Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
10 year wedding anniversary
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Friday, January 15, 2010
I Often Wonder??
I often wonder why I have a playroom full of toys!? Some days it feels like toys are for the boys to just pull out and scatter around the play room with very little time, if any at all, actually spent playing with them. And I keep asking myself why it is that I spend a good deal of money on a toy when a single roll of tape and paper will hold their attention much longer?? I wonder if I would regret donating more than half of these toys? I wonder if I am the only Mother who feels this way?
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Weekend Visit at my Mom's
Last Friday after work my family and I headed up to my Mom's house for a weekend visit. We spent part of the day on Saturday shopping at Ross. I love that store! Spencer was a great sport and took control of the boys so my Mom and I could have the time needed to sort through all of the racks. Dinner was at Applebee's. After we got home and put the kids to bed we watched the movie, Everyman's War. The movie was filmed partly in my hometown and Spencer got to be an extra in it, so it was fun to see. It was actually a really good historical movie.
Church was at 9:00 a.m. Sunday morning and when we got home Bill made us an awesome breakfast. French toast, eggs, bacon, the whole works. We spent the afternoon talking, resting and enjoying each others company. Before we left, Bill made us his famous tacos and Austin couldn't get enough of them. He ate 5. After dinner we made our trek back home. It was a great visit.
Church was at 9:00 a.m. Sunday morning and when we got home Bill made us an awesome breakfast. French toast, eggs, bacon, the whole works. We spent the afternoon talking, resting and enjoying each others company. Before we left, Bill made us his famous tacos and Austin couldn't get enough of them. He ate 5. After dinner we made our trek back home. It was a great visit.
Monday, January 4, 2010
My Goal for 2010
Last year I chose a single word to summarize what my resolution would be for the entire year. I loved doing this. I think choosing one main goal is so much more realistic then having a long list of resolutions. So in keeping with this tradition I have chosen a new word that I would like to focus my attention on this year. My word is ... Discipline.
A few months ago I started thinking a lot about what my goals are and then I realized something that I had been lacking, the discipline to make them happen. That is when the word discipline really stuck in my mind. I honestly tried to find a different word to convey the same message, but I can't. It's too perfect.
Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishments.
- Jim Rohn
So there it is. Discipline is what I need and what I want! This is my new years resolution.
A few months ago I started thinking a lot about what my goals are and then I realized something that I had been lacking, the discipline to make them happen. That is when the word discipline really stuck in my mind. I honestly tried to find a different word to convey the same message, but I can't. It's too perfect.
Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishments.
- Jim Rohn
So there it is. Discipline is what I need and what I want! This is my new years resolution.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
A Tale of Frustration & Fun
For Christmas I bought Spencer tickets to a Portland Winterhawks game. I thought it would be fun and exciting and I was really excited to see them play. So the game was last Tuesday, December 29th, at 7:00 p.m. in the Rose Garden. Looking forward to the game wasn't the only excitement of the day however. Around late afternoon, Austin came and told me it was snowing outside, which I thought was pretty darn cool. I was very surprised to see how quickly it had accumulated on the ground though. The boys were so excited so we bundled up and headed out to build a snowman. They played so hard. The boys chased each other all around the yard with snowballs, which eventually turned into them wrestling on the ground. It was great! 
A while later Spencer and I headed into town to the game and noticed that I-5 was completely stopped. Luckily, we were able to take side streets to get to the Rose Garden on time. We walked into the arena and immediately noticed how empty the place was. We sat there for a good half hour waiting for the game to start, wondering what was going on. An announcement was finally broadcast that we were waiting for the refs to arrive. 15 minutes later (45 minutes from the original start time) there is another announcement: "We have a new start time. The game will begin at 8:45 p.m. with warm ups beginning at 8:15 p.m." What!?? Almost 2 hours late! Dollar signs start to flash before my eyes as I think about the 2 hours we just wasted and the money my babysitter is pocketing. But what do you do? 
Once the game finally started it was really fun. We had awesome seats. We were 3 rows behind the players at center ice and had no obstruction in our view at all. During the second quarter my cell phone rings and when I answered it the voice on the phone said, look up towards the camera, just a little to the left. Ironically, Brandon & Eilleen were there too. We all waved to each other and laughed. We decided to head for home at half time since it was already 10:15 p.m. and we needed to get our babysitter home. Leaving early was bitter sweet. I didn't want to go early but, at the same time, I did have a lot of fun! I will definitely have to buy more Winterhawk tickets in the future. 
