A mother of a son works from son up to son down

Busy weekend

2012-02-12T12:00:00.000-08:00

Friday was Ryan's Birthday. My Mom and I made these cupcakes for her since she loves sheep. They turned out pretty cute since we aren't very crafty in the baking department.

Carson has been growing his hair out and he was getting tired of having "hair curtains" which he is displaying below. It was time for a hair cut. Adam got one too, but Carson's was definitely more of a drastic change.

We went to Applebee's for lunch and then hit up the movie theater to see Star Wars in 3D. All the characters were at the theater, but Adam would have nothing to do with them. I think he may have been scared of them. Carson had his picture taken with several of the characters!

Adam would only allow me to take the following picture.

This morning, I had a massage from my friend Ann who is in school to become a massage therapist. My neck has been bothering me and I think she fixed me up! The plan for the rest of the day? Relax, homework for the boys, prepare Valentine's, etc.

Superbowl Sunday

2012-02-06T07:00:00.000-08:00

We decided to have a small party for the Superbowl, which of course got my creative juices flowing!

I purchased some football cupcake toppers and made cupcakes.

I also came up with this idea to create an upright. I used one yellow poster board (0.50) and a package of yellow balloons (0.99). I borrowed the football lantern to complete the look! I think it turned out pretty darn cute! I started to use packing tape to hang it up, but it wasn't working so I used some tacks.

I found some football napkins in Michael's for $1/package. I got the plates and tablecloth at the Dollar store. I maybe spent $13 on decor!

Food is another story! Ha!

I made/had:

Meatballs

Lil' Smokies

Sausage/Cheese/Crackers

Ranch Dip

Potato Chips

Tortilla Chips

Olives

Pink Salad

Cupcakes

Pop

Beer

What was brought by others:

Bread/Spinach Dip

Veggie Tray

Stuffed Mushrooms

Shrimp/Cocktail Sauce

Guacamole

Salsa

Subway Sandwiches

Needless to say...we did NOT go hungry!

We had 15 people show up:

Trisha, and her boyfriend Casey

Corey, Melody, Brianna, and Nacho

Katrina, Jorey, and Jayden

Tom, Heidi, and Zack

Debbie

Larry's Dad and their friend, Bob

We decided to have a pool at the last minute and we ended up with $100 in the pool! There was a $25 winner at the end of each quarter. Casey won the first two quarters and Larry won the second two!

Oh and the Giants beat the Patriots....21 to 17!

February

2012-02-04T11:00:00.000-08:00

February is here! February means Valentine's Day is coming! This girly girl loves Valentine's Day! Anything with hearts, flowers, and pink is right up my alley!

I thought about making the boys Valentine's this year, but decided to purchase personalized ones instead. They came with the personalized stickers and cellophane bags. Carson's design was easy to pick out, Adam's on the other hand was a bit more difficult. I thought he would like the robot design, but he chose the monkey. I wasn't sure, but I love how they turned out and they are very much representative of his personality. These were so easy, I just purchased candy and put it in the little baggies!

Larry = Corona, Kati = Smirnoff

2012-01-30T13:22:00.000-08:00

I don't know why, but I really love this picture! I think because it feels Spring like and it's fun. Larry was making dinner the other night, while we were chatting when we decided we should have a drink. I ran to get us our "beers" and thought they represented us pretty well! LOL! I told Larry "I have to get a picture!" We added the heart sticker which was not an easy task with the condensation, but it worked out. Ha ha ha!

Larry <3 Kati

Updates-Random style

2012-01-27T19:00:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago, I attended a baby shower for Meagan Stewart (former employee of mine) who is due in April with her baby girl, Reiley. I had to take a picture of the girlie sleepers and wrapping! It was a library shower, where everyone was encouraged to bring a book for the baby. I purchased "The Monster at the End of this Book" for Miss Reiley. Meagan received a ton of cute books. It was a great idea, especially because Meagan loves reading and is incredibly smart.

Ann Holland hosted the shower and did an amazing job with the food and decorations. I helped "poof" out the puffs that were all over the room. Ann even created book garland. Super cute!

My Mom and I had a "girl date!" We had pedicures and then went to McMenamins-Boon's Treasury for dinner. I had a chicken Caesar wrap and my Mom had a salad that looked delicious.

I stopped by Chase's 10th Birthday party last week. The boys were with their Dad so they couldn't attend. It was super simple and low key. Ryan had a movie for the boys with popcorn, hot chocolate, and hot dogs! They all had a blast! Of course, after the movie there was ice cream cake!

Brought to you by the letter F

2012-01-20T20:30:00.000-08:00

Flooding

The snow we received the other day melted and then it rained, poured, and then rained some more!

I saw my first ever Emergency Alert on t.v. and our city park is flooded. Neighboring counties had it much worse, but it's been educational for the boys. They had to get out of the car with me to look at the water in the park.

(picture taken 01/20/2012)

Fifth Disease

Carson was super itchy and stayed home from school on Wednesday. Thursday I got a call around 10:30 from the school stating he was complaining of a rash and itchiness. The school secretary told me that Fifth Disease is going around the school. Apparently, it starts with a low grade fever/cold like symptoms and then works into a rash. Carson had zero cold symptoms and no fever. His rash is very itchy and he is quite dramatic about it. We have tried Benadryl in pill form, Calamine lotion, Benadryl cream, oatmeal baths, etc. and nothing completely relieves the itching. It has to run it's course so we are hoping it clears up soon! The first picture makes it look worse than it was, he just had calamine lotion all over his body. Also, look at his hair! It's getting pretty long! I kind of can't wait to see how blonde it turns this summer!

A Snowy Sunday

2012-01-15T17:00:00.000-08:00

This morning, we woke up to this...

The boys had to go outside and play!

Carson's snowman...

Adam's snowman...

Even I wrote in the snow...

It melted, but it's started snowing again. I think the boys are hoping to play again tomorrow! I'm good with it snowing on the weekend (tomorrow is a Holiday).

Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!

2011~Blogged and Printed

2012-01-15T08:00:00.000-08:00

I just received my 2011 blog book! I print out my entries each year to keep as a journal of our daily life and outings. I'm happy to report that 2011 marks three years of blogging and three years of printed memories!

Cute story

2012-01-14T09:00:00.000-08:00

Last night we were flipping through channels on t.v. and ended up on a show called Infestation. Talk about giving you the heebie jeebies! There was a family who had a brown recluse spider infestation, a family with a squirrel infestation, and a family with a brown dog tick infestation.

Adam came downstairs at some point to sit and watch t.v. with us and mentioned during a commercial break that the show was creepy. Anyway, the family with the brown ticks had exterminators come out several times, but these ticks stay in the walls so the pesticide didn't work. It came to the point that they had to leave the house, with nothing because they could spread ticks elsewhere. Special exterminators had to come in to use a certain pesticide that you have to be licensed to use.

