Big Family Christmas

The snow just kept on falling for most of the day... But Connor's family wasn't afraid of this Solstice Smackdown, and ventured out onto the roads to come spend Christmas at our place.

Our home was jam packed full of family...EVERYWHERE. I believe we were hovering around a head count of 40. We were shoulder to shoulder laughing, cooking, eating, and just having a Merry ol' Christmas.


Cousin Paul, Connor, and Uncle Terry


Why is Claude at the kids table?
(Nolan, Jay, Savannah, Colten, and Ben... This is only half of the youngins)


Connor's Cousin Kerrie and her hubby Kyle flew in from
Palm Springs. Here they are with Kyle's parents Sally and Steve.

Aunt Kim rocking our latest nephew, Caleb. (aka Mr. Popularity)
Kim and her family made a last minute decision to join us and we were so glad they did!

Connor's cousin Hannah and Uncle Ed. AKA Knuckle-Ed. :)
showing off their gift exchange goodies.

Cousin Christina and her cute family...

Paul, Madison, and Colten.

My favorite Nicholas on the whole planet.

Great Grandma Marie with Caleb. Isn't this a sweet picture. Thanks Shannon!

Cousin Erik with his awesomely helpful wife, Melissa.
She was a big help in the kitchen!

This is their super sweet baby, Reese.

Connor's cousins Hannah and Kerrie.

Stylin' Sisters, so cute.

Connor's sister, Sarah, and

her husband Josh.

They sloshed through their 20 inches of snow to get to our place!

Connor's mom, Pat, witnessing the

MnM stealing skills of our niece Savannah.

Granny Marie with our niece Jessica

and cousin Madison. AKA the Tweeners.

This baby's feet never touched the ground.

Here he is with Connor's sister Shannon...She does

love her some Caleb.

Cousin Erik, Uncle Tim, and Granny

It was a whirlwind of a day, it was over before we knew it.

I didn't know how many would show up on our doorstep because of the weather conditions...

I should've known better... This family loves eachother and will do whatever it takes to be together to share in the joy of Christmas.

I'm glad to be a part of such a wonderful family, they truly are a delight.

Merry Christmas

Have yourself a Merry little Christmas.

This is the very first white Christmas I can remember. Since we've been up to our shins in the white stuff for over a week, it was no surprise. But the snow that has been falling all morning has been a welcome surprise and so lovely.
I thought I'd reminisce a little about Christmas' past...

For a few years when Nolan was a very young boy, he always asked Santa for odd gifts.
One year it was a robe... the next year it was a pair of slippers... You should've seen the looks Santa gave him after asking for such mundane gifts for a kid. Well... here's the look on Nolan's face after he opened up his Santa gift...


Pure joy! Santa delivered the best darn slippers a kid could ever dream of getting.

Oh... And who can forget the Christmas day Surprise of 2006?

We are huge fans of "A Christmas Story" movie where Ralphie wishes for a Red Rider B-B gun. Well, Connor went the extra step and totally pulled one over on me. After opening all the gifts, he had hid two more under the coffee table and said "Hmmm, what's that under the table? Looks like Santa left a little something more." When the boys pulled these beauties out, I gave Connor the look of death and said "You'll shoot your eyes out boys!"

I couldn't believe he bought them those guns without my knowledge or consent. Luckily, Nick and Nolan are uber-careful and responsible. No one has lost an eye yet.

We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas with your families that will conjure up happy memories in the years to come!

December to Remember

It's COLD, 20 degrees cold and the snow that has been falling since last weekend is still hanging around. We're loving it and this is what we've been spending our week doing...

Walking to our neighborhood park to sled EVERYDAY.

Our lake is completely frozen over.


We crossed this bridge several times a day mostly with numb toes on our way home to have some of this...






Mmmm... Good thing I bought the Costco sized whipped cream!

Then is was back in the snow for more sledding...Connor, Nolan, and Hazel heading down the hill.
I love to see the snow falling! This is our backyard during a particularly snowy afternoon.

Now we are braced for some serious winds that the weatherman said is surely to hit by tonight. We could have up to 90 miles an hour gusts... :( I REALLY don't want the power to go out, but it sounds like it is inevitable. Guess my Christmas turkey might start thawing out a day earlier than I had planned. Maybe I should just toss it onto the front porch!

