Monthly Archives: October 2011

fall, football, and friends

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We enjoyed a fall weekend of football and friends.

On Friday we celebrated our 11 year anniversary by taking the kids to the local high school homecoming game. We met our neighbors there and the kids had a great time!

Saturday was filled with friends at our house to watch the Oregon vs Colorado game. There was a lot more fun going on outside than football watching going on inside.

Check back this week for the 1st giveaway on my blog!

Also, I hope to update you on the changes we made to our yard now that they are final…until we add more next spring!

Stay tuned…

home is…fall, my favorite season of all.

some catch up and a couple of firsts

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The week before our landscaping project started my wonderful mother-in-law came for a visit, and along with doing some of the fun things on our fall list, I was also able to get some work done around the house and do some things for myself.

It was awesome!

Here are some of the things we did…

I was able to go to the little guys Tae Kwon Do class and actually WATCH him in action rather than try to keep baby girl amused.

We had a fall campfire and roasted marshmallows.

We took a trip to a nearby pumpkin patch…check that one off the fall list!

Ryan and I had a date night…dinner and a movie (the first movie that we have seen together in a theater in over 10 years)!

We also made a stop at a local apple farm and had some more fall harvest fun.

I attended the first of four Adult Beginning Sewing classes that I will be taking this month.

I was able to run lots of errands without kids in tow…I went to JoAnn Fabric 3 times!

I finished painting the little guys ceiling so that I can finally get his bedroom redesign finished.

I made some rose hairclips, a headband, and a “baby tutu” for our new niece in New York.

I also tried some new recipes since I was able to cook without kids pulling on me in the kitchen!

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After my mother-in-law left to fly back to New York the kids and I went to get their first full season ski passes! For $20 a piece I couldn’t pass it up.

I am inspired, invigorated, and excited for the fall season…the upcoming holidays, the chill in the air, and some new projects!

So inspired, in fact, that I will be having my first giveaway on my blog!

It will give you a taste of some of the projects that I worked on last week and a little taste of fall here in the Pacific Northwest!

Check back early next week!

home is…feeling inspired by the change of seasons.

{in our garden} the big dig…and move, and build, and fill, and plant

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Last week we had a big project done at our house.

It all started about 3 years ago after we moved into this house. We loved the yard, but knew that there were changes that we would eventually like to make. We had a landscape architect draw up a plan and it hid in a closet for over 2 years.

At our house we are always trying to figure out which project needs to take priority. You see, when we moved in to this house we knew we would have some upgrades to make, but we were working with a “clean slate”. By this I mean that there had been little to NO upgrades made in this house since it was built about 20 years ago. Slowly, but surely we have made some changes. Some paint here and there, new appliances, new furnace, new water heater, and new carpet. Unfortunately, most of these things were replaced because they stopped working and we had to replace them!

So, this spring we decided that we should bite the bullet and finally make a big project happen around here.

We got multiple bids from contractors. We made site visits to some of their work. And, eventually chose one that was referred by a painter who we got a quote from.

We gave him our plans, he made a few changes and suggestions, and we agreed on the work that would be done. Then we waited…through the summer…until the work could be done.

Last week, it was done.

Realistically, it couldn’t be better timing. It’s a great time to plant, we can let everything settle in over the winter, and we can see what we want to add in the spring!

So, here are some progress photos…

Day One…

Day Two…

Day Three…

Day Four…

I will try to find some “before” photos as we forgot to take some. In a separate post I will show the final product and detail some of the changes that were made.

By the way, I am headed outside right now to plant some more things with the kids. Nothing like a sunny mid-October 70 degree day in the Pacific Northwest!

home is…making big changes.

feeling a bit like claire on modern family

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There are things that I choose not to write about on this blog that I sometimes wish I could.

{I guess I should start a new anonymous blog for those things, right?!}

This is one of those things, but it is almost too funny for me to not write about.

First of all, this is how I am writing this blog post.

It has nothing to do with what I am writing about, but I thought it was funny (and cute).

If I am “working” on the computer and baby girl is awake this is where she wants to be…”momma lap”.