The family came back to their house and there were dead ticks literally covering the ground. The pesticide that had been used melted their family pictures and ruined home video. It was actually quite devastating. I looked over and Adam had his hands up near his eyes, like he was in complete shock. Then I noticed he was rubbing his eyes. My sweet, sensitive (usually sarcastic) boy was crying! I asked "Adam, is this show making you sad?" and he answered "Yes" while giggling. I think he was giggling because he was embarrassed. We didn't make him feel embarrassed about it though.

It was so cute and so sweet. I gave him a hug and he ended up sitting next to me for the rest of the evening.

Carson came down a few minutes later when another show had started and Adam said "The last show made me cry!"

Twenty twelve

2012-01-08T08:30:00.000-08:00

2012...so far...

We received a few late Christmas gifts and the boys fell in love with this table top foosball table! Of course, Larry and I had to try it out and he beat me!

I took a super cute picture of Adam sleeping the other night and have to document it here. I'm sure he will hate me later in life! Ha!

I still receive sweet love notes from Larry!

Larry and I have made a pact that the first three months of this year will be a "miser period." This means no spending, no going out to eat, etc. I have a much harder time with this because I'm the one who purchases gifts (baby showers, Birthdays, etc.) and because Valentine's Day is in there too! I will try to stick to the no eating out, etc. We did go to Costco to stock up on stuff. Oh my...Costco on a Saturday is not the best idea ever! We survived though! We got a ton of breakfast items, lunch items, and healthy stuff.

Larry and I have also set some realistic goals regarding paying off debt and eating healthy/losing weight. We have a reward in place if we both hit our goal, so I sure hope we are successful. I'm feeling excited that we can hit them! I had to purchase a sports bra though so I can workout comfortably. We went to Sport Authority to get ourselves set up and try things on. I went in the fitting room to try bras on, I wasn't going to come out to show Larry so I had him come in with me. It was so funny! I had to jump around and make sure the bra worked. Larry didn't understand until I put on my regular bra, jumped up and down, and showed him how much it was not supporting me. We were laughing so hard. I'm sure anyone outside of the fitting room thought we were crazy. We received a gift card to Sport Authority for Christmas so I got a new bra, workout capri pants, a workout shirt, Adidas socks, a gym bag, and a stocking cap! Spoiled! Larry got a stocking cap, tackle box (to create a "save a dive" kit), and a knee brace.

Lastly, I took this picture of our cat the other day. He was being so cute. The other day we woke up and he was sick. I thought it was the end. He was so lethargic, not eating, etc. He is improving. I'm wondering if he had the stomach flu or something. It's funny because I wouldn't call myself attached to the cat (His name is Romo, but we just always call him Kitty), but I was in tears about how sick he was. He is hopefully on the mend now!

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T11:00:00.000-08:00

Last night we went over to Mike and Cassie's for New Years Eve and had a lot of fun. I will admit, I wasn't really feeling it on our way there. We stopped and ate at Taco Bell, supposedly our last "bad" food, stopped for beer, and then headed to their house.

Cassie had tons of party favors. Everyone was wearing tiaras or hats. She showed me a mask and said everyone had been afraid to wear it, so I took it!

They had karaoke and the girls danced to all of the music! It was fun! I caught some funny pictures of Larry singing.

We took some other random pictures...

There were probably 20 people there and we got pictures of us together and each one of us with Steve Mance. Literally zero pictures of anyone else! So funny!

At midnight we watched the ball drop and Larry and I kissed several times and hugged.

Our first picture of 2012, which is my favorite!

Christmas break...continued...

2011-12-31T07:00:00.000-08:00

I took some time off for Christmas break mainly so we could stay around the house and be lazy. I ended up with 12 days off with the holiday weekends. Oh, how nice it's been!

I was napping, when Adam came and cuddled with me for a bit! I treasure those moments because I know they won't last forever! When he started to get squirmy, I grabbed my camera and took a picture!

I've read so much during my time off! I finished Jaycee Dugard's book and read the Nicholas Sparks book in a day!

I took the boys shopping to spend their Christmas money. Of course, the stores were sold out of the specific Lego set Carson wanted, but we eventually found some sets he liked. He came home and put them together for hours. Adam purchased some video games.

Copper knocked the Christmas tree over which prompted me to clean up and put away Christmas!

We went and visted my Grandma Merrily at her apartment in a retirement village. The pictures are a bit blurry, but you get the idea.

Me, Grandma Merrily, and my Mom.

Adam, Carson, Grandma Merrily, my Mom, and me in the mirror!

Crazy boys with Grandmas

The boys and I watched The Goonies. We ate lunch, all three of us on the same love seat, under a blanket, cuddling, and watching the movie.

Adam's Christmas

2011-12-30T10:05:00.000-08:00

Adam received:

Art desk with art supplies

DS game-Lego Ninjago

Lego Alien Conquest

Lego Star Wars pens

Star Wars battle packs
underwater gun

jeans

yellow snowboard shirt

Scooby Doo pajamas

Lego beach towel

Star Wars books

Despicable Me movie

TNMT movie

Lego bananas game

green pizza shirt

lime green monster shirt

grey skull shirt

Star Wars Operation game

$10

$25

magnetic wallet

$25 Wal-mart gift card

stocking hat/gloves

various stocking stuffers

Carson's Christmas

2011-12-30T10:00:00.000-08:00

Carson received:

Video camera/back drop

Lego Harry Potter Knight Bus

Lego Harry Potter Hagrid's Hut

Lego Harry Potter The Burrows

Lego minifig display case

underwater gun

jeans

red skull shirt

pajama pants

Puma jacket

swim trunks

black long sleeved shirt

Harry Potter movies (x3)

The Goonies movie

I survived book

Lego beach towel

books on tape

$10

$25

magnetic wallet

$25 Wal-mart gift card

stocking hat/gloves

various stocking stuffers

So girly!

2011-12-29T17:00:00.000-08:00

I was putting away my Christmas goodies and noticed how girly everything is! Ha!

Perfume...

I inherited a set of my Grandma Ruth's china. I have eight place settings of this pretty pink and gold china. Only my Grandma Ruth would have pink china! I really need a hutch now!

I also received a new Zable bead, the white heart one on the left. I love this bracelet! I can tell you who gave me each bead and on what occasion!

I don't think you can get much more girly than perfume, pink china, and jewelry! Ha!

Christmas Day

2011-12-27T12:00:00.000-08:00

We woke up Christmas morning and the boys opened their one gift from Santa and checked out all the goodies in their stockings. They played with all of their new toys while Larry and I relaxed on the couch, watching t.v.

We headed to my Mom's for dinner and more presents...

My Mom asked Larry to go get her a beer from the back fridge and he gave her an odd look, but went anyway. In the fridge was a six pack of San Miguel beer which is near impossible to find around here! Larry was a happy boy!