Happy Birthday Pops!

Happy Birthday DAD!

Here are some little known facts about my dad...

He loves to eat Twinkies.

He can make any task less burdensome by "making a game out of it!" (Anytime I would complain, that little phrase would pop out of his mouth.)

He always refers to young kids as "Twerps".

He LOVES to garden and could probably make any dying plant flourish.

Anytime he encountered a bad driver he would yell out..."Dumb Broad!"

Even if it turned out to be a male driver. I used to laugh at this, now I'm a tad bit offended.

He is super good at saving money. Even if he won the lottery, I still think he would barely spend a cent.

Everyone I know thinks highly of my dad. He's just that great!

All of his grand kids think he is FANTASTIC, FUNNY, and a whole lot of FUN!

He worked at the very same pharmacy for 33 years.

He would be happy as a clam sitting on a river bank fishing the day away.

He used to be a soda jerk in a little drug store in Nebraska... I think this is where he first thought about becoming a pharmacist.

His dream car is a classic 57 Covette Convertible.

One of his favorite past times is combing a rocky beach for the perfect rock. His grand kids know this, and now rock finding contests have ensued.

He has been a wonderful role model for me and I hope his day is spent doing whatever brings him happiness. Maybe fishing somewhere sunny with a big box of Twinkies within reach.

I love you Dad!!

Let It Snow

My boys are jonesin' for some snow tonight.

The weatherman says the chance is pretty high that their wishes will be granted.

But, just in case... have you heard the of these fail safe methods they are putting into place tonight before they hit the sack?

1. Wear your pajamas inside out.
2. Tape a piece of white paper to your bedroom window.
3. Sleep with a spoon under your pillow.


Yup.. I'd say there's a pretty good chance we'll be waking up to the white stuff.

Mother Nature grants a couple wishes.

See.. I told you the snow was delightful.

Nolan ran in with the first snowball of the season and now it will live in our freezer until next year. It was so sad to see "snowball 2007" replaced and tossed out into the yard to face the elements.

Love this kid!

Now I gotta run, and get ready for the Christmas party... Gotta love Mother Nature.

Should we stay or should we go now?

No... I'm not still stuck in the 80's.

I'm just stuck in my house.

The weather outside is frightful, and the snow is so delightful.
But it is totally hampering my holiday fun.
You see... people in these parts do NOT know how to drive in the snow. We have our favorite Christmas party to attend tonight and we're not sure if we're gonna risk it. The thermometer is dropping into the teens. That makes my teeth chatter just thinking about it. And when the wet pavement freezes, you start noticing just how awful Western Washingtonians operate their vehicles.

But I really want the holiday punch... I want to watch all the karaoke victims sing off key... I want to wear my sparkly holiday outfit... I want to be smug about the lame present I end up going home with from the gift exchange... I want to see my friends.

I guess we'll just continue to look outside the window and see what mother nature throws at us...

We Love The 80's

Last night, Connor and I had the opportunity to time travel...

Right back to the 80's!

He works for one the the very best companies around!

They hosted this amazing party in downtown Seattle at the EMP (Experience Music Project).

They encouraged employees to dress in 80's garb...

So we like, totally, had to fer sure...

Gag me with a spoon!

Oh yeah! Look how dorky we look!

My sis-in-law, Shannon, helped both of us with our outfits.

This lovely blue cable sweater is straight out of her closet, circa 1986.

And Connor's "skinny" tie is one he actually bought back in '84

I used about 1/2 a can of aerosol hairspray and when I was done Connor asked "So when are you going to do your hair?" OMG...I know I have big hair naturally, but do I really look like this on a daily basis?

I think my favorite piece is Connor's "Save Ferris" shirt. Another stellar find thanks to Shannon!

Nick and Nolan were shocked by our attire and when we were driving them to Grandma's house to be babysat, they were egging me on saying "Hey mom, I dare you to pull over to the gas station and fill up the tank lookin' like that!"

NICE.

Once inside the EMP, we were treated to some unbelievable food and drinks.

We had our picture taken and were able to browse around the museum. None of the walls have a right angle and every nook and cranny is filled with ultra cool rock and roll memorabilia.

Then we entered this huge concert hall called the "Sky Church" with walls made from video screens showing bright colors and patterns all the way to the ceiling. It was very cool.

