Around Here

Around here, 

January has been fun and full. Just the way we like it. 

 Our sweet friend Hillary watched the kids for us for a night so Jeff and I could get away. We had fun, the kids had fun so it was a win, win. It was a wonderful way to celebrate our birthdays. 

 Otherwise, we have been busy with work, school, volunteering and Greta's 4-H. She is a pro at making her favorite dinner of okra creole for a competition on Saturday. Fieldin get's excited when she makes dinner and Jeff and I are trying to figure out her secret to perfect rice.. She's been practicing placing a table setting and her meal preparation. She has fun, I don't have to make dinner. Again, it's a win, win. 

 The craft room switch was a success. The kids live in there now for homework, crafts, computer time, lego building and I can ignore the mess. They really like it and that makes me happy. Every couple days I sift through the mess and then we start all over but I love it, absolutely love it. They turn on music and keep busy. 

We also cheered for the Oregon Ducks for the first time in our lives..they lost sadly. 

I hope the new year is off to a great start for you all! 

Happy Birthday To Us

It was time for our annual shared birthdays. When they are two days in a row they kind of just flow together which is very fun. We both had wonderful days and appreciate all the birthday wishes! 

 Morning and night blowing out the candles. Blowing out the morning birthday train. This is usually just for the kids but somehow we ended up doing it this year too. Jeff made a gluten free pumpkin pie as our shared birthday treat this year. Since Gret had swimming the night of my birthday we had pie before bed. 

 Jeff got home from his morning run and the kids were ready to light up the train, which was a bit scary. Fieldin with fire. yikes. 

Happy 40th Birthday Jeff. He had a great day and he doesn't mind being 40(30 was tough, 40 was not)His  office at work was decorated with birthday fun. 

So happy to share my birthday with you Jeff. 

We Decided To Go To The Snow

It's looking like we are not going to see a snow flutter at home this year, especially since the places that should have snow don't really have it either. Luckily, we found some snow and rang in the New Year in the cold. We were planning to snow shoe on New Years Eve but it was 1 degree. Not what we are used to, so we stayed inside for the night. 

 The kids made hats and decorations for 2015

 we drove around and saw a fun Christmas light display where we were staying

 and then we danced and watched the New Years Eve countdown shows. This guy was a dancing machine.

 Then they got out the crackers, their favorite part of New Year's.  A party hat, a toy and a joke in each pull. Can it get any better than that? 

 The next morning we woke up early and got on the snowshoes

 and did some hiking and of course some sledding

 Which these two daredevils love the best.

 They do good with the snow shoes for awhile but the little man decides to take them off and RUN and ROLL.

 Their nice daddy pulled them in a sled on trails

 

 It was a great way to ring in 2015. We are all getting a little wimpy in the cold after almost 5 years in a milder climate. The kids weren't used to gearing up to go outside since at home they rarely need a jacket most days. It was fun to get a taste of the snow for a bit. 

Happy New Year! I wish you all a wonderful year! 

I can't wait to talk to you all, have adventures with you all and keep in touch with you all in the coming year. 

We Can Finally Eat Off A Table

The den has been many things but has never been used much. I decided over winter break to turn it into a craft room/office/play area. We had craft supplies all over the house and now they have one home. Most everything the kids owned was covering the beloved kitchen table we had for years. The problem is, as big as the table was there was no place to eat on it. It was covered in toys, art projects and books and was an eye soar.. We bought a smaller kitchen table that is off limits to toys and moved the other table into the den. 

It was already covered in war wounds and craft scars and I can't get rid of it. There are alot of memories associated with this table. One look at the fork marks where little Fieldin used to sit and you know the table is loved. It is a big and very heavy table and I am so glad it worked in this room. I hope it keeps clutter in the kitchen at bay and I hope lots of memories are still made on this table. 

 The table in its new home. There is a bench on the end that is cozy and Fieldin likes the idea of making forts to sleep in under it. Below are the art cubbies. I still have a closet full of yarn and supplies but this is the stuff we use most often. 

 Now I can set up the sewing machine more often for Greta and I, so I found some storage to hold fabric to use. 

 The bench is a favorite place for reading it seems. 

Zoo Lights

We had a very cold but fun night at our annual trip to the zoo lights in Portland. We have a tradition of giving a ticket to a random person waiting in line so they can get in free. This year the person was excited so it was awesome! 

 It was very cold and Fieldin was an ice cube most of the night so we didn't stay a long time

It was pretty packed even though Christmas was over which surprised us. We got out of there after a quick walk through bypassing the cold train and got some warm dinner. 

Our Science Kid & Our Engineer Kid

If you know us well, you know Jeff and I are pretty strict on the use of technology in the house. 

They usually get a half hour and if they are REALLY lucky a hour ... I'm not saying electronics are bad but I like these two to keep busy with other things if possible. So, all Christmas legos have been put together and he has a pretty impressive Star Wars collection these days. 

 And Greta got the owl pellet she asked for this Christmas.. yes owl pellet. She spent many hours one afternoon dissecting it, very very slowly not to break any bones inside. 

 it was alot of work, she spent alot of time taking off layers with tooth picks unlike me who would have broken it and stabbed at it. 

 These were all the bone pieces she found...From the pieces she could tell the pellet contained 1 and 1/2 rodents..ugh.. but cool.. So now she is going to work on putting the bone pieces together after she cleans them. It was entertaining for me to watch but Fieldin was thoroughly disgusted and had no interest. 

 so he went to work drawing out plans for new ships and going to work on them.. I should have gotten my own work done since both kids were busy in their own little worlds for hours but I was having too much fun watching them.

Merry Christmas

We had a nice Christmas Eve bring able to spend time with friends. It was a full happy day. 

The kids FINALLY got to open presents some time after 7 p.m.

 As you can imagine Fieldin was READY.. Greta is getting more subdued these days but you could see excitement in her eyes. 

 Fieldin was out in the rain feeding the reindeer food which is pretty much oats, glitter and marshmallows.. 

 cookies and apple cider for the big man.. with their yearly note to him. Lots of thank yous and nice words to sweeten him up.. 

 Before bed.. they were so tired yet so hyper. 

 Fieldin slept in this morning until 7:45 which we consider a Christmas miracle. Every other day of the year he gets up around 6.

 playing with his dinosaur robot "boomer" 

 Greta building Legos this morning. 

After his stocking was emptied he delved into a box of legos and would not stop working, not even for breakfast.. This is the finished product, an awesome battle cannon ship that looks like a spider. 

Merry Christmas! Love to All!