We let the boys open their gifts so they could play while the adults talked and opened their gifts.

Larry drew my Mom's name and wrapped her gift like so and brought along our air pump! There is actually a Blu-ray player in the package!

My Mom drew Brad and he got a waffle maker with waffle mix and maple syrup.

I drew Ryan and got her a lamb pillow pet type pillow, make up brushes, and Bath & Body Works lotion.

Ryan drew Larry and got him a Salem Scuba gift certificate! He was so happy!

Brad drew me and got me some perfume called Lovely that I had asked for and a gift certificate to the nail salon I go to! I have absolutely ZERO pictures of me this Christmas! I was the only one taking pictures.

We had tons of food too! The picture below are just the snacks. The actual turkey dinner was in the kitchen!

Christmas Eve

2011-12-27T11:00:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve we went to Renee's house (Larry's Mom) for food and presents. We had a good time!

Trisha and her boyfriend, Casey...

Larry drew his Uncle Curt (in our drawing to buy a gift for) and wrapped one of his gifts in a tampon box. It was pretty funny!

Renee opening a gift...

Grandma Dorothy opening a gift...

Larry receiving a Salem Scuba gift certificate!

We came home around 8:30 to meet the boys. They were ready to open some gifts, so we let them...

Adam wrote the letter to Santa...

We went to bed fairly early...like 10 p.m., but I woke up at two in the morning to get the big gifts set up under the tree! Santa still hadn't been here at that point, so I had to hurry so he could come!

Larry and I came up with the back drop idea for Carson. We purchased wood, a hinge, felt, etc. to make it happen! We thought the book lights and clap board added the finishing touches. Carson loves to make movies with his Legos or review Lego sets, so we knew the back drop with the video camera would be a hit!

We got Adam a desk because the boy can spend hours coloring, drawing, etc. We got paper, markers, pencils, colored pencils, a ruler, and a protractor to go along with it! The desk is adjustable meaning it can grow with Adam; it's quite sturdy! Larry put it together and we had to hide it in the garage until Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T09:00:00.000-08:00

This is our 2011 Christmas card! I think it's scanned in a bit crooked, but you get the idea...

Christmas Break (so far)

2011-12-22T15:00:00.000-08:00

Lots of laziness...

Christmas lights aglow...

Grandma took the boys to see a movie...

Looked at a few lights...

Had friends over to play...

All about jello shots

2011-12-18T10:00:00.000-08:00

We went over to Corey and Melody's last night. Melody made jello shots for the ladies, but as you can see Larry has really taken a liking to the jello shots! Ha ha ha!

Freaky Funny Friday

2011-12-16T13:00:00.000-08:00

This morning I heard a knock on our bedroom door, in what I thought was the middle of the night. I jump up, go to the door thinking "Somebody is sick and needs me!" I open the door to see Carson standing there in his pajama pants with his long Justin Bieber-ish hair all over the place. He says to me "Mom, it's time to go to school!" I'm not all with it, grab my phone, and see that he is right...it's 7:45 a.m. OH MY GOSH! Panic and adrenaline all at the same time! We all need to shower, get dressed, get lunches made, etc.

We rush around like crazy people, Carson made lunches, and we got out of our house around 8:38 a.m. I am driving up to the school when Carson announces "Hey, recess is over!" and my response is "Yes! You are late, school has already started." It was funny! I got them dropped off at school and headed to work. I got to work in time, but what a crazy morning!

Work Holiday party

2011-12-11T10:00:00.000-08:00

We had our work Holiday party last night. The food was excellent! We had prime rib, pasta, potatoes, salad, and pie for dessert! I won a $75 gift card to Dick's Sporting Goods! I danced a lot while Larry mingled and talked with people. We had fun!

Me, Debbie Hammond, Ann Holland, and Meagan Stewart

After our work party, we headed to another party where Larry had enough jello shots to do some karaoke! LOL!

Choir at the Capitol

2011-12-09T19:00:00.000-08:00

Carson's choir sang at the Capitol the other day. The building has a huge vaulted ceiling and supposedly the singing sounds amazing. I'm going to be honest, it didn't sound amazing. Carson's choir sings with two other elementary schools, but they don't have an opportunity to practice together so it sounds a bit jumbled. My boy was cute though!

The extremely tall Christmas tree

Carson among his classmates. It was very hard to get pictures with the lighting, several parents, etc.

A picture of the vaulted ceiling

Christmas craft

2011-12-05T07:00:00.000-08:00

I am no Martha Stewart, but I do love simple and easy projects! If I can look at the picture and figure out all the ingredients/supplies, I'm game! This project inclues waffle cones, frosting, green food coloring, green sprinkles, mini M&M's, and marshmallow stars. We tried using sour punch straws as garland/ribbon going around the tree, but that didn't work for us. I made one too (the last picture in this post). My kids loved eating these afterwards!

Random bullet blog

2011-12-04T17:30:00.000-08:00

Adam had to decorate a tree for school, he did such a good job! I had to take his picture of him holding his creation!

Larry and I doing what we do best...relaxing in front of the t.v.

Adam and I waiting for Carson's choir concert to begin...

We got our Christmas tree up on the 3rd! That's pretty early for us! Christmas seems to be in full swing! My cards went out on the 1st and I'm basically done shopping! Just have to wrap and cut myself off from buying anything more!

Adam's Birthday request? Subway for lunch! Easy! Even I can handle that!

8 years

2011-12-04T06:00:00.000-08:00

Eight years ago today, my little Adam Reid entered into the world. They placed him on my stomach right after he was born and I immediately went to pick him up...I wasn't waiting! They had to stop me though because he was still attached. I finally got him in my arms and the first words out of my mouth were "He only has one little eye open." He was so sweet and perfect in every way. He's still a sweetie, but with a lot of sarcasm and silliness added in! He is funny. I mean really funny! He is shy, but once you get him out of his shell he reaaaallllllly comes out of his shell. He loves video games and coloring. He literally could spend hours coloring and be happy! He loves chips and pretty much anything potato related(definitely my kid)! He hates the vacuum running and wants a night light on. He has the most pinchable and kissable cheeks. He is my Baby Adam, even if he is turning eight!

Happy 8th Birthday Adam!

Carson's choir concert

2011-12-02T21:30:00.000-08:00

Carson had a choir concert this evening at Western Oregon University. His choir sang four songs, with his solo in the last song. Each child that had a solo had to introduce themselves, talking into the microphone. He did very well, spoke clearly, and didn't appear nervous. He sang his solo, then the next moment the fire alarm went off! Everyone was evacuated which was quite time consuming. It ended up being a false alarm, but since Carson was done we decided to head home. At least the alarm went off after his solo!

We hung outside for a bit, chatting with Uncle Brad, Aunt Ryan, and Chase.

