For the Grandparents... "Will Walk for Peanuts!"

Spare yourself, if you aren't her grandparents you probably won't care... but I can't get the YouTube link to work , so I thought I would try this. 

We love our Paige!!!

One last 2013 post

I let Madi and Shayne pick their favorites for an outtakes page in the book.  Next year, I'll do it before deleting so many pictures, but this was still fun for 2013.

Quote of the Day

Today we're sitting at the table and out of nowhere Madi says,

"I'm a loosen.  Shayne's a screw up, Mom's a screw up. Dad's a screw up. And Paige we don't know yet."

Any guess what she was referring to?

(See below)



















She's a lefty - LEFTY Loosen, RIGHTY Screw up (apparently)

Christmas 2013

Christmas day was spend building with Duplos, Paige stealing and eating everyone's stocking candy while we play with toys, Christmas jammies, scooter riding in the basement, Christmas light cruise before bedtime and telling the Nativity story one more time.  We had a great Christmas despite extreme tiredness and some fatigue from the week of sickness.  We didn't catch many on camera, but we got to see those Christmas smiles and that's what matters.  Merry Christmas everyone!

(Oh, and the Santa picture is from the Christmas party at the Church.)

 

December

SNOW DAYS!  Sledding in our yard, how to have a snowball fight with a baby, choosing a Christmas tree from the shipping yard, decking the halls, more sledding.

 

November

Making and painting ornaments. Washington for Thanksgiving.  "Hiking" in the enchanted forest, feeding aggresive ducks at the park... being rescued by the attack dog when the ducks got out of hand.

 

October

Pumpkin patch, pumpkin carving (Madi got to wield a knife this year), Trunk or Treat, Batman, Glinda and the Cowardly Lion

  

September

Oregon adventures, kevin passed licensing exam, river walk, first day of school, monster truck rally



Lake day in Washington

Miss Paige turns 1!!!

 

August

Sorry, I'm too lazy to write this all up, but here is our August...
(in the reminder format so that I can complete the journal later)


- Visitors (Great Grandma J, Aunt Judy, Grampa, Gramma, Auntie Maea)
- U Pick Peach Orchard


- Neskowin Beach day-trip (chilly water but beautiful day.  Shayne still isn't a fan of the ocean and requested that we go to a different beach where there was no ocean :o)
- Oregon State Fair (Madi got to help in the clown show and we went back to the petting zoo 4 times)
- Aumsville Corn Festival (treasure hunt in the hay was the highlight... as well as corn to eat for weeks)
- More exploring town (secret path to the water tower)
- Shayne loves soccer with his Daddio

 

July

July has been a busy month!  Here are the photobook pages:

• Papa and Tutu came home from South Africa
•  We got to enjoy fun at home and the park, Eagle Fun Days, an ice cream date, many stories, loads of help packing, lots of kid snuggling and fun as housemates for a week and a half before the move... We feel so lucky to have had time with them before moving farther away.  We're so lucky to have such fun and loving grandparents!
•  We moved to Oregon

• We got to see my college roomie lil J in Portland
• Dave, Kellie, Sydney, Collin and Sophie also met us in Portlandfor a visit before their big move to North Carolina
• We've started exploring our area, starting with Silver Falls State park (the largest State park in OR)

• We're getting used to our new sunset :o) It's beautiful out our front window every night
•  Mom took the kids on bikes to explore the town... the bike portion was not a complete success (look closely at the pic to find where Paige was demoted to) but the exploring was great.  We played at 2 parks, attended story time where the kids got to play the drums, stopped at the grocery for water, threw rocks in the river, and got a swim schedule from the pool.  The timing was perfect because we finished at the same time Dad was retuning from training in Eugene so he took us home and we didn't have to do the uphill part :o)
• We celebrated Kevin's first week of work
• Enjoyed several picnics in the backyard
• Picked cherries in the backyard
• Went for a swim
• And Paige finally flashed a sweet smile showing off her cute new teeth

All in all we are VERY happy and adjusting well. 