A while later Spencer and I headed into town to the game and noticed that I-5 was completely stopped. Luckily, we were able to take side streets to get to the Rose Garden on time. We walked into the arena and immediately noticed how empty the place was. We sat there for a good half hour waiting for the game to start, wondering what was going on. An announcement was finally broadcast that we were waiting for the refs to arrive. 15 minutes later (45 minutes from the original start time) there is another announcement: "We have a new start time. The game will begin at 8:45 p.m. with warm ups beginning at 8:15 p.m." What!?? Almost 2 hours late! Dollar signs start to flash before my eyes as I think about the 2 hours we just wasted and the money my babysitter is pocketing. But what do you do? Once the game finally started it was really fun. We had awesome seats. We were 3 rows behind the players at center ice and had no obstruction in our view at all. During the second quarter my cell phone rings and when I answered it the voice on the phone said, look up towards the camera, just a little to the left. Ironically, Brandon & Eilleen were there too. We all waved to each other and laughed. We decided to head for home at half time since it was already 10:15 p.m. and we needed to get our babysitter home. Leaving early was bitter sweet. I didn't want to go early but, at the same time, I did have a lot of fun! I will definitely have to buy more Winterhawk tickets in the future. Saturday, December 26, 2009
Christmas Time
Seriously, who doesn't love Christmas time?? It's by far the best Holiday of the year! I love Christmas because it's a great time to reflect and think about what I can do for others. What I can do to bring joy to their lives. I feel grateful for opportunities throughout the year when I can serve others and do nice, thoughtful things for them, but I do need to find ways to be even better all year through! One of my favorite Christmas songs is by Shedaisy and I love the line, "the secret of Christmas is not about the things we do at Christmas time, but the Christmas things we do all year through". I'm pretty sure that you can all guess at least one item that will be on my new years resolution list ;)
Well, I am not completely sure what it was about this years holiday, but I enjoyed every single minute of it. It was stress free, relaxing, magical as a parent seeing the kids anticipate Santa, and 100% fun!!
Christmas Eve has always been the day I look forward to the most. I love the traditions we have established with family and friends. We always start the day off bowling with friends. I believe this is our 6th year of doing so. After bowling we head over to Burgerville for lunch and wish Josie a Happy Birthday. The rest of the afternoon consisted of preparing homemade clam chowder, wrapping presents and making last minute runs to the store for various things.
Christmas Eve is always held at Spencer's parents house. Our dinner is homemade oyster stew & clam chowder, shrimp & cocktail sauce, bologna & cheese sandwiches and Marie's homemade cheese ball & stuffed mushrooms. This year I brought sourdough bread bowls for my clam chowder. It was so good. For dessert we all enjoy a glass of Reindeer Milk (Egg Nog, Vanilla Ice Cream & Apple Juice). Once things settled down we read the story of Christ's birth from the Bible and then played chimes. On our way home from his parent's house we have another tradition of stopping at Kelly & Aundrea's to play chimes with their family, as well as Jeremy & Rochelle's, and have yet another glass of Reindeer Milk with them. It's a fun tradition we started last year. Once we got home the kids opened up their Christmas Eve gift from Mom & Dad, a new pair of pajamas and slippers. The off to bed they went. Sadly, we got home so late Spencer forgot to do our traditional reading of "Twas the Night Before Christmas". I was sad about this.
After much wrapping and assembly, Santa & Mrs. Claus was finally able to go to bed. This was the first year in fact that Austin got up himself and peeked downstairs, instead of us having to wake him up. He must have been excited!
Well luckily for the boys, Santa came. Cameron was especially grateful for this because several days beforehand he had announced to us all that he had been put on Santa's Naughty List. Too much Dora the Explorer! The boys got an air hockey table & Wii games. Austin & Cameron were very excited to get their duck hunting game they asked for and Andrew got a new tri-cycle. Mom got new clothes and shoes (thank you Spencer!), and Dad got cologne, a DVD of a movie he was an extra in and tickets to tomorrow nights Winterhawk game. Nobody lacked anything! 