I got a weird, but cool picture of the tree on campus

Close up

He gets to sing at the capital next week!

Adam's Birthday party

2011-11-29T06:45:00.000-08:00

We had Adam's Birthday party last night! It was almost a week early, but you know how schedules go! Between work, Birthdays, Christmas events, Carson's choir, and Larry's diving we are getting booked up! Anyway, Adam was so cute and happy! I love the little robots (found on Etsy). They really "made" the cupcakes! It was a small gathering, just Grandma, Brad, Ryan, and us. Adam was spoiled though! We had pizza for dinner and hung out as a family.

Adam received a gift card to go to the movies, Christmas pajamas, a new DSi XL, a DS Nerf case, and DS games (LEGO Harry Potter years 1-4 and 5-7).

How we spent Thanksgiving...

2011-11-25T07:00:00.000-08:00

We spent Thanksgiving with Larry's family. We had a low key afternoon with some delicious food! I wanted a picture of Larry and I together and he went wild with it! These are not my favorite pictures of myself, but Larry's face in some of them are pretty darn priceless!

The boys were with their Dad, but I got a funny text picture of Adam (and Carson's profile)

We were able to come home, relax, eat leftovers, and come up with some great Christmas present ideas for the boys! I'm getting excited for Christmas this year!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T07:00:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving!

Random bullet blog

2011-11-22T06:45:00.001-08:00

A few weekends ago, I made yummy nacho dip for Larry and I to snack on. I jokingly tell Larry that I take pictures of food so I have proof that I made it! Ha!

I ordered the cutest case for my new Iphone! I love it!

Carson woke up on his Birthday to me singing Happy Birthday and holding this yummy goodness for him! 11 mini donuts with 11 candles!

Adam is too funny! He saw something similar on America's Funniest Home Videos and created his version!

I went to parent/teacher conferences the other day. Adam excels in math and is doing well with writing, but is a bit behind in reading. He's also far too silly for his teacher. Adam's teacher had papers and drawings hanging on the walls, so I had to be the odd Mom and take pictures! He got a 100% on the math sheet below!

Carson excels in reading, but is behind in his handwriting. His teacher in confident that with some practice it will come around soon. He also told me that since Carson is reading at a 6th grade level, he is considered literate. Interesting. I guess all forms, signs, etc. in the United States are written at a 6th grade level. This is pretty cool since he's in the beginning of 5th grade!

Carson's Birthday party

2011-11-19T08:00:00.000-08:00

We had a small party for Carson last night. Just us, my Mom, Brad, Ryan, and Chase. Carson was spoiled though! Plus, we had snacks and cupcakes!!!

11 years

2011-11-16T02:07:00.000-08:00

Eleven years ago today, I gave birth to my precious Carson Scott. I love this first picture! We are checking each other out and he is holding my finger...so sweet! It's kind of hard to remember him this small! He's so grown up now! He's into reading, acting, choir, theatre, movies, and making movies. He is a huge help around the house and gets the mail for us almost every day. The only toy he still shows an interest in are Legos. He loves Harry Potter and Diary of a Wimpy Kid. He gets sucked into murder investigation shows and loves the NEWS. He has to sleep with his t.v. on and I'm okay with that. He is wise beyond his years. He is the boy that made me a Mama!

Happy 11th Birthday Carson!

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

2011-11-15T21:00:00.000-08:00

Carson was in his school's play tonight. He was an Oompa Loompa in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. They got to perform in the high school's new auditorium with stadium seating. I think his costume is more elf like than oompa loompa like, but it's cute none the less.

Funnies

2011-11-07T19:15:00.001-08:00

Carson had a field trip the other day and there was some sort of fight between two other boys. Carson was involved, but not...if that makes any sense. He was texting me about it and told me he was "inisent". I had to double and triple look at that word to realize he mean innocent! Ha ha ha

We had meatloaf last night for dinner and Adam claimed "I love meatlove, that's why they call it meat love!" Carson piped up quickly and said "Meat LOAF!!!" Adam's response was "Oh." Too funny!

I received another funny text from Carson today asking for "cheatose." I got it immediately and busted up laughing! Cheetos! Ha ha ha ha ha!

Random bullet blog...

2011-11-06T08:00:00.000-08:00

I attended a baby shower the other day for one of my employees, Liz. She is having a baby girl and I had so much fun buying girly items! I even bought one of the heart containers for myself! No clue what I will put in there, but they were only $2.19!

-We got all excited when my new phone came and we realized you could see yourself on the screen when taking a picture! The Iphone has a camera on both sides! I look so hot in the next picture....glasses and jammies!

-We made mini pizzas last night, had rootbeer floats, and watched Megamind as a family. Larry and I watched Bad Teacher after the boys went to bed. Megamind was really cute, Bad Teacher was okay.

-I ordered our Christmas cards the other day. I figured I might as well get started on addressing all of them!

-I'm going to be working quite a bit this month. Kind of bites, but I won't be out spending money...

-We are on week 9 of Fantasy football and I've only won once. Kind of depressing...

It came!

2011-11-05T17:30:00.000-07:00

My phone arrived early!

YAY!!!

2011-11-03T19:00:00.000-07:00

I posted the following list on my Birthday last year with the hopes of completing all of the items. I ended up finishing 16 of them...16 out of 33 is less than 50%! Yikes! I am not setting myself up for that kind of failure this year! Ha ha ha!

~~1. Take more time to read, whether it be books or People magazine!~~

~~2. Go somewhere tropical with my hubby~~

~~3. Make a Gingerbread house with the boys~~

4. Play in the snow

5. Clean the bathrooms more often

~~6. Walk on the beach with my hubby~~

~~7. Dye Easter eggs with the boys~~

8. Go to a NFL game again

9. Eat at the Melting Pot

10. Get family pictures taken

11. Pay off my treadmill

12. Use my treadmill at least twice a week

13. Take the boys to Disneyland

14. Fit into size 8 jeans

~~15. Scuba dive~~

16. Re-do the downstairs bathroom (paint, decor, etc.)

~~17. Buy fun pajamas for myself~~

18. Take Larry to Marrakesh which is a Moraccan restaurant where you sit on the floor.

19. Go to the Dr. for my annual visit (I've been putting it off for 2 1/2 years now)

~~20. Finish watching the 1st season of Dexter~~ (we watched the 2nd, 3rd,4th, & 5th season too!)

21. Teach my boys about giving back (do something for the less fortunate)

22. Take the boys ice skating (this SCARES me!)

~~23. Finish my wedding shadow box~~

~~24. Re-organize/arrange the office~~

~~25. Take Adam to the eye Dr.~~

~~26. Hang pictures in our hallway~~

27. Buy myself a pretty headband and wear it

~~28. Read Matt Logelin's book~~

~~29. Take the boys swimming~~

30. Save coins/pop can money for something special

31. Massage once a month (a girl can dream!)

~~32. Start Christmas shopping early~~ (as usual)

~~33. Buy pretty new earrings~~

My Birthday

2011-11-02T18:30:00.000-07:00

I walked into a beautifully decorated desk and goodies yesterday! My work crew gave me a gift card to Macy's and Debbie gave me Britney Spears Circus Fantasy perfume!