And on the stage were these guys....

They are the "Spazmatics" and they played all the 80's classics while jumping around on the stage in all their nerd gear. They had a ton of energy and the crowd was on their feet dancing the night away.

It seriously was like being teleported right back to one of my high school dances.

Except this time I had a wedding ring on my finger!

It was totally rad.

Visit from the PRP

Yesterday was a great day.

My good ol' pal from the East side crossed the mountains to pay me a visit.
Although our time together was extremely short...a mere two hours...it was great all the same.
I always feel rejuvenated when I spend time with Karen. She brightens my day. I feel so lucky to have a friend like her. I feel even more lucky when I think about how she has affected my life. She's been by my side since I was six and made my childhood the happy and sometimes crazy childhood it turned out to be. It's so nice to be able to chat about everything under the sun and even reminisce about the old days. She's been through it all with me. It feels good to have such a dear and true friend like her.

Thanks for taking time out of your busy weekend to spend a little time with me. You are the best!

Home Invasion

Don't 'cha just hate it when you're sitting down to rest after tucking the kids into bed and you hear an unidentified sound coming from the kitchen?



At first, I thought one of my cats was trapped in the pantry and scratching to get out.



Unfortunately, that was not the case.



It seems that the scratching was coming from somewhere WITHIN my kitchen wall. Lovely. Not only was it scratching but it sounded like it was gnawing on the duct work...even better.

It was having a hay day in there, it sounded like a small mammal burrowing in my wall, perhaps a wombat? :) Being that we have a greenbelt behind our house it is most likely a mouse or rat. Needless to say, I was totally grossed out and I want that thing OUT OF HERE. I could just imagine this little furry menace chewing up our electrical wires and causing havoc.

We went to bed shortly after this disgusting discovery knowing that without any traps there was nothing more we could do.

This is when I curse my imagination for giving me the most vivid dreams about all sorts of rodents running a muck throughout my entire home. There were possums, raccoons, gerbils, rats, mice, and even a porcupine running up and down the stairs... All the while my two lazy cats just watching them race around. I was enraged. Then I woke up.

One quick trip to the local hardware store and we are one step closer to ridding our home of this nasty invasion. Wish us luck as I cannot take another night of dreams where I turn into the lady without an upper body from the Tom and Jerry cartoons who runs around the house slamming her broomstick and squealing.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Ahhhh... Thanksgiving is here.

We'll be spending the afternoon with my side of the family. It will be fun to watch Nick and Nolan playing with their cousins that they rarely get to see.

All of my childhood Thanksgivings involved me playing with my cousins. The very cousins that I will be sitting around the table with tonight! :) I was always paired up with my cousin, Adam. We'd spend the day goofing around doing all kinds of crazy things then we'd sneak into the kitchen to steal some delicious food that was off limits until dinner time. Our bellies were usually filled with potato chips and mixed nuts even before the feast would begin.

I'm thankful that my family is still nearby and that I'll get the opportunity to spend another Thanksgiving surrounded by them. And even though I won't be snitching potato chips this year and playing goofy games with Adam. I will be happy to be sitting across from him at the table sharing stories about what's new in our lives.

I hope someday my kids will be able to sit around a Thanksgiving table in the future surrounded by the very cousins they'll be playing with this afternoon. For me, this holiday is all about family and being thankful for what I have. I'm truly a lucky gal for having such a wonderful and caring extended family on both sides.

It's bound to be a great day and I hope everyone else has a Happy Thanksgiving surrounded by family and with bellies filled to maximum capacity!

War of the Wombats

Do you need a good laugh? If so, check this out! I guarantee it will be the first time you laugh about wombats.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NICK

Twelve years ago today...

My long 25 hour labor finally came to a happy end...

Nicholas entered this world at 6:44 a.m.

I guess he was just as frustrated with how long it took to get here, because the first thing he did was bite the doctor's finger!

He was born on his due date...

A healthy boy with healthy lungs!...
A sweet little brown-eyed baby...

I will always remember the sunlight streaming through the hospital's window just enough to illuminate the peach fuzz on his head. That is the first time I noticed he had red hair.

Nicholas has transformed from the little "copper top that never stops" (I've never seen a toddler with more energy) into such a considerate and thoughtful boy. He's got to be one of the sweetest boys I've ever known...He consistently thinks of other's and their feelings.

