Christmas Tree Hunt 2018

We have a tradition of getting our Christmas Tree the day after Thanksgiving. Of course, the forcast was for rain all day today, but we braved it anyway hoping we'd catch a break. No such luck, and we all got soaked.. but we had a super fun day and are glad to be already decorated for Christmas!

Annual "ready to go" shot!

It's pouring. That's all. 

Another annual shot... back of the truck getting boots on. 

We tried a new tree farm today, and we LOVE it! We've been looking for a new tree place for a couple of years and I'm so happy we found Loch Lolly!

Due to the weather, we tried to be quick in our hunt so we didn't spend a whole lot of time looking They have so many beautiful trees. We are excited to get more time here next year!

Evelyn decided to do some yoga while we were looking... haha!

We found it.. the perfect tree!

Doug is under there sawing. Also.. see how wet my hat is? Did I mention it was pouring?

Improvising a shelter...

Gettin' her baled up..

He loves it when I take his picture when he's driving... :) 

Pure silliness, this one!

We are absolutely soaked.. but we are still happy and having fun!

We got out tree and headed to Red Robin to get some warm drinks and lunch. 

She has the best laugh!

We got home and started decorating.

Silly girl....

Doug still needs to limb up the bottom, but she's a beaut, Clark! 

Bodie is very curious but has been keeping a safe distance and so far is being good. 

Christmastime is here!!

No School Fun

The kids had the day off from school today (teacher grading day) so we grabbed some friends and headed out for a morning adventure.

I love these faces and so thankful for such good friends for the kids. These guys were so silly on our drive, singling loudly, laughing and carrying on. It was a lively ride to say the least! 

We went to Orenco Woods Nature Preserve, a newish park in Hillboro thatwe hadn't been to. It certainly did not disappoint. Lots of things to play on (mostly natural, some playground type things tho). Lots of pretty landscape and beautiful trails. The kids had fun exploring and running around together. 

Silly faces...

Crazy tree climbers!

It was chilly outside, so I suggested we go grab some hot cocoa to warm up. The kids had a different idea.. and we ended up getting ice cream! Sillies!!

A super fun morning with super great kids!

"Best Day of My Life" - Matthew's first Duck Game

After my dad passed away in 2002, my sisters and I were committed to keeping his legacy alive. One way was to keep his Oregon Duck season football tickets. The seats are amazing, on the 50 yard line, 30 rows up from the Ducks' bench. Like I said, amazing. But they come with a cost. A big one. So we pretty much always sell our tickets in order to pay for them year after year. We have gone to a few games, but those are few and far between. Matthew, my football lover, has talked about going to a game for a while, but he graciously understands why we can't go every weekend. I have hoped to be able to take him one day, as I knew it would such an amazing experience for him. 

This year our ticket sales are down, and no one had purchased our tickets to yesterday's game against UCLA. So we decided to surprise Matthew and I took him to the game!!!

Heading out! We had a fun drive down. There were a couple of accidents that slowed traffic up but he was a champ and was patient as we headed south. 

Hopping on the shuttle to the stadium. One of the best decisions of the day was to ride the shuttle. 

He could hardly contain his excitement!

Big moment!! He is wearing my dad's favorite Duck hat that was passed onto him. It's old and too big for him, but there was NO way he was going to leave it at home. Oh how my dad would have loved him!

Lots of fun games to play in the Moshofsky center while we waited for the game to start. 

Heading to our seat!

We had this shirt made after dad died to either to wear or to put on his seat.It got lots of sweet comments and I got to share my dad's story with people. It was so fun!

The best view... from our seats! 

So much joy to watch him experience the day....

Another touchdown!! Matthew high fived everyone around us each time. 

"It never rains at Autzen Stadium"... said while I was getting rained on. Loved every minute of it tho!! :) 

The sunset was SO beautiful.. the photo doesn't do it justice at all. 

Matthew was looking foward to watching the Duck to push ups.. and he got see a lot of push ups!!

Ducks win!!!

The shuttle got us back to our car in record time and we made it home by 1030. The whole way home Matthew regaled me with all of his favorite moments from the day. As we were pulling into the driveway, he said, 

"Mom, this was the best day of my life. Thank you so much!"

Oh, son, you are so welcome. What a special, special day with you!!