I received texts and tons of Facebook messages throughout the day!

I headed home and was given strict instructions to knock. I followed directions, knocked, and a dressed up Adam answered the door stating "Welcome to Kati's Steakhouse, please take a seat." He pulled out my chair and got me a drink. Carson, who was also dressed up brought in bread and took my salad order. They had an actual menu where I had choices. They had planned and prepared two of everything....salads, soups, entrees, and desserts!

Dinner was awesome! I chose green salad, vegetable soup, and steak (which came with potatoes and mixed veggies). For dessert I chose ice cream. The boys made me cards that were super cute and Larry gave me a card and a note that explained how my new Iphone 4S would arrive in two to three weeks!

Besides all of that the dishes and clean up were done for me too! Woo hoo!

I did receive an awesome spa day from my Mom about a week ago! We had massages, facials, pedicures, manicures, and lunch! It was so much fun and good quality girl time! My work schedule is unpredictable so we opted to go early, plus we couldn't push the wait out further! Ha ha ha!

My Dad sent me a check for $34 (my age) which is the most random thing ever! LOL! It was nice, just an odd amount for someone who has never done the "give their age as an amount" thing before.

My cards...

It was even sunny (but cold) on my Birthday! That's rare as it usually rains. I had a great Birthday and felt loved!

Halloween

2011-10-31T20:00:00.000-07:00

There was no school on Halloween which meant I had to keep two very hyper boys entertained! We did a few errands like the grocery shopping, but I bribed them with $5 foot longs from Subway.

I made cupcakes too...

Halloween and Birthday cupcakes...

We got our treats ready to hand out...

Got an e-mail from Larry and his crew at work...

My Mom came over to help mummify Adam...

The boys posed for pictures...

The boys ate A LOT of candy...

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T08:00:00.000-07:00

Larry and I went to a party on Saturday night at Ernie and Angie Wall's house. We had a fun time and stayed until after one in the morning! Of course, Larry waited until the last minute to come up with a costume and then ends up winning "SCARIEST COSTUME!" He walked in alone and was unrecognizable, the only way they knew it was him was because I walked in. There were some people we have never met and they found him to be super scary. Everyone kept asking him to take of his mask.

I kind of love these "witchy" tights!

Ernie Wall (as an Indian) and Larry

Scott English (as Jesus) and Larry

Costume Winners:

Man: Big Bad Wolf

Scariest: Bad guy from the movie The Strangers

Funniest: Big Pussy

Woman: Little Red Riding Hood

Creative carving

2011-10-28T19:00:00.000-07:00

Last night we carved pumpkins, had Jack o' Lantern pizza, and watched Charlie Brown's Halloween special.

Larry's is the small pumpkin

Carson's is the least glowing with the large mouth

Kati's has the triangular eyes and nose

Adam's has the n shaped eyes

Comparisons...

2011-10-26T20:30:00.000-07:00

2009

2010

2011

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-23T08:00:00.000-07:00

We went to the pumpkin patch yesterday afternoon. We had a good time with great weather! We all chose a pumpkin which we will carve later this week!

Updates...

2011-10-22T08:00:00.000-07:00

I got this idea from Facebook, I can't remember who posted it though. I thought the boys would like it and I was right! I ended up mixing the hot dog noodle concoction with macaroni & cheese!

The former President of Mexico came to Western Oregon University on October 20th. I was able to attend a lunch with him (at a different table) and listen to his public address.

Vicente Fox~10/20/2011

The blue arrow is pointing to me (front row seating!) and the red arrow is pointing to President Fox's wife, Marta.

My Mom took me to have a massage, facial, pedicure, manicure and lunch at Indulge Day Spa as an early Birthday gift. I've had a headache for three days and all the massaging finally got rid of it. I've never had a facial before and it was wonderful! Talk about the perfect gift! Thanks Mom!

I chose glitter polish for my toes and a neutral pink for my fingers.

I saw this idea online somewhere too! I just cut open a large glow-stick, poured the glowing liquid in a jar and created a "lantern" for each boy. Funny how something so little gets their imaginations working. The jars became potions, etc. I love Halloween so little projects like these are right up my alley!

Tenure award

2011-10-11T16:00:00.000-07:00

On Columbus day each year the credit union I work for has an In-service Day where everyone can meet together, tenure awards are given, and we get to eat lunch together. This year there was a spy theme and my branch decided to wear the following "disguise!"

Jennifer Sauer, Peter Schaefer, Me, Debbie Hammond, and Liz Henderson (with baby Isabella in there too!)

I received an award for five years of service. Basically, I was called up on stage while they talked about me and displayed my picture on two huge screens. I had to shake all the executive's hands and our C.E.O. handed me a $75 check! Can't go wrong with money!

Fall is here!

2011-10-07T17:00:00.000-07:00

It's amazing how quickly the weather can change! It's starting to cool down at night, so much so that Larry and I put the quilt on our bed. I love fall, especially the sunny crisp afternoons where the leaves fall from the trees. Unfortunately, those days are rare around here as it's usually raining.

I put the pumpkin spice in our Scentsy warmer. I just threw it in, mixing it with whatever scent is currently in there and it looks like a raw egg.

I decided to do caramel apples again with the boys this year. Last year we did full apples and they sat in the fridge for quite some time. I decided that apple slices would be more practical.

We used Nerds, Reeses Pieces, candy corn, and Crunch Bar for toppings.

Carson's creations...

Adam's apples

Mama's apple creations...

Carson

Adam

We will be heading to the pumpkin patch soon and I can't wait! I love the pumpkin patch!

Update

2011-10-03T07:00:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we walked down to the waterfront to attend the Hop & Heritage Festival. It was a great day for a walk even though I had the beginning of a cold.

I asked Carson to try on a pair of my shoes and I couldn't resist...I had to take a picture! He will hate me when I show his girlfriends!

I got my Grandma's ring back after having it sized and rhodium plated. It turned out lovely! I'm just a little bit in love with it! As in...it catches my eye and distracts me when I'm counting money at work! Ha!

I've ordered the boys annual Christmas jammies that they get for their Birthday each year. I purchase them at The Children's Place and they are fleece. They are super comfy and the boys wear them all the time. Carson's color is blue and Adam's is red.

Larry and I have been playing fantasy football for fun. I'm 0-4 and he's 1-3. I obviously didn't choose the right players and teams, but supposedly it's fun! Maybe if you win, it's more fun?

