Merry Christmas!! {2013}

We had a very wonderful Christmas this year! I was happy to have quite a bit of time off work and Nate had a couple days off as well - so it was great!! This year we were really low key and relaxed about it all - in fact, all our packages that we sent to family and friends were sent several days AFTER Christmas because even though we had them ready to go long before the big day, we weren't in the mood to stress over getting to the Post Office!! Plus now this way Christmas for them will last just a little bit longer - and than can never be a bad thing, right? ;)

Anyway - here's what we did over the course of several days ...

On the Saturday before Christmas we met up with Talia for a tasty pancake breakfast

and a wonderful walk around the City Center and the Christmas Square!

On the Monday before Christmas Santa visited the Club - I even got to sit in for a picture with him ...

Ooh, here's the proof that all your packages and cards were ready on time ;)

Nate had to work on Christmas Eve Evening until about 7, so I joined Talia & her family in attending the Edgewater Christmas Service! It was a wonderful service and it was a great way to feel the Christmas Spirit and to truly celebrate the Season!

When Nate got home from work we jumped in the car and drove to Riverside Park so that we could see the "Lights In The Park" that we kept hearing about ... it was a fun little drive with some cute Christmas scenes!!

This year we added a few ornaments to our tree: 

The ornament on the right is made of sand that we brought home from our trip to Bandon in October - it has Bandon 2013. In addition to the sand it has a few small shells & rocks from the beach!

These ornaments are extra special to us this year ... we made the one on the left through Shutterfly and the one on the right was made for us by our nephew Scout years ago - it has always been in my 'special' box in our room but we pulled it out this year and will now hang it on the tree from now on!

Happy Christmasing!!

Our traditional Christmas cereal!

And our traditional Christmas Gooey Rolls!

On Christmas day we headed over to my friend Renee's home and had breakfast with her sweet family! It was a fun morning with lots of laughs and yummy food!

We spent the rest of our Christmas Day (and the following day) Skyping with family and playing video games!!  It was a really restful couple of days and we had so much fun just being together!

We had a very blessed Christmas this year and we have much to be grateful for!

Talent Christmas Auction

So I don't know how much I have told you about my job other than that I absolutely LOVE it!

We are a non-profit organization and a lot of our monies come from doing fundraisers!

Part of my job entails preparing for and helping out at the fundraisers that we have!

On Friday, December 6th we held the Talent Christmas Auction at the Armory in Ashland

(which is about 40 minutes away from Grants Pass). People had been fretting ALL WEEK

about the snow storm that we were supposed to get but I wasn't worried about it at all -

in fact, Nate & I tend to laugh at people when they freak out about the amount of snow

we are supposed to get because it's not really a snow storm at all - it's just a 'skiff.'

We headed down at about 8:00 on Friday morning and there was no snow on the ground -

everyone was so worried about the attendance for the evening and getting home and the whole

time I was kind of rolling my eyes at them and laughing at them ...

... and then we went to Medford.

Renee & I took the van and headed to Medford (about 10 minutes from where we were)

to gather up a few more things to finish decorating for the event. While we were on our way,

one of our Board Members called and said that the highway from Grants Pass to Medford was

closed due to the snow. We were surprised because it was just lightly snowing at that point.

We did our shopping and about 45 minutes later got back on the freeway to find it packed with

snow and backed up for miles and miles and miles. It took us about over an HOUR to get 8 miles 

and we saw cars sliding off the roads, etc. It was CRAZY!! The van that we were in was NOT

equipped for snow and any time we had to slow down our tires would spin out ...

So, to fast forward ... it did end up snowing really hard. After we took our exit back to

Ashland we were stopped yet again at the bottom of a hill, on which the city van had spun

out and was blocking two lanes of traffic. As a result, cars were trying to get up and around

and were spinning out ... we were almost out of gas in a van that would NOT make it up

the hill easily ... so, we did what we had to do ... we parked our van in the Dutch Bros

parking lot, got some hot tea and started hiking up the hill in the snow storm ...