Its already July!

Papa and Tutu are home! Okay, they've been home since the 4th of July but I've been away from Blogger much longer than that.  They returned from South Africa and we were lucky enough to live with them for almost 2 weeks before we left for Oregon. I don't have good airport pictures, but I did catch a few cute moments since then. 

 

 

 

And we have arrived in Oregon!  I must say I am quickly falling in love.  We have such kind neighbors- two have already stopped by to say hello and brought gifts of zucchini bread and berries from their backyard. This morning we went outside, cut flowers for the table and picked cherries to eat with lunch.  Can't beat that!  We were planning to ride the bike down to the library for storytime this afternoon but I am short one nut for the kid seat... life's tough :o) I may have to walk a mile to the hardware store or settle for the nearby park today and library tomorrow.  We'll see how I feel in 6 months, but I'm pretty sure I'm a small town girl at heart.  The library, swimming pool, Kevin's work, church and a couple parks are all within 2 miles.  Costco is 15 or 20 minutes from the house (in Salem) and I'm sure we'll be able to find any retail we need in Salem too.   We're off to a great start here!  Now just to put everything away in between visitors and park trips :o)  Here's a few pics...

First day with pony tails :o)

  

The untamed yellow cherry tree hiding behind the shed in the backyard (the ones that are actually in the yard were picked before we arrived, but this gem hides so it is FULL of cherries)

And the flowers... how can fresh cut flowers not make you happy??

 I guess I should mention the most important news of this post too... Kevin started work yesterday.  He passed the NAPLEX and will take the Oregon state exam soon before he can officially be licensed, but until then he works as an intern.  I'm pretty darn happy about that too!  Employment!  Oh how I have longed for you.  There is life after college!

Vegas!

No time for real explanations but here's a Vegas picture dump...

(okay, tiny explanation: We went for Kevin's capstone course and graduation.  And while Kevin worked his tail off, the kids and I played and played and played. Poor Kevin, Tired kids... many memories.)

Splash pad with friends

Swimming playdate with old friends... we MISS our friends!

More splash pad playdate

Shark Reef with adopted Grandma Julie

Dead batteries doesn't stop Julie from providing boat rides :o)

There's buried treasure in the desert! (GeoCach site on our hike with the Johnstons)

How can I not post this one?

The big day!!!! We are SOOOO proud of Kevin!!!!

Hopefully we'll get the official grad photos soon and graduation can get its own post...

We hope we can come back soon.  I was much more emotional leaving this time without a set time I knew I would be back.  We have had amazing experiences, met wonderful people and grown as a family in Vegas.

February

Ooops, I guess I skipped February.  I was working on March and realized this wasn't posted.  Here it is, and March will be up soon.

 

Happy Easter again!

We had a great Easter over here, interrupted only by the most dramatic sliver incident in the history of mankind.  But eventually we all recovered and it was a lovely day. 

Hope yours has been wonderful too!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter from a very sweet little bunny! 

January

 Let's see if I can get this started again...

January Family Yearbook Pages (I am trying to record more in writing than I have in the past so bear with me as I hopefully learn to records and tell little stories.)

I love my frozen family...

A few random ramblings...


I love my family.  Aren't they cute? (Don't miss the little Paige at my feet).

Kevin got home from work early (and the snow was moist enough) so he and the kids finally got to make that snowman the kids have been wanting since Christmas...






And this girl... words can't express.  I'm just obsessed with her.  She's growing, smiling, and so full of love.  I could cuddle her all day, well, I can't, but I could :o) You know what I mean?  She's just precious and I'm grateful for our rough little road that has made me appreciate everything that much more.

I can't get enough.  You like that hair??

These were my jammies when I was a baby :o) Its hard to comprehend other mommies loving their babies as much as we love our own, but it is fun to think that my Mommy loved me like I love my Paige.  These jammies have sure seen a lot of snuggling!!!

Sisters... so much love between these two.

That's all for now.  I just wanted to ramble.