We also have been enjoying the new seasons of several shows and purchased season 5 of Dexter to watch. We are t.v. junkies!

Ruth Alma Speer

2011-09-28T19:00:00.000-07:00

Ruth Alma Speer
Dec. 06, 1930---Sept. 15, 2011

Ruth, 80, died peacefully in her sleep. She was a very beautiful lady who suffered from multiple medical complications late in life. Ruth was born in Lincoln, Neb., the youngest of four children. The family moved to Portland when she was a junior in high school. Ruth went to UO for one year and worked most of her life at Steamfitters Union. Ruth was preceded in death by the love of her life, Reid A. Speer; and daughter, Teri Burge. She is survived by her sister, Ilene Tamlyn; son, Scott Burge; daughter, Ellen Burge; stepson, Sandy Speer; grandchildren, Kati Weyer and Brad Burge; and many nieces and nephews. A graveside service will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2011, at Finley-Sunset Hills Memorial Park.

Larry and I attended my Grandma's funeral today. The weather was perfect, sunny and not too hot. September in Oregon can be unpredictable, so we got lucky. It was short, sweet, and simple. Pretty pink flowers with a pink casket. Very girly...just the way my Grandma would like it!

Grandma Ruth

2011-09-24T07:30:00.000-07:00

I have a partial blog post saved which talks about new shoes for the boys that arrived for the second day of school. It also mentioned going to see the movie The Help with my Mom, Brother, Sister-in-Law, and her friend, Bonnie. That's as far as I got.

I received a call on September 12th that my Grandma Ruth was very ill and it was time to come say my goodbyes to her. My brother and I headed up to Portland after work. We got a tearful call at Woodburn stating "She was dangerously close." We had stopped at Subway, so I grabbed a napkin and finished my sandwich and chips in the car. We made it in time to see my Grandma. I'm so glad I went! I said "I love you Grandma!" and she turned, looked me in the eye, and said "Love you too." Again, so glad I went!

The Chaplain came in to pray over my Grandma while we we there. We all locked hands while he prayed and my Grandma reached up to hold the Chaplain's hand. He said he had never had anyone do that before. Obviously, my Grandma had some fight in her! The next day she was basically comatose, I'm glad I got to see her when she was responsive.

My Grandma passed away on September 15th.

Grandma Ruth

I'm not an extremely emotional person, I think tears have come to my eyes twice. I wasn't that close to my Grandma, especially recently. It's sad though. It's hard to see my Dad hurting. It's been a rough road since she passed as she didn't take care of her finances very thoroughly. My Dad is having to work through all of that, take care of his sister, and plan a funeral all while grieving himself. My Brother and I try to help where we can, but we both have full time jobs and families.

My Grandma was a shopper! There are a ton of shoes, sunglasses, and clothes to go through. I can't even put a number on it, but I received 11 brand new pair of shoes and there are still tons! I know my Grandma would be tickled by how excited I am over these shoes! I have brand new boots and heels! My Sister-in-Law has received shoes and brand new clothes as well. My Grandma had excellent taste for an 80 year old woman!

The picture of 10 pair of shoes makes me laugh because I was trying the shoes on and admiring them one evening, when I decided to take a picture of them. Not ten minutes later, Brad rings the doorbell and has another pair for me! My Dad had found more under her bed that day! I have worn a couple pair too and they are super cute!

I was also given one of my Grandma's rings. It's so her, I remember her wearing it all of the time. It's currently being sized (to fit on my right hand ring finger) and cleaned, but I will be honored to wear it. I wasn't expecting anything like this. I'm very happy to have it though to remember my Grandma by.

It feels as though I just blurted out a lot of information. The last few weeks have been crazy between work, kids, Larry's car going to the shop, trips to Portland, etc. My Grandma's service will be this upcoming week. I think we need the closure of that.

First day of school

2011-09-07T08:00:00.000-07:00

The boys started 5th and 2nd grade yesterday!

They are so over having their picture taken so the pictures are not the best, but they document the day none the less. They both decided that they want to grow their hair out so we are in the midst of that as well.

What we've been up to...

2011-09-05T17:00:00.000-07:00

I took the boys to see the Smurfs...

We had some "lazy" days...

Larry and I went to the dump to toss some trash...worst smell ever!

Larry washed my Mom's car while I watched (ha ha ha)...

Larry and I went to the Oregon state fair...

School supplies were labeled and placed in backpacks...

The boys spent the last day of Summer vacation

swimming in the not so blue pool...

(They are creating a whirlpool and trying not to get caught by Larry)

All of this has been in addition to work, laundry, cooking, grocery shopping, etc.

Vacation~Extras

2011-08-31T17:55:00.000-07:00

Here are a few more random pictures from our trip!

Sunrise...

The pool at night...

Pretty flowers...

Vacation~Part Five

2011-08-31T17:50:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, August 24th we woke up to rain! It rarely rains in Cabo so it was even crazier to hear thunder and see lightening! It rained all morning long...

Larry made us potatoes for breakfast and we just hung out. We watched the rain, watched t.v., napped, etc. Around 3 p.m. it was time to hit the pool again! We ran into Susan, Kirsten, and Rob and hung out with them again!

Scooby Snack shots...

After swimming all afternoon long, we had pizza for dinner from Mama Mia's and relaxed in our room.

Thursday, August 25th we took a taxi into San Jose Del Cabo ($5 U.S.) to look around and have breakfast. We walked around when it started to rain. The streets and sidewalks became super slippery, so I was walking so slow and carefully. We took a few pictures of the sights...

We ended up having breakfast at the Tropicana. It was a super cool restaurant with huge over-sized chairs and excellent food. We looked in every shop at about 500 million pieces of silver jewelry. Larry ended up buying a black skull decoration and I hadn't purchased anything. That's when Larry ended up buying me the tourmaline necklace and earring set! After that purchase, we decided to head back to the resort. We ended up walking on the beach and then hanging out in the pool.

We headed back to the room, showered, got dressed, and went to Mama Mia's for dinner again. We had appetizers and another pizza. Thursday was karaoke night so we watched people sing. Susan, Rob, and Kirsten came and sat with us for a bit because Kirsten wanted to sing...

We had a few drinks and watched karaoke until it was time to say our goodbye's. We hugged and exchanged e-mail addresses with our new friends. Larry and I headed back to our room, almost in disbelief that our vacation was almost over.

The next morning we woke up and decided to take one last walk on the beach. We collected more shells and some sand as a memento.

We had breakfast at Mama Mia and then went back up to our room to pack. We got everything organized, showered, packed, and checked out right around 11:45 a.m. We had quite the wait for our shuttle so we watched the maintenance guy clean the chandeliers in the lobby and watched a guest scrutinize his bill for over an hour. Once our shuttle arrived, the driver informed us that our flight was delayed. We got through airport security and realized that all the restaurants were closed. With our flight being delayed, we weren't sure we would have time to get anything in San Francisco so we bought pretzels, Snickers, and peanut M&M's. Finally, we were able to go outside in the heat one last time to walk up the stairs to board the plane.