Anyway, this morning I am totally feeling like Claire on Modern Family.

You know the episode where Phil goes to the basketball game with Luke, Manny, and Gloria. Claire sees them on TV and tries to call him. He gets his phone out of his pocket, looks at it, and he sends her to voicemail…all while she watches it on TV.

Yeah, that one.

Ryan has been out of town since Tuesday morning.

And, he is working on a Saturday.

I was cranky and not feeling well on Thursday night when we last talked and we did not get a chance to talk at all on Friday.

So, this morning I texted him on both of his phones, left him a voicemail, and then got on Facebook.

And, there I see that he has made a new friend.

So, he’s making new friends on Facebook, but can’t reply to texts and voicemails from his wife?!

I messaged him that sentiment on Facebook.

And, here is his reply.

I guess he’s been having some technical difficulties.

At least he wasn’t kissing Gloria, right?!

And, we did get to iChat.

home is…technical difficulties.

{summer rewind} bella beach

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My post from yesterday about our road trip to Idaho inspired me to catch up on some of the fun adventures we had over the summer that I did not have the time to post about…because we were having too much fun!

Anyway, I think I decided to bend the rules sometime in June so I have some catching up to do!

I’m going to start with our trip to Bella Beach with Meme and Topher to celebrate the 4th of July and the little guy’s birthday.

Here it goes… On Friday, July 1st Ryan picked Meme and Topher up from the airport, drove them to our house, we had lunch, and headed to the beach! The kids napped on the way. The boys beat us to the house (we had to drive separate cars since we were bringing the dogs) and were already checked in and unpacking when we drove up. We settled ourselves in and headed down to say hello to the ocean. My dad loves seafood, so he ran to the store and they grilled these for appetizers. After dinner, Ryan, the kids, the dogs and I took a walk down to the beach. After a halfway decent nights rest (we did have trouble getting the kids to sleep and had an accident with the safety gate and a baby girl falling down the stairs) we were all ready for a day at the beach. Topher and I drove in to Newport to get a few things at Walmart and then we were ready to go! We played in the sand, flew our Elmo kite,fed squirrels that live in the rocks, and finally got baby girl to take a little nap in the Ergo!

I believe we also saw the first (and only) whale that we have ever seen on the Oregon Coast! We watched it swim down the beach for a long time.

After our fun at the beach we went back to the house for a little “quiet time” before drive to Lincoln City to find a kite store and have dinner. I think a couple of us sat in the hot tub, some washed beach toys, and eventually we all got cleaned up to head in to town. We found some kites, ate a lot of fried seafood, and stopped to have some ice cream. We all slept a bit better after a full day and a big meal to get ready for a trip to the aquarium. Meme, Topher, the kids and I went to the aquarium while Ryan stayed back at the house to get some work done. It was a quick trip. The little guy was cranky and baby girl only wanted Meme to carry her. So, we got them in the car and met Ryan at Rogue where we picked up a growler for later. We also made another stop at Walmart (it’s amazing how there is always something you “need” at Walmart)!

It was foggy and misty when we left the house and by the time we returned the sun was shining and it looked to be a perfect day to spend at the beach! We took our supplies down to the beach…lunch, blankets, towels, umbrella, sand toys, and our new kites! Topher got the kind that you fly using both hands…he figured it out pretty quick and it was fun to watch. We got a box kite that was easy to fly!

The dogs also got to come down to the beach for a while…they were very happy.

After our fun at the beach baby girl fell asleep on Meme’s lap around 6 pm and slept until at least 6 am the next morning. Ryan, the little guy, and I went down to the beach around 9:30 pm to see if we could catch one of the official fireworks shows on the beach. There was still sun on the horizon at almost 10 pm. The wind and the smoke from the campfires and non-official fireworks was getting to me, so I headed back to the house while Ryan and the little guy tried to light a few sparklers.

Eventually they made it back to the house and we all went to bed to the sounds of fireworks.

