazing meal.. I mean AMAZING... sitting looking out over the gorge. Our waiter Todd was nice, funny, and attentive.

After dinner, Todd and Laurel (the hostess) brought this to our table:

So.. when we got married, I really wanted lemon poppy seed cake. It was way more money, so we just got one small tier of it. Just for me. Well.. I never got a piece of it... I still am upset about that..heehee! This little cake was.. you guessed it.. lemon poppy seed! Fitting.. and delicious!

After dinner we spent time just walking around the hotel's beautiful grounds. So lovely, so peaceful!

He LOVES having pictures taken, can you tell? :)

There weren't a lot of people around, so as you can see, a lot of "self pics" were taken!

We had planned on getting up Saturday, go to breakfast, then explore Hood River proper a bit before hitting another winery or two and then heading home. Sadly, Matthew had other plans for us!

His fever kept getting higher while we were gone and he was SO sad every time we called. He was just not feeling well. Jody was managing just fine (she is awesome) but we felt like we needed to get home to our sweet boy! So when he wasn't any better in the morning, we just headed home. Both of them were glad to see us.. and we were glad to see them, too!

Wow.. that was a long post! What a great way to celebrate 10 years with my amazing husband! Here's to many many more great years ahead!

Jesus Calling

2011-07-13T20:25:00.001-07:00

Today I was reading Matthew a book and Evelyn comes running up to me with her play (princess) Ariel cell phone and says, "mom, its for you!".

Me: "I am reading a book to your brother right now, sweetie.. you are interrupting. I can't take a call right now."

Evelyn: "But Moooommmmm... its JESUS!!!"

*thinking quickly on how to handle this.. still don't know if I did the right thing...

Me: "Well, Jesus is the most important, so I will take the call. Hello, Jesus? Yes.. uh huh... right. Well, I know I told you this already this morning, but I just wanted to say thank you again for dying on the cross. That is the most amazing gift. (pause) Oh, sure... she is right here. Evelyn.. He wants to talk to you."

Evelyn then has a lengthy conversation with the Big Guy.. I couldn't understand all of it. Towards the end she exclaimed:

"Really? Oh. My. Stars. (yes, she sounded just like you are probably imagining it..sigh) Ok.. I'll be waiting... "

She gets off the phone and sighs deeply. I ask her what's wrong.

"He says he might not come back for one thousand years. That's a LONG time for me to wait!"

I gave her a hug and told her that we just need to enjoy the life that Jesus gave us and and do what He asks us to do here on earth while we are waiting for Him. And that the Bible says he is coming SOON!

She seemed fine with that answer. Then she ran off to play in her room.

We really don't know the hour.. but she does have a point. 1000 years is a long time! :)

And wouldn't it be cool if Jesus really DID have a cell phone?

The Picture on the Fridge

2011-07-07T19:55:00.000-07:00

August 13th, 2010. 11 months ago. Doug's 40th Birthday. If you remember, I gave him a pretty awesome gift that he really enjoys. However, I also gave him another gift.

And it all started with a picture.

Many of you that know me and/or read my blog know that my weight has weighed on me for some time (pun somewhat intended..heehee). I wore a size 8 when I got married and was 120 pounds. Last summer I was well over 200 pounds, 225-230 I think. That's almost 100 pounds gained since my wedding day. I was tired. In so many ways.

August 2010

As I was looking for a photo of Doug for his birthday party invites, I came across this picture of my from one of my bridal showers. Its one of Doug's favorites of me. I started to cry.

June 2001
(sorry for the bad scan... click to enlarge and see it better!).

I knew I could lose weight if I set me mind to it. I wanted to do it. For me. For my husband. So it became one of his birthday gifts last year. In his card, I told him I was committed to getting healthy and that I was going to do my best to get down to my wedding weight by our 10th anniversary (which is next week, the 14th).

I put that picture of me in a photo holder magnet on the fridge where I could see it and know what I was aiming for. I got started the day after Doug's birthday.

New habits began. No "program" or drinks or pills, just me getting healthy. Slow and steady. My elliptical machine became my nighttime buddy (eventually changing to mornings once I stopped nursing Matthew and he slept later). I ate applesauce when I wanted chocolate, but never "gave up" sweets. That never worked for me in the past, so I did have the occasional cookies or ice cream, just not every day like I used to. I worked on portion control... something I think made the most difference. Nursing Matthew certainly jumped started my weight loss and got me motivated to keep at it.

