Family Pictures

Family Pictures August 2011: Sunriver, OR

And my all time favorite. . . . . . . 

Drum Roll Please . . . . . . . .  

Our Trip to the Apple Orchard

 You know when you think you have a really good idea and it all is perfect in your head, but then when it comes time to execute the idea you get nervous that it won't be as ideal as you were imagining? Well, my friend blogged about an apple orchard just a couple of miles up the highway from us. She took her kids there and it looked like a lot of fun. So, my vision was created. I was waiting for the perfect day to take the family, and Saturday was that day. It was a beautiful fall afternoon so we headed to Beilke Farms to pick us some apples!

 The lady took us on a gator ride to wear the best apples were located! I'm pretty sure the kids were in heaven!

 That is, until they found all the apples. 

 The lady encouraged us to eat them straight from the tree. Maisey took full advantage of the lady's wisdom and ate three during the hour we were there. Daddy beat her by eating six or seven.

 The kids helping with their buckets. We ended up picking 4 buckets total which was almost 100 lbs. of apples!

 We picked Jonagold, Golden Delicious, and Honey Crisp. 

 Delicious!

 Gage liked the apples, until he found the tractors, then the dirt.

 Then he filled up on dirt and mud for the rest of the time and he was happy!

And here am I in all my glory, actually picking the 100 lbs. of apples, imagine that!

Wish me luck on my first attempt at making and canning applesauce!

P.S. This was actually one of those rare times that my idea turned out JUST.LIKE.I.PLANNED! :)

A *NICE* day at the beach!

In Oregon, if you hear it is supposed to be 80* at the beach, you better be taking advantage of it because it only happens once or twice a year. Lucky for us it happened on a Saturday a couple of weeks ago when we didn't really have much planned. So that morning we packed up the sand toys and headed west!

 They are both holding on to the kite handle. I'm pretty sure that's the best dollar I've ever spent! They had a blast flying that thing!

 Maisey the Mermaid!

Gage LOVES the sand. He likes to be buried in it, eat it, throw it, eat it, and let it run through his fingers. Oh and did I mention, he likes to eat it?

Until next year!!!

 

Oktoberfest 2011

Oktoberfest this year was a lot of fun. Not as wet as the last few years, which was nice. We went with our usual friends, ate the usual food, looked at animals in the petting zoo, jumped in the bounce houses, rode ponies, went inside the church of men (that's what Maisey called the big Catholic church that is in the town) played in the hay maze and watched wiener dog races! The adults all decided that next year we are doing Oktoberfest kid-free!

Polos anyone?

I just made the grand maternity swap today! You know, when you bust out all of your old maternity clothes and organize your current closet into categories: Still fit for 6 more months, squeeze into for next 3 months, no fat chance, it's already tight on me! I put all of the last category into the maternity bins along with all my summer clothes to make room for my maternity clothes, and the clothes from my two sisters. As I was going through the maternity clothes (which is a lot when you combine all three of ours) there were just a few things here and there that I still thought were cute, and most of them were my sister's who just had a baby 3 months ago. Seriously, how can fashion trends change that much in 5 years? I'm pretty sure between my older sister and I we have EVERY.SINGLE.COLOR. of polo ever made. And they all went right back into the bin. And the jeans? Don't even get me started. Let's just say I already ordered a pair of maternity jeggings, some leggings, and will definitely be shopping around for a few other pairs. You would think out of 15 pairs of denim, at least one pair would be fashionably acceptable. No!  I don't even feel like I'm all up on the trends, but Wow! How things change in just a few years.

Maisey's Preschool, Ballet, and Soccer

September was a busy month for Maisey. Yeah, I'm a little behind. 

She started preschool again and is loving it just as much, if not more, than last year. This girl thrives on structure and routine so starting preschool again has been so nice for us both. She loves how they do a letter of the day and can't wait for tomorrow because it is "M" and since her name starts with "M" she gets to bring something else that starts with the letter to show her class. She already has her mind made up! She is really looking forward to her pumpkin patch field trip at the end of the month.

Maisey's first day of school pics!

Maisey's next adventure has been ballet! She is so small and petite that she makes the cutest little ballerina. She is able to focus on what Ms. Deborah is teaching her and is really good about following directions. She goes to class on Monday afternoons and it's kind of a fun Mommy/Maisey time. We now leave Gage at a friends house after taking him on the first day and regretting it within the first five minutes.

 This is Maisey's class with Ms. Deborah and her little helper girl.

Maisey is really excited to be in the class with her friend Sadie.

We also decided to sign her up for soccer this year. It's only for six Saturdays
 and there are not any practices during the week. It's low key and the kids pretty much just chase the ball around, but it's so fun to watch. Her team is this weird khaki color but Maisey calls it gold! She is such a girl. Shaun was trying to tell Maisey how to be aggressive and kick the ball after the first game. Then the morning of the second game, this is what she said to me: "Mommy, I'm going to make a score today. I'm going to kick the ball with one foot and kick people out of the way with my other foot." Haha! She is pretty funny to watch out there, and you can't miss her with her rainbow striped Hannah Montana socks that she demands to wear each week.

Maisey is on the same team with four of her friends. They were all on the field at the same time last week! It was fun to watch them all.

I can't believe how grown up Maisey is becoming. It's so fun to watch her develop different talents and skills and to make friends with the new kids she meets.

Wheel of Fortune Take 2

Remember my obsession with Wheel of Fortune?

Remember when I went to try to audition for the show a few years ago?

Remember when I was really disappointed?

Good! Then I don't have to write much about Saturday.

Go here for the recap!

This phrase is a funny family joke. I had to get the picture to show Shaun! I knew this puzzle before ANYONE! 

I should SOOOOOOOOO be on the show!

But just like last time there is still a glimmer of hope.

Gage and His Big Boy Bed: Part 2

 Gage still doesn't fall asleep in his bed. I went in on Wednesday night to check on him and he had TOTALLY destroyed his room! Picture frames, clothes, diapers, bath towel, books, things that were once hanging on the wall were no longer.

There he is smiling at me on his bed because he thinks it's funny.

So Thursday, I spent the morning rearranging his room and the play room. I took out ALL of the toys, including the train table. I took out the frames and other things he would pull off the walls. The only thing left in there was his dresser and his empty garbage can. I was sure he would go to sleep that night.

10:00 pm on Thursday rolled around and I went to check on him and he had pulled out his bottom drawer of his dresser, broke the side off of it, used the empty space to climb up to the top of his dresser, retrieved his piggy bank, and played with his money all night long. It was all over his room. He also opened the side door of his dresser and took all of his new diapers out and put them in his garbage can.

Fast forward to Saturday morning. I was leaving for the day and gave Shaun a list of stuff to do while I was gone. On that list was to fix Gage's bottom dresser drawer and put it back in his room. Like a good husband, he got everything on the list done, including the drawer.

But apparently that didn't matter, because that SAME night, Gage took it back out, emptied all of his pants, put his pillow pet inside, broke the side off so he could use it as his bed!

That kid is strange. If I had a queen size bed all to myself and was allowed to go to bed at 7:30 pm every night I would sooooo be there!

Reminder: Try a Little Harder

. . . To Be a Little Better!

How is it going?

Am I being more patient, kind, and positive?

Am I learning to let things go and be more flexible?

Am I understanding that life is hard, and am I trying to find joy in it?

Remember you are preparing yourself for future trials and great events.

You can try harder!

You are doing a great job!