We made it most of the way up the hill when another 'walker' caught up with us ... a kindly

older gentleman who told us that he was going to find us a ride ... he put out his thumb

and almost immediately another kindly gentleman pulled over and picked us up ... so

not only does my job give me lots of fun with kids, but it also gives me hitch hiking experiences

as well ;) (Don't worry, the men were nice and neither Renee or I had any bad feelings or misgivings

about getting in the car with them - besides, we weren't going over 5 miles an hour so we easily

could have hopped out if we needed!!) Anyway - we finally made our way back to the

Armory and finished getting ready for the event!

The room was beautiful and we were all dressed up, decked out and ready to go ...

The only problem was that we had no guests!! Eventually we had a few roll in, but

it was a long night and a lot of hard work for very few people ...

Instead of trying to make it back to Grants Pass in the crazy snow with the awful van

we got a few hotel rooms and ended up staying the night in Ashland! After the event was

over (at about 11:30) we grabbed all of our "necessities" and the five of us slipped and slid

through Ashland as we walked around trying to find the hotel!

I sent this picture to Nate when we arrived at the hotel with the caption 'I'm DONE.'

We all slept restlessly but when we woke up and went down to our continental breakfast

we were greeted with this beautiful sight ...

It was SO beautiful and to be honest, I kind of enjoyed getting stranded in a snowstorm

in the magical wintery town of Ashland - it would have been perfect if Nate had been with me!

Anyway, there is the tale of how I got stranded in a snow storm, hitch hiked and wandered

through Ashland late, late at night with my the funny crazy ladies at the Club!! :)

Random November Fun {2013}

November was kind of a crazy month! I took a quick trip to Utah and aside from that I don't really know what else happened!! :) According to our pictures, we did do some other stuff ...

Nate had a breakfast of champions while I was gone ...

He also had an entire day off all to himself, which he filled with numerous soccer games ...

I got a personalized portrait from one of the little girls at the Club ... aren't I stunning?

I bought a Poinsettia to put on our kitchen table for the Christmas Season (I purchased it the Saturday after Thanksgiving and as of today, they are still alive! That is a cause for celebration!!)

And as I was cleaning out our storage room, I found this gem of a sweatshirt! This was Nate's soccer sweatshirt from High School!! I pulled it out and instantly became nostalgic, AND I found out that it fits me, so it is hanging in our closet!!

We had beautiful weather through November and some amazing photo ops, unfortunately our camera phones were all we had for these photo ops, but we'll be grateful for what we can get, eh?

Again, it was a quick month! We had some other fun things but those will get posts of their own!

Thanksgiving 2013

Our Thanksgiving was really quiet and chill this year!

Because it was just the two of us this year we decided that we

didn't really feel like being in the kitchen all day - so we headed

to our favorite restaurant on the river - Tap Rock!

We were both surprised at just how busy it was for being Thanksgiving,

but we were in good company and we had a tasty, easy meal!!

It was SO beautiful outside so we walked around and snapped a few pics ...

We came back home and skyped with some of our family and enjoyed our time together!

Our November 2013 Gratitude List

We are grateful for: 11/1 - C: her i-pod for giving her music to sing along to while driving to Selma for work. N: a day off that included pizza! 11/2 - the opportunity that we have to spend the evening together because we haven't seen much of each other lately due to our work schedules! 11/3 - We are grateful for the extra hour that we got to spend together this morning before Nate had to go to work!! 11/4 - easy dinners in the form of Safeway Deli Sandwiches! 11/5 - Nate getting off 30 minutes early so we can see each other for a bit before going to bed!! 11/6 - Truth time: Things have been emotional at our house for the last month or so. We have loved ones going through difficult times and we miss Rascal and our jobs are adding a certain amount of stress on us - it may sound cliche, but we are grateful for each other. We are grateful that we know how to make each other laugh through our tears and enjoy the little things through this emotional time. Yes, we are grateful for each other. 11/7 - we are grateful for FRIENDS - for making us laugh, for being predictable and being our favorite 'comfort' show!! 11/8 - Nate FINALLY had a Friday off and we got to go on a nice date to Tap Rock! It was delicious and nice to get out of the house together!! 11/9 - The discovery that 'Chuck' was finally on Netflix and that we had a WHOLE day off to watch it together! 11/10 - C: grateful for phone calls with best friends and a productive day. N: the end of a 12 hour shift!! 11/30 - well I kind of slacked on this list, didn't I? I went on my trip to Utah and came back exhausted and feel like I am just now catching up on my life ... we really do have a lot to be grateful for and we are fortunate that we know it. There are so many people in this world who take what they have for granted and I pray that I will never be one of those people. We have been so blessed this past year in our new life in Oregon and we know that this is exactly where we are supposed to be at this point in our lives. We are grateful for this life that we have together!!