After we opened gifts, I hosted a breakfast at my house for our family and made a fabulous recipe from the Pioneer Woman's cookbook. I am loving that cookbook! I also volunteered to work at the store from 10:00 a.m. till 2:00 p.m. and had a really fun time doing that. I expected the store to be dead, but I was wrong. Since no other store in the area was open we were hopping. It was fun though, my manager brought in homemade lasagna and garlic bread and we had a ton of fun.
Well, I am not completely sure what it was about this years holiday, but I enjoyed every single minute of it. It was stress free, relaxing, magical as a parent seeing the kids anticipate Santa, and 100% fun!!
Christmas Eve has always been the day I look forward to the most. I love the traditions we have established with family and friends. We always start the day off bowling with friends. I believe this is our 6th year of doing so. After bowling we head over to Burgerville for lunch and wish Josie a Happy Birthday. The rest of the afternoon consisted of preparing homemade clam chowder, wrapping presents and making last minute runs to the store for various things.
Christmas Eve is always held at Spencer's parents house. Our dinner is homemade oyster stew & clam chowder, shrimp & cocktail sauce, bologna & cheese sandwiches and Marie's homemade cheese ball & stuffed mushrooms. This year I brought sourdough bread bowls for my clam chowder. It was so good. For dessert we all enjoy a glass of Reindeer Milk (Egg Nog, Vanilla Ice Cream & Apple Juice). Once things settled down we read the story of Christ's birth from the Bible and then played chimes. On our way home from his parent's house we have another tradition of stopping at Kelly & Aundrea's to play chimes with their family, as well as Jeremy & Rochelle's, and have yet another glass of Reindeer Milk with them. It's a fun tradition we started last year. Once we got home the kids opened up their Christmas Eve gift from Mom & Dad, a new pair of pajamas and slippers. The off to bed they went. Sadly, we got home so late Spencer forgot to do our traditional reading of "Twas the Night Before Christmas". I was sad about this. After much wrapping and assembly, Santa & Mrs. Claus was finally able to go to bed. This was the first year in fact that Austin got up himself and peeked downstairs, instead of us having to wake him up. He must have been excited! Well luckily for the boys, Santa came. Cameron was especially grateful for this because several days beforehand he had announced to us all that he had been put on Santa's Naughty List. Too much Dora the Explorer! The boys got an air hockey table & Wii games. Austin & Cameron were very excited to get their duck hunting game they asked for and Andrew got a new tri-cycle. Mom got new clothes and shoes (thank you Spencer!), and Dad got cologne, a DVD of a movie he was an extra in and tickets to tomorrow nights Winterhawk game. Nobody lacked anything! 
After we opened gifts, I hosted a breakfast at my house for our family and made a fabulous recipe from the Pioneer Woman's cookbook. I am loving that cookbook! I also volunteered to work at the store from 10:00 a.m. till 2:00 p.m. and had a really fun time doing that. I expected the store to be dead, but I was wrong. Since no other store in the area was open we were hopping. It was fun though, my manager brought in homemade lasagna and garlic bread and we had a ton of fun. Dinner was at Marie's house at 4:00 p.m. and as always she made a fabulous meal! Her coconut cake was to die for. I thoroughly enjoyed all the time we could spend together as a family! It was wonderful having Ryan home and able to join us. I can't say it enough ... Christmas is my favorite time of year!
Pictures with Santa
I was grateful Andrew was willing to sit on Santa's lap long enough for me to snap a picture. As long as Andrew didn't have to make eye contact with Santa we were doing good!
Cameron was pretty excited to tell Santa what he wanted for Christmas. 
Austin totally cracked me up when I heard him tell Santa what he wanted for Christmas. I thought I knew by heart what he wanted, but somewhere along the line he decided he wanted to throw in a hula hoop. A hula hoop! These pictures were taken at our Ward Christmas party and what a wonderful party it was, despite my bad mood that evening.
Chicken Down!!
Last week Austin found a bargain at Fred Meyers. He bought a huge pack of Army men for only .50 cents. He used his own money and was pretty excited about his find. Needless to say I am now finding little Army dudes all around my house, and in totally random places! I found 5 of them standing armed and gunned on my thermostat, about 10 of them lined along his bed rail, and a couple of them standing guard in the bathtub. I just laugh every time I find new ones.
