It's Going Too Fast!

A bit frustrated here...we have been trying to upload photos since Christmas Day and keep getting the 'failed to open page' So sorry Portland kids! We put a few on facebook and we hope one day blogger will cooperate with us.

The holiday season is really going by fast. Wish is would slow down just a little. We are all enjoying our time together especially with Liam here. He sure keeps us laughing and shares a wonderful energy that only little children possess. We saw Avatar today with Jason & Paul and loved it. We are all anxiously awaiting the arrival of Jake & Lindsey's little baby and our New Years Eve Party. Did you all know it is going to be a 'once in a blue moon night' ? Pretty cool!

Enjoying December

I must say that I really do love the fact that it was just yesterday, the 7th, that we received our first Christmas card in the mail. It makes me very happy to know that everyone else is busy too and getting things done in the best way they know how. It's the years we get a dozen on the day after Thanksgiving that makes me feel like I just can't get my act together! This year we are in no rush to get the halls decked. We are taking it slow and enjoying the process. Friday night we put up the tree and covered her in sparkling lights. Saturday we admired her simplicity. We haven't had a real Christmas Tree for a very long time and it is a real treat! She is a Lodge Pole Pine from Idaho. (We support the little guys!) In the daylight you can see the beautiful pine cones covering her branches. Camber thought it would be great if we left her up in her nakedness all year long. She really is a sweet tree. Sunday night we watched a Christmas movie and strung popcorn - it's a family tradition - that silly, popcorn + cranberries. One year while we were living in Idaho and we had a very busy life with lots of little ones, I tried to save it so we could save some time the following year... the little mice found it to be a wonderful winter snack!

Mom's not really not sad, she must be concentrating...

A cute, messy stringer.

Lookin like a pro with that needle in her mouth.

Draping it on - glad to have Dad around for a minute on Sunday evening! We will most likely break family tradition this year and keep our traditional ornaments tucked safely away and only use gingerbread men and a few hand crafted elf people that we fell in love with in this months Martha Stewart magazine. It felt like breaking a cardinal sin, but only for a moment. I think giving our cats up for adoption has been a very freeing experience for us! They are now living in Missouri with a very loving lady and we do miss them - but not the cat hair!

They really were great little cats ~ it was just time.

On Sunday, Lindsey & Jake took our annual "family photo". If you want to call it that - "family photo". We have shrunk! When we were trying to think back if we actually had a pic of our entire family together - it would have been that one we took last December at Mark's parents 50th Wedding anniversary. Wow. Kinda sad, but it's the way life goes. Lindsey said, Mom - you just need to do you, Dad and the girls. that's your little family right now :) And we love this little family right now! What a simple life we are enjoying! In any event - the process of the family photo shoot was still pretty hysterical. I may have to post about all the out-takes or bloopers from every family photo shoot we have ever had some day. They really are hysterical and at the time may not have been to funny but over time become very endearing. You all must know what I mean. Every family has those photos and memories to look back on with fondness, at least I sure hope they do!

Happy Holidays!

*enjoy each and every moment*

it's going by way too fast!

(And one of these days we will contemplate

the annual Christmas Letter!)

And The Winner Is . . .

S P R I N G !

Congratulations!!

Her comment was:

Happy 100th Blog! You guys are so cool! Much love to your family! I will blog if it involves winning something, it's the Vegas in me baby!

She won the fashionable Santa Hat, $20 Movie Theater Gift Certificate,

Candy Canes, Lindor Truffles & Hot Chocolate! Enjoy!

A little bit about her reaction ... she was so thrilled and said it was perfect timing as she is right in the middle of preparing for finals. She was also anxious to know how many had entered - you see, she is taking a statistic class and found her win intriguing! :) When I delivered the gift basket to her I saw their beautiful nativity set on the table in her entry way. As I told her how much I loved it, she pointed out a special piece that I might not have noticed. When her 18 year old son was a little boy, he would place one of his little army men in a strategic place to guard baby Jesus. So now, each year the little fellow is packed away with the nativity and is there to keep the babe safe and sound.