I'm really enjoying this age he is now. We could chat and laugh all the live long day. He's one of a kind...and those that know him well can attest to that. I simply love this kid with all my heart and hope he has a happy, memorable, and FUN birthday.

8 mos old...one of my very favorites! So funny.

My knights in construction paper armor. 2001
( I think my mom was babysitting this day, they always made the most wonderful "costumes" when Grandma Margie was at home.)

Oregon Coast 1999

October 2008

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NICHOLAS

YOU ARE TREASURED AND DESERVE A HAPPY HAPPY DAY!

Remembering and Waiting Part II

Twelve years ago today....


I learned that my doctor was wrong...
I woke up early in the morning with contractions, so off to the hospital we went with our packed bags in tow...
I was so excited to have this baby...
And a day early at that!...
I, too, was wrong!...
The waiting room was filled with family anxiously awaiting the news to come through the swinging hospital doors about the newest member of our family...
They waited... and they waited... and waited even more...

Remembering...and waiting Part I

Twelve years ago today...

Was two days before my first child was due to be born.

I remember being a little nervous about how a giant baby kicking inside of me was going to enter this world safely...
I remember being so anxious to find out whether or not I'd be having a son or a daughter...
I remember constantly daydreaming about what he or she would look like...
I tried to imagine myself as some one's mom. It seemed so surreal at the age of 24...
I found myself just looking in the closet at all of the adorable and tiny outfits that would soon be worn by our child...
I hoped that our child would be as healthy as could be...
I remember feeling like I would never be able to sleep comfortably ever again...
I remember my doctor telling me that based on my exam I would still have at least two weeks before the big day. TWO WEEKS...
I remember baking a giant batch of snicker doodles while talking to my mother-in-law on the phone about the disheartening news my doctor shared with me earlier in the day...
I remember worrying about the weather, and hoping the snow would go away, so our commute to the hospital would be swift...
I remember wondering if I'd be spending Thanksgiving day in the hospital...
I tried to imagine what kind of parents Connor and I would be to this new baby...
I thought about what kind of person this little baby would grow up to become...
I wondered what my feet looked like and if I'd remember how to tie my shoes...

Rub A Dub-Dub, Carnage In The Tub

Last night after working all the live long day, I decided to take a nice relaxing soak in my tub...

Ahhh....hot water, bubbles, and a magazine.

Lovely.

Except, this is what greeted me as I stepped into the tub.

A freakish "angler fish" of sorts that looked like it was ready to consume half of the ocean's population.

Oh... And then I found this specimen. Imagine a lobster mixed together with the Terminator.
He looked MEAN... beady red eyes. Huge pinchers. Metalic fins. Scary stuff.

Then there was this poor fella. Just taking his jet ski for a stroll around my tub.

Can you imagine the scenario my sweet little Nicholas dreamt up while playing with these characters he built so carefully with his own two hands and his AMAZING imagination.

Ahhh...Blessed is the mother of boys.

Shuffle Up and Deal...

Texas Hold 'em Tournament, our style...

We invited a bunch of friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers (all of which ultimately fall into the category of friends) over for a BIG poker tournament.
We like to host one of these shindigs at least once or twice a year.

We had 20 people willing to gamble ten dollars of their hard earned money to support our cause.

Some even willing to pony up 15 smackers...




(Did Marianne get 2 aces, just a number 2, or maybe she's just stoked about world peace.)

Pretty soon, everyone was seated in their respective chairs hoping for the pocket aces to be dealt in their direction.

Our house was brimming with poker players from all skill levels. This makes for the best poker games because you never know what the newbies are gonna do! Keeps things interesting.

Our friend Rob, also kept things interesting by sporting a pair of opaque sunglasses... Just like the pros on World Poker Tour.

But then pretty soon... He was digging into his duffel bag, he had brought a wide array of shades (among other things :)) to keep the crowd guessing.

Rob sharing his accessories with me and Jenne.
(It's apparent in this photo that Rob only likes sharing his shades and not his winnings...my pile of chips was almost non-existent at this point in the evening.)

Nicholas came downstairs to see how things were playing out... I gave him my camera and told him to get some good shots of people at the party. This was his idea of a good shot. Cookies.