Sometimes it was easy and fun, other times no so much. Working out in the evening made for less time with Doug and staying up late to get laundry, etc done. Getting up early, well, is just early. Eating salad instead of a burger got easier as it went along, but sometimes passing up yummy food made me sad. But I would think of or see that picture of me on the refrigerator and was reminded of my goal. It has helped me to make wiser choices. Many times!

Up until last month I have continued to steadily take weight off. With Doug traveling most of June, things were just off. I was off. And I am an emotional eater... who was OUT of applesauce! :) I am struggling with the fact that I have put on a couple of pounds, but I also know I can get it off and more, and I am already on the road to do that. I know I can.

So.. for the past 11 months or so I have been working toward a goal. A gift, actually. I haven't stepped on a scale much since last August. I know now that its not so much about the numbers anymore. But.. if you must know:

I have lost about 70 pounds.
I have more confidence than I have had in a LONG time!
I have more energy to do more fun things with my family.
My husband thinks I look great and tells me so often.

And now....I am now wearing SIZE 10!

Thank you, Jesus. I know you love me for who I am no matter what I weight, but I also know you blessed this endeavor and gave me the strength to carry on.

Here's to being healthy!

Two Things

2011-07-07T13:20:00.001-07:00

There are two things I am pretty adamant that my kids learn how to do and do well.

One is swimming. I want my kids to be confident and safe swimmers. They don't have to be a Michael Phelps, but I want them to hold their own in water. As my post from last week talked about, Evelyn loves swimming and is doing well in lessons, which I am thankful for. Matthew and I will start our Mommy/Baby class next month.

The other thing is riding a bike. I don't know why... but I just want my kids to learn how at an early age and be confident on their bikes. I learned pretty early and have SO many fond memories of riding around my neighborhood and going on family bike rides. Its just something I want for my kids to do, too!

Evelyn hasn't been super interested in this activity. She never got on one of those scooter things when she was a little tyke. We got her a trike when she was two, thinking it was time to get her going. She rode it probably less than 10 times. She just wasn't into it. So.. when she started talking about wanting a princess "big girl" bike for Christmas last year, I was leary about doing it. But we did it, in hopes that maybe this would be the year she would want to/learn how to ride.

It has been a slow go.. she has gotten on it but has had trouble pedaling. She just wasn't strong enough. Because of this, she wasn't wanting to try much. On Monday (the 4th) she wasn't feeling well in the morning so we decided to cancel our plans for that night (insert sad face.. sorry, Ruzzi's!). Of course, she took a long nap and woke up feeling "great"! I decided to make the most of the sunshine and encouraged her to get on her bike and try. She reluctantly agreed. It took a bit, but once she figured out how to pedal the right way, she was OFF!

Go Evelyn Go!

She still needs a push on the uphills, but she is doing great! She is excited about "practicing" whenever she can and loves to go "fast like Curtis and Abby" (my niece and nephew, who brought their bikes when they visited last month and rode around the neighborhood)! Since she still hasn't figured out the whole "braking" thing and needs to work on paying attention to where she is going... we are keeping her "fast" to a "not too slow"... if you know what I mean!

So proud of my girl!

Drumsticks

2011-07-02T21:10:00.000-07:00

Tonight we went to my mom's for a pre 4th of July get together with my family. It was a crazy and fun night. The cousin's had the most fun of all.

The three big kids all colored/sticker booked on the blanket while Grandpa Doug was grilling up dinner. By the time I got my camera, Cole and Regan had taken off to do something else. It was just my sweet girl.

I think she is pretty much the most beautiful girl ever created!!

My mom got the kids "Drumsticks" for dessert. I loved them as a kid, didn't you? This was my kids' first experience with them. Let's just say they were a HIT! Thanks, mom!

Waiting patiently for their treats!

Regan is excited. Mom put "napkin bibs" on all of them, too. Brilliant!

First bite!

Daddy offering assistance.

Um.. thanks, daddy, but I'm good to go! :)

Ice cream/chocolate bliss!

Doug even opted for one instead of strawberries and pound cake!

Sweet Cole

I think she liked it!