We had a very noisy flight to San Francisco, made it through customs, and to our gate. I decided to find us something to eat. I found a deli, however they were busy and it took forever to get two sandwiches. I finally made it back to our gate and our flight was boarding. I could tell that Larry was concerned about me. Once on the plane, we were told we had to wait for a flight from Puerta Vallarta so we pulled out our sandwiches and ate! We finally made it to Portland, got our checked bag, found the shuttle, found our car, and made it home! Travelling home seemed like the longest day ever!

Vacation~Part Four

2011-08-31T17:45:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, August 21st we hung out at the pool all day long. I honestly don't remember eating lunch that day, but I know I had toast for breakfast. We met Susan, Kirsten, and Rob when they were doing rainbow shots! Crazy! They are from Colorado and were a lot of fun! We drank a lot that day. Lots of Strawberry daiquiris and lemon drops. Our swim up bar tab for the day was over $100...yikes! I ended up falling asleep in a chair by the pool while Larry whooped it up in the pool. I probably should have eaten more before drinking so much!

Susan, Kirsten, and Rob

Falling off the swim-up bar stool...

They ended up dragging me over to the restaurant for a Coke and few pieces of pizza. After that I was ready for bed and fell asleep by 9:30 p.m.

On Monday, August 22nd we took the bus into Cabo San Lucas where we went to lunch at Greenberg's again. We sat in "our" booth! Ha ha ha! We walked around Cabo quite a bit and shopped. We bought the boys some wrestling masks and Larry bought a new pair of sunglasses. At one point, I was sure I was going to pass out, so we stopped at McDonald's and got a Coke and a water for the road. We walked around more, looked in several jewelry stores, and stopped at Cabo Wabo for another drink. After drinking so much the day before we opted for lemonade! Last year, Cabo Wabo was hoppin' busy, but this year we were one of three tables!

After walking around a bit more, we decided to head back to the resort. While walking towards the bus stop, we saw a thermometer that said it was 98 degrees! Add in the humidity and sheesh...super HOT! Once back at the resort, we immediately put on our swimsuits and hit the pool. We chatted with Rob and Kirsten for awhile and then Larry mastered blowing bubble rings under water! Seriously...we have video of it! Ha ha ha!

We headed up to our room where we made dinner. Larry did the spaghetti and broccoli while I had the hard job of garlic cheese bread! We watched Monday night football in Spanish and I was able to use the restaurants wifi to chat with my Mom via Facebook.

Tuesday, August 23rd we had breakfast at Mama Mia and then took a taxi to Chileno Bay. You can negotiate your price on just about anything in Mexico so I always tried to talk down the taxi drivers a bit. They started off at 250 pesos and I got them down to 200 pesos! That's approximately a $4-$5 savings. After, getting my butt kicked by the waves while trying to get my fins on we got out past the breaking waves and were able to snorkel for hours!

Stone Scorpion fish...

At one point, the Bay was super busy with all sorts of snorkeling and excursion boats. I laid on the beach for quite some time while Larry continued to snorkel. He brought me some pretty shells and he named one of them a "Kati Shell" because it was purple and white. We searched for shells on the beach and found tons! We also collected a little sand to bring home.

Once back in our room, we noticed that our backs were sunburned. We had used 70 SPF, but it wasn't enough with our backs sticking out of the water for hours. We rested a bit, showered, and got dressed for Fiesta night at Mama Mia's.

We saw Rob and Kirsten and they had big news! They got engaged that morning! They also participated in a best kiss competition on stage! It was very funny because Rob is very shy and he came out of his shell a bit.

After dinner, we headed to bed.

Vacation~Part Three

2011-08-31T17:40:00.000-07:00

On Friday, August 19th we laid by the pool all day long. They were playing Larry's kind of music so he was a happy guy! I tried to read and Larry played with the camera. We had some incredible burgers at Mama Mia's for lunch.

We headed back to our room, had leftovers for dinner, and relaxed/watched t.v./read until bed time.

Saturday, August 20th we took the bus into Cabo San Lucas since we had our dive gear locked in a locker at Manta Dive. Riding the bus with a lot of gear is near impossible as the seats are so tiny. We had lunch at Greenberg's then headed to Manta Dive for our 1 p.m. appointment. We got our gear and headed out on the boat. I took my camera this time to get some pictures of the marina, dive boat, arch, etc.

Dive boat...

Lover's Beach...

The Point...

The arch...

We did two dives in the afternoon, one at Northwall and one at the Point. They were awesome dives! We saw sting rays and moray eels.

After our dives, we walked around the marina for a bit. Larry purchased some dive t-shirts and we decided to have dinner at Salomon's. We had an appetizer and steak/lobster dinner. They had awesome food!

Statue along the marina with the flea market in the background

Dinner at Salomon's

Cashola is my kind of Spanish!

After dinner and walking around we headed back to Manta Dive for our night dive. I was a bit anxious, but it was actually very calm. We saw a lot of lobster and coral that only opens up at night.

After our night dive, we took a taxi back to the resort and went straight to bed! We were worn out!

Vacation~Part Two

2011-08-31T17:35:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, August 16th we headed into Cabo San Lucas by bus. It's a crazy ride, but so much cheaper than a taxi!

We got coffee and shopped around in the mall. The mall has a mixture of high end luxury shops, touristy shops, several sunglasses/swim suit stores, a Harley Davidson show room, and even a pharmacy!

We ended up eating at Greenberg's which is connected to the mall and marina. They had great food and we ended up eating there a few times during our trip.

Greenberg's

After breakfast, we shopped around a bit more. Larry bought a hat and I bought postcards to send home. We decided to walk around the marina, we wanted to find Manta Dive where we had an appointment the following day for diving. We walked all around and I was too hot. We had to stop for a Coke...errr...Orange Fanta (I was in love with Fanta while in Mexico) and a bottle of water for the road. We eventually found Manta Dive, we confirmed our dive times, and Larry bought a t-shirt.

We headed back to the resort so we could hit the pool! It was so hot and humid that the pool became a daily event!

We had Domino's Pizza for dinner that was incredible. All of the food we ate was great. We took the pizza back to our room, watched t.v., read, and headed to bed early since we had to be up early the next day for diving.

Wednesday, August 16th we took a taxi into Cabo San Lucas for our 8 a.m. dive appointment. We got our gear and headed out. We did three dives, two at Pelican Rock and one in the Corridor. The water was warm and clear. The Corridor dive was a surge dive, meaning we moved back and forth with the surge and we ended up banging our legs on the coral a bit. Larry had quite the cut from the coral. Once again, I was the only girl on the boat!