(sadly I have nary a picture of half the people in attendance.)

He did manage to get a great picture of Connor. Isn't he handsome?
Plainly, the duffel bag held more than just sunglasses... Next thing we knew Rob was dressed head to toe in this get up. His plan worked perfectly, his constant barrage of changing his appearance caused his opponents to lose their chips in his direction. Landing him a spot at the final table...

Here you find everyone that took my money.

Why did I invite them into my home again? :)

As 8 o'clock slowly turned into 2 o'clock, seventeen of our friends found themselves with lighter wallets and no hope of going home winners. That sentence alone makes me wonder if there's a chance they may ever come back in the future for more "fun" poker parties.

It's safe to say at least three of our friends left with a spring in their step and bulging wallets.

Connor's cousin Erik left the table in third place with $50 dollars to buy his baby boy a new pair of shoes.

The final two were Jenne and Rob (Yes, the disguises REALLY paid off). They came to an agreement to just split the rest of the pot and both go home with $102. (Jenne will undoubtedly buy herself some shoes and Rob just might buy some more sunglasses.)

In my opinion, it was a great way to spend $15 dollars. I may have been a loser by poker standards, but how can you feel like a loser when you're in a house alive with great friends laughing and smiling into the wee hours of the morning. Not possible.

Sock It To 'Em

Many years ago, in an attempt to squelch my kids from hurting each other in a wrestling match they were having in the living room, I came up with a "new"game of sorts. One of which doesn't require anyone pinning someone else to the ground. In this game, the chances of butting heads and losing a tooth are pretty nil. No one ends up in tears after getting accidentally getting kneed in the chin. (Now do you know why I despise living room wrestling matches?)

It's a little game I like to call "sock fight". It's got the word "fight" right in the title, so any boy would be thrilled to give it a go. Basically, everyone peels off their socks and then rolls them up into tight little balls that resemble snow balls. Then you usually pair off into two teams and separate the room with an imaginary line that the teams are not allowed to cross. Then the chaos ensues!! You try as hard as you can to peg members of the other team with the sock bombs. Weaving and dodging becomes common place and laughter always ensues. I think it is IMPOSSIBLE to actually injure someone with a sock. No matter how hard you throw a sock, it will not hurt. Not only can you not hurt a family member...it is very hard to break any household objects with a sock (well except maybe a little ceramic pumpkin decoration, right Con?). There is no winning or losing a sock fight...you only have fun. It's a mother's dream come true, and I personally think I'm completely genius for thinking of it. :)

So, the next time you're family is bouncing off the walls and needs to get out a little energy... just take off your socks and let 'em fly. Everyone will be tired out within about 10 minutes of sock throwing craziness, you'll all have smiles on your faces, and you might even find a lonely sock stuck to your wall mounted candle sconce three days later...much like I just found this morning!

Who needs the Partridge Family?

Coming to an arena near you...

Nolan the "Mr. Awesomeness" on drums

Nick the "quick fingers" on Guitar

Connor the "get your ear plugs" on vocals

And Kelly the "I've got a cramp in my wrist" on drums.

Yeah...you don't want to miss that show! :)

In all seriousness...we've been having fun jammin' together with our new Guitar Hero World Tour game. My kids are learning all the classics from my youth..."Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor, "Living on a prayer" by Bon Jovi, and sadly..."No sleep Til Brooklyn" by the Beastie Boys.

Good times.

Beautiful Autumn Day

We spent part of our Saturday at the pumpkin patch with some friends...

Thanks to this sweet little girl.

Olivia and her brother, Nathan, (who I wasn't able to catch on film...that kid is quick.) celebrated their October b-days at this HUGE pumpkin patch.

(Olivia and Nathan are Marianne's grand kids.)

Eileen, Stephanie, and Marianne enjoying this rare warm October afternoon.

Nolan taking a pumpkin break.

Nick also found a nice resting place.

Here's the whole crew headed for the corn maze.

Wow...all four of us in ONE photo. Amazing.

Hey, it's farmer Jay!

Have you ever seen a goat on a cat walk before? Nope... me neither.

Cowboy Nolan roped another one.


We couldn't have asked for nicer weather to accommodate our day at the patch.

All of the kids had a great time playing together, tromping around the farm, and munching on roasted corn and funnel cakes.

Good times!