Matthew eats dessert like his daddy, slowly enjoying every bite. He got it pretty much everywhere!

Love this messy boy!

After dessert the kids just romped around in the yard and had a great time in the sunshine!

Cole and Evelyn decided to play hide and seek!

Counting...

Running to hide...

Hiding under aunt Louise's chair!

Ready or not, hear he comes! He found her pretty quick, too!

Thanks, mom and Doug, for a fun evening at your place. Thankful for family and memories made!!

It's True

2011-07-01T13:19:00.000-07:00

He's home. For a LONG time. I am overjoyed.

In January Doug's company announced it was moving it's corporate headquarters from Portland to Chicago. Thankfully Doug's job at the plant here was not going anywhere, but he was given a major role in this huge undertaking. He has done an AMAZING job with the project. He even got a promotion in the middle of it... no doubt because of the work he has been doing. I am so proud of him.

It didn't come without a price, however. Countless hours of extra work, increased stress, and travel have taken him away from us the past 6 months. For 2 weeks in May and for the past 4 weeks (well, 20 out of the last 25 days) he has been in Chicago finishing up his part of the project. He has worked 70+ hour weeks under pressure and not sleeping or eating well. I have held down the fort here, with kids who miss their dad terribly and who are both in challenging phases of their development.

For both Doug and I, it was hard. Brutal some days. Frustrating other days. Good days were peppered in between. I would be lying if I said we did fine. But we did it. Only by the grace of God. And by the love shown to us. We are so thankful for friends and family who have been praying for us and caring for us while he was away. From meals to phone calls, from emails of encouragement to a friend mowing and edging our lawn... our "village" rocks! (And it really does take a village, ya know!)

He came home last night with no plans to return to Chi-town for a while. We both shed tears. Happy tears. Exhausted tears.

We are excited to get reconnected as a family. I am excited to get more time with my husband.

Absence does make the heart grow fonder. I am so in love with my amazing husband, even more honored to be his wife.

It's true.

Swimming Lessons

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

Evelyn started swim lessons this week, her first lessons ever (other than the mommy/baby classes we took a few years back). I was curious how she would do and hoped she wouldn't be frightened or get too cold. Both were issues in our together class. I decided to leave Matthew with Jody for the first day of class so I could be more available. Just in case.

Well, she was so excited to go to the pool that first day and I had NO problem convincing her to go get in the water when the teacher called her name! She is LOVING lessons and teacher Blair says she is already ready for the next level of class.

So proud of my big girl!

Hoping to get pool time with her this summer to keep practicing! Excited to have her be a strong and safe swimmer!

Graduation Time!

2011-06-13T06:06:00.000-07:00

It's a tradition on my mom's side of the family to have a big party when one graduates from high school. I have such great memories of all my aunts and uncles and cousins coming down from Washington to come to my graduation. This year my cousin Brooke graduated.. she's my youngest cousin on my mom's side. (There are 10 of us total). We took a day trip up to Snohomish to celebrate my beautiful and talented cousin.

Once again, I struggled to get pictures. I did get a few and then stole some from my sister. Thanks Shell!!

Told you she was beautiful!! She is headed to WSU in the fall. That makes me feel really old!

The graduate with her momma (my amazing aunt Carolyn) and niece Sedona

Grandma Jean. This is my uncle Scott's mom. I heart her. More than words can say! That beautiful baby is Aurora, Scott's son Brandyn's newest bundle.

My cousin Hayley with Carolyn. Hayley will be a senior at Pepperdine in the fall. That makes me feel old, too!

As usual, there was lots of good food. Matthew loved his chicken "popcicle"!

So... my aunt Chris bought some hula hoops and had them in the backyard. To say they were a hit is a HUGE understatement! We spent most of our day in the backyard (another reason I don't have lots of pics from the rest of the party!)

Trying to figure it out...

Doug showing the kids how its done! I love this picture.. he cracks me up!

My beautiful niece Abby

Daddy loves his kids....

... very much!

Grandma, Evelyn and Audrey (my cousin Justin's little girl) watching the action.

I love that when Evelyn is with her cousins, she is completely herself. She doesn't try to impress and isn't shy around them. She has freedom just to be herself. The gift of family....

Her and Cole being silly!

They really are such good buddies!