Letter # 8

Dear Rascal,

I can't believe that you have been gone for two months - it has been such a crazy two months - we have had a lot going on. I took a trip to Utah a few weeks ago and when I got back, your daddy took me to lunch. As we were driving, I told him that I almost asked him if you missed me and if you did okay while I was gone - any time I have gone away from any length of time I always knew I could come back and you'd be so happy to see me. I feel like we are used to not seeing you every day but to go away and come back it was weird for me that you were not here.

I did something this morning that we have never been able to do before. I bought a Poinsettia for Christmas. I love Poinsettia's so much - I think that they are so beautiful, but they are also dangerous to little kitties like you because they are poisonous and I knew without any doubt that I wouldn't be able to keep you out of it. The Poinsettia is sitting on my table and looking at it is bitter sweet - it is beautiful and it does bring me Christmas cheer, but it also reminds me of the reason that I was able to buy it - it's kind of a double edged sword.

Today I'm listening to Christmas music and pulling out the tree and the decorations. It's going to be a quiet Christmas without having to get after you every time I see you attacking the tree and/or the ribbons on the gifts that will be under the tree ...

I suppose I'm telling you all this because even though missing you every day is getting easier, there are still times when your absence is so felt so strongly! We do miss you and we will always love you, sweet girl!

Missing you always,
Mommy

Utah Trip!! November 2013

I had the opportunity to take a quick trip back to Utah in the middle of November!

The one thing that I will say about this trip was that it was not a vacation!

It was exhausting and packed full of things to do and people to see

and looking back and thinking about the trip, I don't think I would have wanted

it any other way (except, of course, I would have wanted Nate to come with me).

Here are some highlights & pics!
(Warning: LOTS & LOTS of pics!!)

Day 1

Just because I can ... here's a pic of me waiting for my flight out ...

(yes, those are MY cowboy boots ... yes, I know it's weird to see ME in cowboy boots)

I was lucky enough to be picked up by Ollie, Jack & Sadie! I practically

ran out of the terminal because I was so excited to see them, only to realize

that my plane had arrive early and that they were a few minutes away still ...

Jack & Sadie had fallen asleep in the car but I was happy as could be

to wake them up! They insisted that I ride back to Logan in the back seat

with them and we had a wonderful little reunion in the car and made this

little video to send to Nate!

We stopped at Old Gristmill in Brigham City so that the kids could use the bathroom

I could get some of the most delicious Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread!!

Between the snuggles and the bread I was a pretty happy girl!!

Ollie took me to my parents house so that I could give my mom a squeeze

and then we headed into town to meet up for dinner at Costa Vida (YUM)

with my dad and the Wilkie Family!!  (The Wilkie kids didn't know that I

was coming into town so I surprised them at Costa Vida! They were paying

for their dinner and I walked up to the counter and said, 'Well what are you

guys doing here?' It took them a few seconds to register what was going on

and then I got some giant hugs!! It was awesome!! Here's a happy Daisey & Mags!

And just because it makes me happy, a video (sorry, it's dark) & picture of Sadie & I!

She was my best friend through the whole trip - man I love these kiddos so much!!

Day 2

I woke up early and got Daisey, Isaac & Mags off to school -

I'm SO not used to waking up at 6 - but for these three, I did my best :)

I headed into Logan to make a stop at the Law Office to see the Attorney's and my D&J Ladies!

I had a nice visit with most of the attorneys and then Giselle, Ash & I headed to Einsteins (YUM)

to get some tasty chocolate chip bagels!! We had a WONDERFUL chat and I'm SO glad

that we were able to get together! I really do miss working with them!!

After our lunch I headed out to Preston to see Sam before his dress rehearsal started - he was cast as the Grumpy Dwarf in Preston High's Shrek the Musical! I didn't get to see him the first day so I wanted to make sure to at least be able to give him a squeeze!! I was SO happy to see this kid - isn't he the most adorable Grumpy Dwarf in the entire world?