The next morning Topher headed down to the beach early to set up a spot for all of us. The boys drove in to Lincoln City to look for some fresh seafood and get more kite string for Topher’s new kite (Topher also came back with a second kite…he LOVES toys!).

In between our beach fun we also played with some of the new toys that the little guy (and baby girl) was getting to open each day to celebrate his birthday, the dollar store toys that I brought along (bubbles, airplanes, etc.), and a cool t-shirt craft that Meme taught us!

We made a lunch while the guys were out and headed down to the beach to celebrate the 4th of July. We flew kites, shot water guns, played in the sand, and people watched.

Once again, baby girl fell asleep before dinner. No naps and lots of fun will do this to an almost two year old!

We decided to celebrate the little guys birthday on the 4th since we would be leaving the next morning to head back to Portland and Meme and Topher would be going back to Denver, too.

The little guy declared his 4th birthday a “Batman-Lego-Mario” birthday, so a lot of his gifts followed that theme. As well as the decorations (superhero) and cupcakes.

Baby girl woke up from her “nap” just in time for cupcakes!

As always, we enjoyed great food and wine (and beer) with Meme and Topher, but what I loved sharing the most are the memories that we made for ourselves, and especially, the little guy and baby girl.

This is why I write this blog. So our loved ones can be a part of our adventures whether they are with us or not. And, so the little guy and baby girl have a record of our adventures when they might have been too little to remember.

Our last morning was spent packing up the cars and taking one last walk down to the beach to say goodbye…or in our case, see you next time!

home is…creating memories.

{You can read about our other visits to Bella Beach here, here, here, here, and here!}

impromptu idaho

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I mentioned yesterday that we took a road trip to Idaho over the weekend.

Just about 12 years ago Ryan made contact with Mike Gould. Ryan was looking for a hunting dog and had read Mike’s book, The Labrador Shooting Dog. One night when we were having dinner at a friend’s house they pulled the book out, called information, and asked for Mike Gould’s number in Kamiah, Idaho.

Mike answered the phone and Ryan spent about an hour talking to him about a dog. Soon after that Ryan sent Mike a long letter about what he would like to see in a hunting dog. Ryan and Mike talked on the phone weekly, and by March of 2000 we were on our way to Utah on a quick road trip to pick up our Grand River lab, Ben.

Through the years we drove up to Idaho from Colorado multiple times a year. We spent hours driving the logging roads, talking about hunting, nature and dogs.

By 2004 we had 3 Grand River labs. At the beginning of May 2004, Oak (our female) had a litter of four puppies in our garage. We had 7 Grand River labs living in our small house near Cherry Creek in Denver.

One of the reasons we moved to Portland was to be closer to Idaho.

Something about our drives and visits to Idaho make it feel like home.

I’d have to say it is one of my happiest places on earth.

The little guy made his first trip to Idaho when he was less than 3 months old. We have spent Thanksgiving and Christmas with Mike and the friends we have made there.

Every fall Mike hosts a Grand River Seminar in Kamiah, Idaho. It had been 3 years since we had been to one. In fact, the last one we went to I was pregnant and we told everybody there before anybody else in our family knew…mainly because I wasn’t drinking beer around the campfire like I usually do. {I miscarried a month later, but that’s another story}

It was about time to make a visit to Kamiah.

Ryan had been trying to figure out how he could make it work. He was going to fly out there alone. He was going to drive out with Odyssey. He was going to fly out with Reece. Finally after we calculated how much time it would take to fly and drive (from Spokane or Lewiston) we figured we could drive out there in the same amount of time…and ALL of us could go.

So, on Friday night while I took the little guy to a birthday party Ryan packed up food and supplies for our road trip.

We left Portland for Kamiah Saturday morning at 5 am.

We arrived at the seminar (after checking into our cabin at the Lewis and Clark Resort) around 1:30 pm.

The little guy did NOT want to go to Idaho on Saturday morning.

On Sunday morning he did NOT want to leave.

The property that the seminar was held on was FULL of fruit trees…some wild, some planted on purpose at some point.

Apples, pears, plums (we picked 3 different kinds).