Sweet Peyton. My cousin Justin's oldest. He and Evelyn have always had fun when they get together, and this time was no exception. Peyton has AMAZING hula hoop skills! He and Evelyn have become pen pals, too.. they send pictures and notes to each other in the mail. I love it!

Evelyn was so excited to see her aunt Michelle! Better yet, they are coming here to visit next week!! Boo Ya!!

SO very thankful for my family. Every day!

Sunday in Rickreall

2011-06-06T13:15:00.000-07:00

Every year for the past 14 years, Doug has helped out with sound reinforecment/emcee at his good friend John's swap meet down in Rickreall, Oregon (the Polk County Fairgrounds). It is a very tight knit group of friends and family who are involved, and it usually brings out lots of people for a great day. It is not uncommon for it to be raining on Swap Meet Sunday, but we DO get a sunny day sometimes, and this year was on of those years!

Doug usually goes on Saturday to set up/test with his dad helping, then stays with his parents (Dallas is a 10-15 minute drive to the fairgrounds) overnight. He and his dad then get up early (like 4am early) Sunday morning and go set up for the day.

The kids and I went to church and then headed down south to meet up with Doug and the Swap Meet crew.

Daddy time and snack time... apparently NOT picture time!

She loves Daddy's Swap Meet hat and wore it most of the day!

Daddy showing Matthew on of the many cool cars at the "Show and Shine"

We know the owner, so Matthew got to "test drive"!

Us and Doug's parents. They are one in a million!! We love them!

John and some of his family

John's mom Darlene. She is a peach! She runs the raffle station!

John's sister Jeanine and her husband Eric. Love these two!

The whole crew. A great group of people who I am blessed to know and love!

It was a fun Sunday, as it is every year. Looking forward to next year!

A Taste of Summer

2011-06-04T20:58:00.000-07:00

Yay!! Finally some hot weather for us rain weary Oregonians (and it really takes A LOT of rain to make us weary of it!)!

Evelyn really wanted to play in the sprinkler, so we got our suits on and went out. Matthew got in the sprinkler only once last summer and really seemed indifferent to it, so I was curious how he would do.

At first, he was fine. He got a a ball and was putting it in the sprinkler.

Then the tears started. I am not sure if it was just too cold or the fact that he was barefoot (I don't think he likes it... need to get him water shoes for sure!) but he did NOT want to get wet any more.. he just wanted to sit on my lap.

Evelyn, on the other hand, went crazy and had fun with it. She is like her daddy and loves to be barefoot in the grass.

Her cute Speedo suit was only $5 at Ross. Score!

My pretty girl....

I got shoes on Matthew and he still didn't go in the water, but he was MUCH happier and did other things... like play with the swing.

.. and play in the rocks!

Silly boy!!

BEST photo of the day! They both climbed in the wagon and I wanted to get a picture. Matthew wasn't cooperating and Evelyn as impatient. LOVE her face!!

SO glad to get some vitamin D today. Even more glad to have fun time with my sweet kids playing in it!!

Thank You Colleen.. 10 years later!

2011-06-04T20:41:00.000-07:00

Ok.. so that's not entirely true. I know I sent her a thank you card way back then, but didn't really understand how AWESOME this particular wedding gift was:

Our friend Colleen got this for us as a wedding gift, along with a sweet card saying how she saw it and thought of us and knew we would have fun with it. Sadly, it went into storage until we moved into this house and has been tucked away ever since. Both Doug and I love ice cream, but I guess just felt it was easier to just go get a half gallon at the store. We have talked about using it many times, but just didn't seem to do anything about it. Until today!!

It. Was. Time.

The gift reciept. From Meier & Frank! Still taped to the box. July 2001.

Coleen also got us this book to go with it. And I am SO glad. The recipe in the book that came with the machine is SO complicated. This book's basic recipe is SO easy. And really, can you go wrong with a B & J recipe?

$1.40 for a huge box of this at WinCO. Perfect!

The mix took, oh, 30 minutes to make (I made chocolate, and had to melt it and cool it.. that took the most time). Adding the ice and salt is a bit of a chore, but really didn't take too long, either. And off it went!

About and hour later.. ready!

Amazing chocolately goodness. Heaven on a spoon.