Lindsey & Jake helped me and Lindsey was having so much fun watching Jake pull out the winner that she decided we should draw to see what order everyone came in. We have been informed by a farmers-almanac-junkie-friend that this year we are in for a real treat! On new years eve, the beginning of a new decade, it will truly be a 'once in a blue moon' moment! We can wish you all better luck then. For now, you can look below to see how it all shook out. Thanks again for your faithful following (hee hee) and for having some fun with us! Enjoy your weekend. Looks like we will be having a beautiful blanket of snow while we finish decking the hall!

1. Spring

2. Lisa G.

3. Danielle

4. Jake & Lindsey

5. Donut (the name Liam has given his new sibling in utero)

6. Kris

7. Joan

8. Scott & Lisa

9. Tracy & Alyssa

10. Debi

11.Kaycee

12. Audrie, Audrie, Audrie, Audrie :)

13. Liam

14. Jenny

15. Nate & Starlie

16. quippish endeavor

17. Alycia

18. Shelley

19. Brady

20. Nemesis

21. rarely David usually Lisa

Thanksgiving

*You won't want to miss our 100th Blog below :)*

Even after 100 blogs - there is still struggling posting. The little memory book was suppose to go first, but instead it is at the bottom. Oh well. This post is like many here - just documenting. This was our little Thanksgiving trip to Portland. You're welcome to see what we did.

Highlights:

Breakfast at Roosters in Pendleton

Being with our two girls on the long rides to and from

Spending time with Janell, Ben, Davis, Jason & Paul

Laughing so hard while playing games all night down in the lobby

The lovely hotel we stayed in

Kicking around Janell's new neighborhood and enjoying all the

antique stores, boutiques & bakery!

Hugging our kids :)

Great food - we always seem to find it!

A Thanksgiving movie all together - The Fabulous Mr. Fox (GO SEE IT!)

Portland's Saturday Market

Watching Davis buzz off on the scooter.

The great Radio Lab clips Janell shared with us for the ride home.

The beautiful scenery - people watching - the weather!

Just being together, cuz we LOVE our family!

Saturday we wandered around the market a little. It's always changing so it's fun to go back when we visit. Such talented artisans this world has and so many unique individuals. Here are a few pictures of our day down by the market & waterfront.

Driving over the Sellwood Bridge. Such pretty country in the northwest.

We loved the green moss - nice photo, Camber!

No shortage of beautiful trees in Portland - with or without their leaves.

We were so happy to be with our kids in Portland. We certainly missed those who weren't with us though. What a crazy thing it is when your chicks wander from under your wings.

Happy to have that awesome helmet on his head ?

Happier to have a faster mode of transportation for sure !!

Emily & Bower/Bauer sp? the cute hound :)

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Our *1 0 0 th* Post

We have come a long way from our first post nearly 16 months ago. It has been a sweet connection with family and old friends and a way to make new friends. Just to make it fun and to kick off December 1st and the wonderful Christmas Holiday approaching - we are having a little surprise give-away! (It will be a very festive and sweet little package) ;) Just leave a comment and we will have a random drawing on the evening of December 4th to pick a winner. We will mail it out first thing Saturday morning or make a personal delivery if you are local.

We've come to love this fun connection of sharing our lives, documenting our every day experiences and learning more about all of you through your beautiful, informative and fun-loving blogs.

Thanks again for visiting our blog!

Another Week Passes By

In the kitchen window, nice and warm in our cozy house, sits our last color of fall. Time moves forward - ready or not.

The snow is beautiful tonight.

Last week Camber & Co. whipped up a delicious batch of our

favorite Clam Chowder. The girls are wonderful chefs! Check out the recipe here from Market Street Grill. It's a bit different than our old stand by ~ Bratten's...you actually bake the roux for thirty minutes but it's delicious!

A nice peppery bite to it.

(Don't forget the good, crusty bread!)

Ashli, Camber & Taylor

Last week the girls had a Personal Progress night in their PJ's.

We thought their Pink treats were Pretty great!

I'm afraid we have been bit by the crochet bug. . .

Wish I had taken a photo of the itty bitty shoes

I made for Lindsey's baby.