The kids and I drove back to the cabin around 9 pm…Ryan finally made it back after 1 am. I am glad he had the time to catch up with all the guys.

After eating breakfast by the campfire we visited with friends for a bit longer and then got back on the road.

The kids earned some new toys for being so good.

We could hear geese down on the river, so they guys started calling.

We left Kamiah for Portland Sunday morning at 11:30 am.

And, made it back home just in time for baths and a good night sleep.

It was well worth the 15 hours of driving for the time spent with friends…new and old.

And, here is my favorite series of photos from the trip.

Our good friend, Dr. Duck, made quick friends with baby girl by helping her with her shoe after it fell off.

home is…dropping everything to go on an adventure with our little family to see great friends.

UPDATE: I forgot to mention that the little guy played baseball during a lull in the afternoon. Man, he was hitting the ball HARD and far. All the guys at the seminar were really impressed with his left-handed hitting skills…I think we have an athlete on our hands! I wish I had taken pictures of it…I think I was making a run back to the cabin for a diaper, or down to the store for M&M’s!

28-day detox & gluten-free bread recipes

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I am on day five of the pre-cleanse for a 28 day detox.

It is led by the dietician at our healthclub…it’s not a fast, colon cleanse, or caloric restrictive program.

We eat whole foods and eventually replace a couple of meals with smoothies.

Basically, we eliminate alcohol, caffeine, refined sugars and flours, dairy products, and foods containing yeasts.

We will eat a lot of organic veggies, lean protein, and some fruits.

Since baby girl has a wheat and dairy sensitivity this is probably how we should be eating anyway. So, I am looking forward to this challenge and hopefully making some longterm changes for our family.

We tend to eat pretty healthy, but when Ryan travels I eat like crap.

Seriously.

And, he probably does, too.

I get tired and the last thing I want to do is cook, so I make some mac & cheese or a hot dog for the kids, load the rest of their plate up with the berries and fruits I know they will eat, but we all miss out on the veggies that are so good for us!

I am cheating myself and my kids.

I hope that I can change that and cook some family friendly foods that are easy and good for all of us!

I got sidetracked a bit by an impromptu roadtrip to Idaho over the weekend (more on that later). I guess it’s a good thing I am just in the “pre-cleanse”.

At any rate, it has prompted me to pull out the Pamela’s Baking Mix from the pantry and try out some gluten free/sugar free/dairy free recipes.

Last week I baked some banana bread that the whole family liked. I doubled the batch and added a bit too much salt, but otherwise it was very tasty. Here is the recipe:

4 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 cup sugar or honey
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup banana, mashed
1-3/4 cups Pamela’s Baking & Pancake Mix
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup nuts (optional)

Beat together butter, sugar or honey, eggs and banana. Add remaining ingredients and mix together. Pour into a large greased loaf pan.

Bake in a preheated 350° oven for 1 hour, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

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Just a few minutes ago the little guy and I put some chocolate chip pumpkin bread in the oven. I did not make the topping…we’ll have to see how it turns out! Here is the recipe for that one:

Pumpkin Bread with Crumble Nut Topping

4 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 cup sugar {I used honey instead}
2 large eggs
1 cup of canned pumpkin
1-1/3 cup Pamela’s Baking and Pancake Mix
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon cloves

¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)

Topping: (optional)
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup of nuts (sliced almonds, walnuts, pecans)

Beat together butter, sugar, egg, and pumpkin. Add remaining bread ingredients and mix together. Gently mix in chocolate chips.  Pour into a greased loaf pan (8 x 4). Mix nut topping ingredients and smooth evenly over batter to the edges. Bake in a preheated 350° oven for 50 to 60 minutes, or when toothpick inserted comes out almost clean.

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I am using organic ingredients where I can and find that Trader Joe’s has a great selection. I also shop at Safeway and use their “O” brand. We also live less than 2 miles from a Whole Foods and I know I can find plenty of organic and gluten free cooking supplies there. I am finding it hard to find options that are BOTH organic AND gluten free, but I am sure it will happen soon.

home is…making healthy lifestyle changes.