I'm not that picky about ice cream. But I honestly don't think I have had homemade ice cream many times.. cuz I had NO idea how good it was. Oh, my goodness!! Seriously, I may never buy a half gallon at the store again!! ;)

Evelyn also had fun in this process (she picked the flavor!) and LOVED the ice cream.

What a fun gift.. 10 years later! Ugh!

Thank you, Colleen!! We will use it often the next 10. I promise!!

He picked it...

2011-06-01T20:37:00.000-07:00

I have been SO blessed with friends and family giving me "hand-me-down" clothes for both my kids. Truly it has been such a huge gift in so many ways.

My younger sister, like me, has two kids. A boy and a girl. Cole is almost 5, Regan almost 3. What's fun is that I give her my girl clothes, and she gives me boy clothes. It's perfect!

Today they came over to play and she brought some clothes for me. All 3T and bigger. I set them by the couch in the living room.

Later on this evening while I was making dinner, Matthew went to the table and grabbed a cup that was full of water (leftover from snack with the cousins) and dumped it on his shirt and on the floor. His pants were fine, so I just took off the shirt, cleaned up the floor, and told him to go play until I got dinner in the oven and then I'd get a new shirt for him.

He took off to go play. Or so I thought. He instead went straight to the boxes of Cole's clothes and found a shirt to wear, then brought it to me. He was so excited. He thinks his cousin is pretty cool. There was NO way I was going to get one of his silly 'ol 2T shirts on him.. oh, no.. he was gonna wear the shirt he picked. Period.

A 5T shirt.

I couldn't say no.

Sad thing is, it wasn't that big. *sigh* (oh.. and I am not quite sure why Evelyn has her coat on in.. but she had it on all afternoon, silly girl!)

Love my sweet kids.. and the gift of hand-me-downs!

Ballerina Girl

2011-05-31T19:55:00.000-07:00

Evelyn had her last ballet class today. This is her second time taking this class.. her teacher encourages the young ones to take the beginner class more than once so they can get comfortable with the basics. I think it was a good idea, as Evelyn did really well this time around and I think improved a lot from the first set of classes she took.

She had a lot of fun this time around. First, because she LOVES ballet. Second, her friend Juilet took the class with her. It was fun to watch them together.

Since parents get to watch the first and last class only, my camera was in action today! Unfortunately between the lighting, my camera and my skills, my pics didn't turn out as well as I had hoped. *sigh*

Evelyn and Juilet excited for class to start!

They are so cute!

Teacher Valerie doing her magic.. she is really good with the girls.

This picture cracks me up... Evelyn is all caddywampus and her back is arched to get her kick high. Watching all the girls try to do their skills got many chuckles from all the parents. They looked so cute!

She couldn't do this last class.. this time she did it gracefully and looked good!

Love this face!!

Listening with a smile!

One of her favorite things to do.. the sache!

SO SO SO sad this one didn't turn out. My beautiful (and blurry) girl!

Evelyn really wants to continue with ballet. Looks like there may be lots more tutus and ballet shoes in our future!!

The BEST part of her day, however, is when her grandparents (who came up from Dallas to see her performance... LOVE them!) took her to McDonalds for lunch after class while I took my tired and cranky (teething) boy home to nap. She played in the play area with other girls from her class who were also there and had a BLAST! She was so tired from all the playing and no napping.. so we watched one of her favorite movies (Barbie as Island Princess) this afternoon just to take it easy.

Overall.. I'd say she had a pretty spectacular day!

My Big Girl

2011-05-28T12:23:00.000-07:00

Every year, we spend the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend doing grave tidying up/flower placing at Willamette National Cemetary (my dad's grave) and then head to Dallas to do the same with Doug's family at the cemetery there (where many of my mother-in-laws ancestors/family are buried). It is always fun time to get together with Doug family and do something worth while.

Unfortunately, par for the way the past 6 months has gone for us, we are sick. All of us except Evelyn.. as usual. She actual got this bug first, but it didn't last very long for her and other than an occasional cough, she is fine. Doug, Matthew and I, on the other hand, are tired, coughing a lot, and super congested. We just weren't up to a big event today. I knew Evelyn would be heartbroken as she really loves to hang with her cousins and loves to "clean the rocks" as she calls it (rocks are the headstones!).

