Fun Family Outings

To be honest, the thought of taking the whole family to a Blazer game kind of stressed me out. Actually having Josh there was most the stressful piece for me. Often instead of picturing the fun we are going to have, I visualize all the uncomfortable parts: meeting Ben somewhere and having two vehicles to juggle, eating out with food allergies, traveling during traffic, walking to and from the stadium in pouring rain, keeping Josh busy during the game, being out late, etc. However, in the end it's not those pieces that we remember! It's the being together as a family, cheering and high-fiving during big plays, eating the best pizza ever at Mississippi pizza, and seeing the excited looks on all the kids faces. We had a really wonderful night, and I'm so thankful that instead of cowering at home and having a "safe" evening, we had a night on the town creating memories!

Brothers getting ready to eat pizza at Mississippi Pizza.

 Ben noticed that we were matching in flannels. So we decided to have the boys take a picture of us. This is Seth's attempt. 

 Thankfully, Sam's was much better! I love this picture of us!

 All the boys at the game

 Joshy started the game out very unsure and tentative. He was pretty funny covering his ears during the opening announcements!

 The big boys and their daddy. They have so much fun at games together, fully embracing the "sports" thing: knowing the players names, strategies, scores, etc. 

Josh really did quite well, all things considered. He warmed up a bit and did some clapping and cheering. He shared a seat with Sam, and whenever Sam stood up to cheer (which was often), he would get sandwiched into the chair as it folded up. It was pretty funny. I love this picture of him and me together. It's such a Josh look: full of joy with a little rascal mixed in.

Sam, Seth

As the night progressed, and it got late (9 or so), Josh got really wiggly and into the "crazy because I'm so tired stage". So we kept him busy with a straw for awhile. He kept shoving it into my mouth and then pulling on it from his mouth. It made him laugh! He's a hoot!

Another one of those "this may not be very fun, but let's do it anyways" experiences came a couple days later. We decided to visit a u-cut lot for the first time. Usually our Christmas tree hunt includes listening to carols on the way to the cheapest lot we can find, picking out a decent tree, slapping it on the car...the end. 

This year, we did it differently, going for the full-package experience: tractor ride, pick your own tree, get mom totally turned around in the woods, use a hand saw, another tractor ride, warm hands by fire, get free hot drinks. It was freezing cold and wet, but such a fun experience! The kids are still talking about it and we plan on making it a new tradition. Also a new tradition: getting the kids a second tree for their bedroom. Not only do the kids love having a tree in their room, but I love no homemade ornaments on my main room tree. Win-win! 

Joshy loved the tractor ride!

 The tree!

 The boys' tree

 The twins even got to use the saw some

Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of the decorated tree. Hopefully soon!

Walks

I love our daily walks. I love the views on our daily walks. Where we live is truly such a blessing: a neighborhood, yet in the country. 

It used to be that Josh was in the stroller during these walks. Now he's zooming along on his balance bike. It makes the walks slower, but is really good for exercise. The big boys always complain before we begin, but I know that they love them. We rescued a salamander from the middle of the road the other day...it was quite the adventure. And Rosey the dog, lives for walks. If I put on shoes in the morning, she's in a tizzy because she thinks we're walking. 

These are some pictures from a Thanksgiving Day walk with daddy. It was cold and crisp, but such a beautiful morning.

 This is the road behind our house. It connects to our back lot. There are very few cars that drive on it, so we don't have to be concerned with the kids staying on the side. It was also paved last year, so is wonderfully smooth!

 Such a big boy!

 The big boys usually opt for scooter and do lots of cool "tricks" on them

 

 Seth is in green

 Sammy in orange (with no front teeth!)

 This a dairy farm in the background, so we get to see cows a lot

This is the road that leads to our house. We are about 5 houses down. Isn't the view spectacular? Oh, how we love our little canyon!

 This morning we got quite a surprise when we looked out front and saw our neighbors with a camera and binoculars looking out at the field. Ben shouted "elk" and we bundled up to see the herd...it was in field in front of our house!

Thanksgiving 2015

I better post some Thanksgiving pictures, before all the Christmas festivities  (pictures) overload me!

 

Our original plan was to travel to Lakeview for Thanksgiving, being that it's been such a mild weather year--but, of course a storm hit the pass and dumped a bunch of snow. That combined with sick kids and my sister's daughter's asthma--and my parents graciously offered to travel up here instead. It was very kind of them and we were so thankful! 

We had a busy and very fun weekend! Katie hosted Thanksgiving dinner, I hosted my parents and Ben's parents the next night, and then Saturday most the family went to the Scappoose vs. Cascade Championship football game, followed by another big family dinner. It was a lot of amazing food, games good conversation, and laughter. The older cousins all love each other so much and play together well: they played Castle Panic, Apples to Apples, life-sized tick-tack toe, and put on a play. The babies (Edmund and Joshy...not so baby any more) have worked out a pretty good sharing system and monopolized the grandparents laps for lots of stories.

 Learning what the butterfly says

 Pointing to objects

 Kids table: they were thrilled with "kids sized wine glasses" and toasted often

 Sam and Aidah: the toothless ones

 Clara, Miriam and Seth: they didn't have missing teeth to show off

 Independently playing a game

Human tick-tack-toe

As I share these photos, I'm reminded that I haven't shared the pictures from my parents visit earlier in the month. We all watched the Oregon State vs. Stanford volleyball. It was a blast!

 Dad went down with the twins to stand close to the TALL volleyball players

Nick and Ben stayed home with the babies...but here's the crew that went to the game

Soccer

Today was our first Saturday in almost two months without a soccer game. It was wonderful. While we were blessed with good weather in all but two games, it was getting cold and rainy! The last two games we got absolutely drenched. It was miserable.

Seth and Sam had a great soccer season. This was their second year playing and they were some of the oldest on the team (they play co-ed with other 5 and 6 year olds). We sure could tell the difference between their confidence and aggression level from last year to this year! What a difference a year makes!

Sammy is a super aggressive player! He played physical and wasn't afraid to bump people around. He learned how to shoot with both his right and left feet this year. He would usually score at least once a game and was a joy to watch play! He was always mentally keeping score (although not very accurate about this!) and gave good high-fives after scores. And from the look of these pictures, he plays with his tongue out--exactly like I always did!

Seth greatly improved this year as well. He was sometimes harder to watch, simply because he holds back quite a bit, which causes him not to play to his potential (oh man, if I already feel like this, how is it going to be in more important matters!). Instead of charging towards to ball or opposing player, he would hold back and wait until they came to him. It also took him about half the game to "get into a groove" and then he would be more aggressive. But, by the last few games, he realized his defensive tendencies and really excelled as goalie. It was fun to watch him gain confidence!

Twin attack! 

We were blessed to have visitors to the boys' game three times: Grandma DiDi, Katie and her kids, and my parents! Unfortunately I didn't get pictures with all of them. But here's the boys' number one fan: Joshy.

Actually, more than anything, he was just kind of a pain at the games, frequently requesting to "go home." I finally got smarter and brought lots of snacks and his own chair. Being a little brother pretty tough stuff apparently.

 Seth, Josh, and Sam