I think they will fit her for a total of 5 minutes :)

Our Crazy Road Trip

So two weeks ago I got this cRaZy idea in my head to surprise my sister's family who were going to be at Disneyland and join in on the fun! We have been wishing we could be there together for about 8 years now and with Camber's bday that week (free admission on your BDay ! ) So truely, on sunday afternoon we decided to do it! We convinced Lindsey and her cute little tummy to join us for a rockin' good time and the next day we were off bright and early! Sometimes those impromptu, crazy ideas are just the best ideas ever! Twelve hours later we found the hotel where the Jacklin's were staying and lucky for us their door wasn't closed tight so IN we went! We spent two, carefree, wonderful days at Disneyland & California Adventure. We happened to be there on the slowest week of the year, with Camber's BDay on the slowest day of the slowest week. That meant NO LINES FOR US!! It was really a blast and we did a lot of laughing and made some great memories. The drive home was a long one ~ especially with a 90 minute delay on the freeway only hour our into our trip ~ but we made the most of it and did some crocheting and car dancing and lots of good gab time with snacks! We have a plethora of photos, so you can skim through them if you'd like. Disney is great when you choose the right time of year to visit ~ it was magical for us!

*Sorry that all the vertical photos don't show very well*

Make a Smilebox slideshow

happy 11.11

Not that everyone celebrates eleven-eleven . . . but it is a wonderful day to celebrate . . . especially when it is in remembrance of many happy moments in the past at 11:11pm :] Why was it that morning or night we would always glance at a watch or a clock and that is what the time would read. Must be love. True love. Today we celebrated by lunching together at Elements ~ one of our favorite restaurants in our lovely city. Most often we are far too full for dessert, but let me just say that the dessert chef is spectacular!

Celebrate the little things in life.

Life is going by too quickly not to. Today at lunch, we began dreaming of where we might celebrate this very date two years from now . . . 11.11.11

I say let's dream big!

*Pretty Cool....tonight Mark delivered a baby on 11.11 at 11:11

and she weighed 6.6 *

Happy Birthday Camber !

November 4, 1992 a beautiful dark haired,

blue eyed little girl joined our family

with a twinkle in her eye and spunkiness to match it.

We sure love you, Camber!

Happy 17 xo

Birthday Dinner Menu: Chicken Mushroom Soup with Ravioli (with the good crusty bread!) and Strawberry Salad with Mango Dressing. For dessert ~ Double Lemon Sorbet

. . . all of her favorites.

Browsing thru a *Ski* magazine...dreaming about being in the powder.

* * * *coming soon ~ crazy road trip slide show * * * *

Costume Party Slideshow

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Happy Birthday Janell!!

'2o Something' years ago...when that title was probably a TV show...this sweet little miss joined our family. What a gift she has been to all of us. We hope you are having a spectacular day, Janell! We will be thinking of you and waiting anxiously to see another of your famed costumes.

Lots of LOVE from all of us.

Happy Halloween!

Friday night we had an awesome Halloween Party - wanting to get to know some of the new neighbors who have joined our sweet little neighborhood. Let's just say that a costume party is a GREAT way to really get to know each other! HA! We had some very good laughs! In due time I will be back to give a few details about some of the games we played - but Liam requested some costume photos...here you go, buddy. Hope everyone has a boooootiful night! See ya later - alligator!

Jessie & Woody at the Ward Hoe Down

Diana & Gayle...they aren't going to love these pics. but it was funny to see the faces they would pull and how hard they were laughing trying to figure out what they were tasting!
We played some great games. One was a potion tasting station where each guest sampled a little swig from 13 different containers (in little 2 oz cups) and had to guess what they were tasting. It was harder than you'd think and so funny to see what people thought they were drinking. After that we played *Whack*. Everyone sits in a big circle and chooses a Halloween name for themselves. The person in the center has a large whacking stick made from rolled up newspaper. When your name is called you have to stand and say another players name before you get whacked. The hardest part of the game is remembering when you are the guy in the center and have just whacked someone...you HAVE to say another players name before you sit down or you can get whacked back and be in the center again. Lots and lots of laughs!! The last activity of the night was skit time! We divided into 2 groups and each group had items on a tray they had to incorporate and into their skit. They all had to act in character of how they were dressed and had to come up with a Halloween twist with a mixed up fairy tale. They were great. I think our cheeks were sore from so much laughing. So nice to get to know some of our newer neighbors and enjoy the holiday together.

"Father Time & Mother Nature"