However, Doug's aunt, who lives down the street, offered to take her down to Dallas with her. By herself. Without us. Crazy thought, but an idea. I wasn't sure if my shy girl would want to be away from us the WHOLE day. And to be honest, I wasn't sure if I wanted to be away from her the WHOLE day! (Yes, I have worse separation issues than she does and we rarely are away from her!)

We presented the idea to her at breakfast this morning and got an emphatic "YES!!". She was SO excited to get to go with Aunt Mary (who, I have to admit, is pretty cool!) and go to Grandma and Grandad's house BY HERSELF! She was giddy. I was crying. Sad tears. Proud tears.

"Mom, are you going to cry all day?" She asked. She knows me. Too well!

I pulled it together and got her ready to go. Mary came and off they went. Simple as that. She was all smiled. So was I. Until she was gone. I shed a few tears, prayed with Doug for her safety and that she would have fun, then was fine.

I just spoke to her. She is having a super time. I am sure there will be many stories shared when she gets home. I can't wait!

She's growing up. Bittersweet. I love her so very much!

Sneak Peek

2011-05-19T13:34:00.000-07:00

I was fortunate enough to get a FREE photo shoot with Colette last week. We went to Laurelhurst park and had a fun time with her. While all the photos won't be available for a couple more weeks, she gave me a few "teasers" to share. This is my favorite!

Can't wait to see more!

Award Night

2011-05-11T20:50:00.000-07:00

There has been a BIG countdown in our house this week.... a countdown to tonight. Evelyn's AWANA club's big Award Night. She has been just beside herself with excitement because.. get ready... both me and Matthew got to go to club with her!! Isn't that the sweetest?

The whole year, Doug, who is a leader with the grade school kids, is the one who takes her to club. I am home with Matthew. Until tonight. She was just giddy.

To make it better, we surprised her with not one, but BOTH sets of grandparents AND Jody attending as well. Man.. it was like Christmas for the kid! She was beside herself.

She has loved AWANA.. I am so glad she is involved with it. She is already talking about how many days until it starts again (that would be September!).

I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking....

Grandma and Grandpa Doug

Grandma and Grandad

Jody

Me and my girl... (yep... still no contacts.. hopefully tomorrow!)

Evelyn and her friend Heidi. They are in Sunday school together at our church as well as AWANA. Heidi is the sweetest thing. They are good buddies.

Proud Mom moment... *sigh*

All the "Cubbies" singing for us... so stinkin' cute!

All smiles!

Watching the puppet show very intently!

Getting her awards from her small group leader Maria.. she got her stuff and B-lined to the back of the room to show us! She was so proud... and we were, too!

Oh, how I wish I would have changed settings on my camera to make this picture work. Matthew was such a trooper the entire evening. He loves doing the "1,2,3.. Weeeee" game, so daddy and Jody obliged on the way to the car. Such a happy face.. blurry, but happy!

Evelyn was sad that AWANA was done for the year, but I know she will be equally excited if not more when it starts up again in the fall!!

A very fun night indeed!

Grilled Cheese Grill

2011-05-10T21:06:00.000-07:00

Today the kids and I headed to Laurelhurst Park to meet Colette for a photo shoot. It was such a perfect day for it.. good 'ol Farmer's Almanac predicted it to be nice today!

Anyways, Doug met us right at the end of the shoot and we surprised the kids (well, Evelyn really) with taking them to the Grilled Cheese Grill. Both of them got SO excited when they saw the double decker bus.. I mean squealing excited.. both of them! Pretty cute.

We sat on top.. of course!

Enjoying the view!

He pretty much stood up the entire time.. ate standing up, too. And we let him. 'Cuz sometimes you just gotta have some fun!

Self pic of me and my sweet girl! (My glasses are on because yours truly put a contact down the drain last week. Stellar... $100 down the drain.. literally!)

Evelyn really isn't a fan of grilled cheese, so she was a bit upset that there wasn't ANYTHING else on the menu! But she was so excited about the bus that she was a trooper and ate almost her whole sandwich!

Cups with no lids are cool.. and messy! Seconds after this he doused himself with milk. Super...

This boy LOVES his daddy!

And she apparently loves the bus! :)

How I love these three faces!

Since Doug starts a brutal 2 months of work next week to finish a huge project, I am even more thankful for fun family times like these!

Love well, friends....