HOW PUMPKIN PIES ARE MADE

Oh come on.....you KNOW it's funny! HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

California Shopping

We stayed at Rosy's family hotel in Scotts Valley for free!!!
Charlie's Angels...Rosy, you are the best poser....the good kind!

My two moms.









THis is the result of Day 1 of shopping at the outlets.
The result of Day 2 at the mall.
Mom and Ruth sporting their new outfits.
Work it...work it....Rosy!
Kristie modeling her new outfit.
I sooooo don't know how to work it!!

We have a family tradition started 2 years ago. My mom, mother-in-law, Rosy, and I (and this year Kris went, too), fly to San Jose and spend a couple of days for some retail therapy! We hit the outlets in Gilroy and then a really awesome mall that we want in Tri-Cities!!!! We also visited with Ken's brother Paul in Santa Cruz. We packed light going and came home quite full!!!! Thanks girls for so much fun!

Birthday Fly Fishing Trip

For Ken's 40th birthday, he asked me NOT to throw him a party. He said he wanted to go do something with just me. So.......I thought and thought and thought. What is something we haven't done that we could do with it cold outside? I came up with fly fishing. Neither of us had ever tried it before and we didn't have to go too far to do it. So, I got online and booked a guided trip out of Cle Elum on the Yakima River.

We loved it!!! We dressed in layers as it was a little rainy and chilly....about 45 degrees to be exact. We started out learning the proper technique and giving it a try. We quickly caught on and caught 10 fish over a 4 hour period. Not bad for first timers!!!

After dark, we went to Suncadia resort in Cle Elum for the night. Nice place but a little spendy.

HALLO-TEEN

Instead of the usual trick-or-treating this year, Madison and Christian had some friends over for a costume party. We had 20 kids over and the fun began! These kids were all about games and they were great! We started out playing the paperbag game where you have to bend over and pick up the bag with your mouth standing only on one foot and not using your hands. Then you cut the bag down about an inch at a time. So fun! We played Spoons, Glow in the dark Tag, Sardines, and Ninja Destruction.

Instead of trick-or-treating, we played throw-a-treat. Us chaperones threw candy from upstairs over the balcony and the kids had to catch them in a bag. This was over and was so much fun that we continued with individual m&m's to see how many they could catch in their mouths one at a time.

This was a great way for Mom to meet the new friends Madison and Christian have made this year at school. We just may have a new Halloween tradition........

New Family Member

Meet our new family member....his name his Jack. He scares Madison in the morning when she gets up for school. I don't understand why.

One of My Favorite THings

There are two things I really look forward to twice a year....going away for the weekend on a women's retreat. This weekend I spent with 7 incredible women in Spokane and we had so much fun. What are we doing you ask? LAUGHING.....TALKING.....SWAPPING STORIES.....WATCHING MOVIES......LISTENING TO MUSIC.......AND SCRAPBOOKING. Yes, scrapbooking. We stay up late and then sleep in one large room that has 10 twin beds. It's one big slumber party!!! We left Tri-Cities Friday morning at 6:30am to get their by 9am and scrapped until 2am. I got up at 6am to start again and went to bed again at 2am. Slept awesome and got up at 8am. Now it is Monday morning......I want to go back to bed!!!! I did 65 pages!

That's Corny

This summer we have been watching the crop circle behind our house grow corn. We got word last week that we had permission from the farmer to pick some corn. We went out a got some and the next day it was harvested.....literally in one day! Today, we walked out to the field and picked out the "leftovers" and brought a bunch home. The kids had asked to have german pancakes for dinner so we had german pancakes....and fresh corn. What a mixture! But it was yummy! On the way home, we ran through the irrigation splinkler and Caden biffed it in the mud. He wasn't happy about it until I told him he earned his own special picture and memory from this.

Our New Puppy

To view pictures of our new puppy, scroll down below our first day of school pictures. I had been trying to post these for a week and blogger wouldn't do it. It finally worked but posted there since I had started that one before the school pictures.

It's Official

MADISON IS A HIGH SCHOOLER!!!!!


CHRISTIAN IS A MIDDLE SCHOOLER!!!!

CADEN IS A THIRD GRADER!!!!!
MACY IS A 2ND GRADER!!!!
MOM IS FEELING OLD!

New Addition

I have been trying to make this post for a week now. The pictures finally loaded! We've had Sounder now for 16 days......but who's counting.

No, we didn't remodel....we got a puppy. Welcome, Sounder Egli! Sounder joined our family this past Thursday after flying to us from Missouri. He is so stinking cute! Sounder is an Australian Shepherd. He's feeling a little under the weather as he caught a respiratory infection from flying...poor little guy. We do love him already. Ask me in a week and maybe my answer will be the same...