So a couple of days ago I ran into a situation that really made me laugh. I found this gruesome scene on my dining table. The poor rubber chicken didn't stand a chance. It cracked me up and the only thing I could think to do was grab my camera. I love his imagination!
So a couple of days ago I ran into a situation that really made me laugh. I found this gruesome scene on my dining table. The poor rubber chicken didn't stand a chance. It cracked me up and the only thing I could think to do was grab my camera. I love his imagination!
A Birthday Surprise
This December Spencer turned 33 and I wanted to do something special this year for his birthday. The idea hit me at Thanksgiving to surprise him with a night snowboarding trip. I rounded up his cousins, and fellow snowboarders, to go along with us. I am very happy to say that my surprise went over well and he was indeed surprised!
Here is how it all went down; about a week before Spencer's birthday I told him that I had made an appointment for us in Portland and that I needed him to get off work and be home by 1:00 p.m. He assumed that I had scheduled a massage app't, just like I hoped he would. On the morning of his birthday I rounded up our snowboards, gear and winter clothes and dropped them off at his cousin's house. Once he got home from work and we were on the road towards Portland I told him that I needed to stop off at his Aunt's house to pick something up. He didn't think a thing about it and when we got there I told him to come inside real quick with me. When we entered the house he saw several snowboards sitting on the floor with a bunch of gear and Spencer asked Garth if he was going boarding. I turned to Spencer and said, "Yeah, so are you!" He looked dumbfounded. I could see the wheels turning in his head and said, I have everything you'll need right here and pointed to his bag. He still had a puzzled look on his face so I started to pull everything out to prove to him I had thought it all through. After a few seconds he smiled and said, "Wow ... Cool!"
So we all geared up and headed to Mt. Hood for an evening of fun at Meadows. The weather was great, hardly anyone was there and it felt so good to snowboard again. I think he had a pretty great birthday! A couple of days later we had a family party with cake and ice cream at our house. Happy birthday to my wonderful husband!
Here is how it all went down; about a week before Spencer's birthday I told him that I had made an appointment for us in Portland and that I needed him to get off work and be home by 1:00 p.m. He assumed that I had scheduled a massage app't, just like I hoped he would. On the morning of his birthday I rounded up our snowboards, gear and winter clothes and dropped them off at his cousin's house. Once he got home from work and we were on the road towards Portland I told him that I needed to stop off at his Aunt's house to pick something up. He didn't think a thing about it and when we got there I told him to come inside real quick with me. When we entered the house he saw several snowboards sitting on the floor with a bunch of gear and Spencer asked Garth if he was going boarding. I turned to Spencer and said, "Yeah, so are you!" He looked dumbfounded. I could see the wheels turning in his head and said, I have everything you'll need right here and pointed to his bag. He still had a puzzled look on his face so I started to pull everything out to prove to him I had thought it all through. After a few seconds he smiled and said, "Wow ... Cool!"
So we all geared up and headed to Mt. Hood for an evening of fun at Meadows. The weather was great, hardly anyone was there and it felt so good to snowboard again. I think he had a pretty great birthday! A couple of days later we had a family party with cake and ice cream at our house. Happy birthday to my wonderful husband!
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
New Christmas Tradition
I love the Christmas season and I have been anxiously awaiting it long before Thanksgiving. I love everything about it. This year for Christmas we started a new family tradition and decided to draw names between us all. I got Austin; Austin got Cameron; Cameron got Me; Andrew got Spencer; and Spencer got Andrew. Austin was in charge of preparing the names so we could draw from a hat and he took it to a whole new level. He didn't just write the names on a small sheet of paper, he went to the effort of taping money (coins) to them as a special added touch. He was pretty excited to be in charge of such an important task. Spencer and I just laughed.
So this last Saturday we made a special trip to Fred Meyer and each of us got $10 to spend on our person. Austin was able to maximize his money and came away with 4 presents for Cameron, again which he is pretty proud of. The boys had so much fun hunting for the perfect gift, and I can't wait to see if we can make it till Christmas with out them spilling the beans on what they got. We shall see...
So this last Saturday we made a special trip to Fred Meyer and each of us got $10 to spend on our person. Austin was able to maximize his money and came away with 4 presents for Cameron, again which he is pretty proud of. The boys had so much fun hunting for the perfect gift, and I can't wait to see if we can make it till Christmas with out them spilling the beans on what they got. We shall see...
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