On my drive back in to Logan I was hit with a sense of nostalgia

and I realized just how much I missed the mountains and the

landscape of Cache Valley! I pulled over and snapped a few pics on my phone ...

Day 3

This day began with snuggles from Miss Maggie!!



Later in the day I met up with my ma!!We had lunch at Taco Time (YUM),
took a drive around Logan so that I could reminisce a little,
made a stop up at Old Main and First Damand then went and got Pedicures!
It was a much needed and so wonderful couple of hours -
I really wish I could have had several more days with my parents!
It's easier when I've been away for a while but after seeing them
and coming back home, it made me all homesick all over again!
(Sorry these pics aren't the best quality - they were all from my phone.)




I picked up the kiddos from school and we met my dad at Coldstone for a little treat before dinner!

Then we met up with Ollie, Jack & Sadie at Cafe Sabor (YUM again - I made sure to hit all my favorite places)! My Aunt Wendy also came and it was so good to see her!! Here's a little video of the kiddos eating the lemons ...

After dinner we went back and hung out for a little bit ... Sadie & Maggie took it upon themselves to draw pictures of me (oh so flattering) and we chatted and played and it was lovely!!

Day 4

First things first, we woke up to SNOW on day 4!
It was SO beautiful and I was so happy that it snowed for me
while I was there! (We don't get much snow here in Grants Pass)!!

The actual day of the week was Friday, so for this day, I pulled Daisey, Isaac & Maggie out of school and took them out to Joe & Ollie's for the day! Luckily it hadn't snowed very hard at their place and we spent the day outside chasing chickens, riding goats and go-carts and running around!!
It was such a fabulous day!











































Oh, and for your viewing pleasure, some jokes by Jack & Sadie ...






 Day 5

Despite having a VERY late night on Friday
Daisey, Maggie & I woke up bright and early on Saturday
so that we could go see Marisol & Omar play basketball!!

It was SO, SO great to see the Dutson family -
our visit was short, but very sweet!!









And as a bonus, I got to give my favorite pup Hailey a squeeze!!



We grabbed some lunch at Mandarin Garden (YUM) and took it back to share with Isaac & Bob!



For the afternoon, we headed back out to Joe & Ollie's to catch more chickens, play a riveting game of Spoons, snuggle, laugh, eat and have a wonderful time!










For dessert, Ollie made my most FAVORITE peanut butter frosting
(seriously, it is so YUMMY!!) to put over brownies ...
we found Jack cleaning out the bowl after the brownies had been frosted ...



That evening, G&G Harrison and Leslie & Noal came up to go to Sam's play (and hopefully to see me, too, although Sam is pretty darn adorable ;) ) I'm so annoyed with myself because I didn't
get any pictures with them ... super big bummer ... Even though there are a lack of pictures, I was so happy to see them! I married into such a wonderful family and we miss them so much!

Anyway, Sam did so wonderfully in his play and I am so grateful that my trip worked out so that I could be there to see a performance! I'm so proud of him and his dedication - he did such a great job!

Here's Sam's big line (sorry it's so shaky, I had a wiggly Sadie on my lap through the whole play ... I'm not complaining, though, I got some GREAT snuggles from that girl)!!







We had another very late night hanging out at Joe & Ollie's after the play - partially due to the deer hitting Ollie's car incident (afterwards Sadie ran up to me and said 'We made the dear dead') and mostly because this was going to be my last day seeing them and I was totally putting off the inevitable! As a result, the kiddos were tired and hilarious - we had a fun game of charades and I caught Jack making funny faces at himself in the mirror ...



Day 6

My last full day was the day that I FINALLY got to spend with my parents! We went to Noodles & Co for lunch (Mmmmm .... this blog post is making me hungry) and stopped by Jimmy John's to get a sandwich for later!! My little brother came up with his puppy Stout and we had a wonderful time catching up and playing cards!! It was a much too short visit,
but I'm grateful that he took the time to come and see me!!

(I was feeling a little Oregon homesick so I wore my Ducks shirt!!)

 As you can see, it was a very busy trip!! I'm so grateful that I was able to get time off work to go and support our friends and family and get some wonderful snuggles while I was there!