MONUMENTAL MOMENT WITH A CAPITAL "M"

5 YEARS AGO



TODAY


Today was no ordinary day. Today was monumental. As most of you know, 5 years ago, I had a waterskiing accident. I wiped out slalom skiing and shattered my knee cap. 2 surgeries and 53 physical therapy sessions (not even attempted to count the amount of vicadin), my knee was as good as it was going to get.

Today, I skiied for the first time since my accident. I woke up with an upset stomach and thought I was catching a stomach bug. Little did I realize it was nerves. I was nervous out on the water so I decided to just get it over with.

I got up right away the first time and took about a 5 minute ride behind the boat. Then I let go. I was itching to get out of the wake but thought against it.

The next time it was my turn, I did it....I went back and forth across the wake a few times and then let go.

It wasn't graceful....it wasn't hot dogging....it wasn't dynamic....but it WAS! I did it! I will never be fearless on ski's again but I felt that joy of doing it once again.

OVER AND OVER AGAIN

The boys in my house (including myself) love the soccer channel. MLS games are recorded and watched by my boys....Caden especially. Caden will watch the same match over and over again to the point that he knows at what minute during the game the goals are scored and will watch them over and over. This morning, he's watching a game and counting down 5...4...3...2...1... and then the goal is made. Cracks me up. Yesterday, he came in to the office excited and said, "Mom, you gotta come watch my favorite goal!" I watched it on tv and live as he reinacted in the family room while watching himself. Can you say, OBSESSED? I love it!

Random Tag-Here You Go Tami

Random
What is your current obsession?

Orange Vitamin Water 10

What do you hate the most that everybody else seems to love?

100+ weather....I prefer mid 80's myself

What are you wearing today?

black pants and green shirt

What's for dinner?

Taco Soup

What would you eat for your last meal?

Dessert and lots of it

What's the last thing you bought?

A church shirt and shoes for Christian and a rug for the kitchen sink

What are you listening to right now?

tv commercial in the background

What do you think of the person that tagged you?

I think she's hilarious...definitely a thinker

If you could have a house, fully paid for, and totally furnished anywhere in the world, where would it be?

My current house...I do want a family cabin.

What is one of your hobbies?

Cycling, reading

What are 3 things that annoy you most?

1. My kids invading my personal space 2. Being talked about for no reason 3. Laundry

What is your favorite color?
Green

What is your favorite piece of clothing in your wardrobe?
jeans

What is your dream job?

Other than Mom.......something that doesn't feel like work but fun that I can control my hours. Haven't found it yet.

Describe your personal style.
Cheap but looks expensive. That's what I try for....you be the critic.

What are you going to do after this?
scrapbook

What inspires you?

Other people, desire to do good

Who was the last person you kissed?
Ken

What are you currently reading?

750 page novel called The Outlander

What delighted you most today?

Buying a new shirt and eating pizza...so far.

By what criteria do you judge a person?

Intentions

If you could pick a talent, what would it be?

I wish I could paint (not walls but art)

The rules: 1. Respond and rework; answer the questions on your blog, replace one question you dislike with a question of your invention, add one more question of your own.

FUZZY BALLS

Ok, so the title was to just reel you in to want to figure out what I'm talking about. Did it work? I figured it wouldn't be very interesting if I just typed FAMILY VACATION. Our trip in a nutshell.

Mossyrock for a few days and my aunt and uncle's place which we dubbed Fuzzy Balls: included two days at the lake and one at the ocean at Long Beach. Record breaking heat but great fun with the family.

Then on to central Oregon to East Lake near La Pine and Bend for 3 days of camping in a 1700 year old volcano. We hiked, went through a lava cave tube, fished, and swam.

GREAT FAMILY TIMES!!!!

I CAN DO THAT

On the side, we planted rhododendrons (to remind me of my grandma...she loves them), a Blue Bird of Sharon, and a Dogwood.
Blue Bird of Sharon
Haven't completed this section with planting yet. Waiting to be inspired.
My knockout roses....of love love love these.
Coleus, Japanese lace maple, irises, and pine topiary I can't touch or I'll break out in a rash instantly!
The only thing missing now are our big boulders we still have to get.
Again, our big boulder is missing. In the back corner is a hydrangea (again it's a part of my gma), a white weeping cherry, coleus, and irises.

Our goal this summer was to get some landscaping in around the house. We got motivated when Jordan Hickman and his fiance Natasha asked if they could have their wedding reception at our house. We got to work! We had a guy give us a bid since we've never had to do any landscaping before and was I in for a surprise!!! I told Ken, " I can do that myself!" So.....we did! We rented a sod cutter, figured out where we wanted our curbing, hired out the curbing portion, then layed down everything, installed drip lines, and planted. It was a lot of work and the kids were troopers helping but very satisfying work. Don't tell me if you don't like it. I'd rather not know!

I knew NOTHING when we started. There is still much to learn but I have a clue now and I found that I really like it! Not to mention the amount of money we saved doing it ourselves.......