The picture of me holding the dive master's (Kiki) hand cracks me up! I am very buoyant so often times people have to "pull" me down. I jokingly said to Larry when I got back on the boat "I let you take me diving so I can hold other guys hands!" I had no clue he took the picture of me holding Kiki's hand! Ha ha ha!

After diving we headed back to the resort, had some leftover Domino's, and showered. We decided to run to Wal-mart to get some groceries. We took a taxi to the Wal-mart in San Jose Del Cabo for $5 each way. We bought fruit, veggies, pasta, pop, bottled water, chips, beer, juice, more sunblock, and who knows what else! We spent $1018.95 in pesos, which is approximately $85 US. Getting groceries was one of the smartest things we did, but getting several bags up to our 5th floor room was kind of entertaining! We got a luggage cart and used that, but the resorts elevator is so tiny. It was a bit of a chore. Larry made yummy garlic pasta for dinner that night while we watched t.v. and enjoyed the view from our balcony.

Thursday, August 18th Larry made us breakfast (since we had groceries!). He made us toast, potatoes, bacon, and cantaloupe. It was scrumptious! After breakfast, we went back to bed and slept until after noon, I think diving the day before wore us out! We hung out in the pool all afternoon. We ended up watching these crazy drunk people (A man/woman couple with another woman) who Larry nicknamed "Jerseylicious". I didn't even think to take a picture of them! Boo! They stole the volleyball from about 10 ladies who were playing with it and were slapping each other! They were obnoxious, but quite entertaining to watch! One of the women complimented me on my heart sunglasses though!

Larry made us steak, potatoes, and pasta salad for dinner.

Vacation~Part One

2011-08-31T17:30:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, August 13th Larry and I both worked for a couple hours and then it was VACATION time!

We stopped at Claim Jumper for dinner on our way and it was delicious! We had an appetizer of onion rings, Larry had ribs & chicken, and I had steak. After dinner we headed to our hotel in Portland...the Radisson. We decided to stay one night in Portland because we had a super early flight the next day and they provide 10 days of free parking!

Our room...

The sleep number beds suck in my opinion and I didn't get a lot of sleep. We needed to be up early anyway because we had a 5:30 a.m. international flight. We took the first shuttle the hotel provides to the airport at 3:45 a.m.

We were at the airport so early; Starbucks wasn't even open! Our flight to Phoenix went well, we mainly slept. I was able to get my Starbucks in Phoenix after trekking across the whole airport to our gate. We had sat down for maybe 2 minutes when our gate changed and we had to trek across the airport once again! Pretty comical! I read the whole flight to Cabo while Larry watched Face Off on his Ipod.

Once we arrived in Cabo, it was time to get our checked luggage and go through customs. You get to press a button-if it comes up green you can go, but if it comes up red they search your bags. Guess what color we got? That's right...RED! Of course, they didn't find anything. They had dogs sniffing all the bags though. Kind of interesting.

We found our shuttle to the resort fairly easily and weren't hassled too much by the time share salespeople. We arrived at our resort before the 4 p.m. check-in time, but they let us check in early. We unpacked and got settled.

Front of the resort...

Bedroom...

Bathroom...

Kitchen...

Pool/Beach area...

We ate a late lunch at Mama Mia (the resorts restaurant) and walked on the beach. It was too hot and humid so we hit the pool and hot tub. We went to the mini market on site and got a few junk food items then headed back to our room to veg out, watch t.v., and go to bed.

On Monday, August 15th we had breakfast and lunch at Mama Mia! We laid by the pool all day long and swam when it got too hot! I read and Larry finished watching Face Off on his Ipod.

Long time, no blogging!

2011-08-29T08:00:00.000-07:00

Well, I have a lot to update on!

The boys went to camp in early August. I'm waiting on my Mom to send me some pictures of their stay! I will probably back date that post so things stay in chronological order.

Larry and I took a two week vacation and went to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. We had an amazing time....diving, eating, drinking, swimming, snorkeling, relaxing, reading, etc.

I read two books while we were gone and I loved The Help! I couldn't put it down! I'm hoping I can see the movie soon.

I will get to updating on our vacation soon! It was super hot and we ended up spending a lot of time in the pool. I wore a swimsuit more than any other clothing item! I took way too many clothes, but I would never admit that to Larry.

We did a bit of shopping, but I didn't find anything that I really loved and wanted to spend money on. Larry found something for me though at one of the very first shops we went to! We ended up back there after shopping all day long and he bought me a necklace and earring set. They are a green stone which is why I didn't pay much attention in the beginning, but he was adamant. His words were "They are classy and bring out the green in your eyes." So I have pretty new jewels to remember our trip by!

Now, I'm doing the "get back to reality" shuffle! Laundry, school supply shopping, and tomorrow I head back to work! Ugh....

Camp

2011-08-09T08:00:00.000-07:00

The boys went to camp for a few days and had a blast! My Brother runs a Boy Scout Camp where my Mom helps out, so the boys got to go for free and stay in my Mom's cabin.

Eventful weekend

2011-08-08T07:00:00.000-07:00

Saturday after work we headed to Larry's Mom's for a BBQ! Talk about a ton of yummy food! Add in family and good friends and we had a great time! Larry had several Corona's as the pictures below portray! Stinker!

We left Larry's Mom's to head to another BBQ at Mark and Ruth's. We had a good time there too! Larry got to chat with old friends and I got my baby fix! Ha!

Sunday, we headed to the Homer Davenport Races in Silverton. We raced couches! Larry was on the "senior" team as he is over 40! Ha ha ha!

We took a ribbon in almost every race!

After the races, we picked the boys up from camp (that's a separate post for another day) and headed home! I did some laundry while Larry packed our dive bag. Then we ordered pizza and watched Breaking Bad. The boys relaxed and recovered from camp.

Short and sweet weekend!

Cuteness

2011-08-04T18:45:00.000-07:00

The pool continues to be a huge source of entertainment for the boys! Carson really gained confidence last Summer with his swimming; this year is Adam's turn!

I think this is the cutest picture ever...check out the cheeks! Too cute!

Last July weekend...

2011-08-01T07:00:00.000-07:00

Another Summer weekend has just past us by!

Friday night Larry and I did some grocery shopping and had McDonald's for dinner...exciting stuff! We came home to clean and prepare for a BBQ we were hosting on Saturday night.

Saturday I had to work which left Larry to watch the boys, clean house, and prepare! He did such a good job! We had our co-workers over for a BBQ and it was a fun time! We forgot to take pictures, but people were here until after midnight. The kids had fun swimming and drinking pop! LOL!

Peter and Taryn brought flowers which were gorgeous! The picture doesn't really do them justice!

Sunday morning I did some clean up and made breakfast! This is rare event as I don't like breakfast food that much so I generally don't cook it! The boys were in the pool by 10 a.m. and it was gorgeous out so I took more pictures! The blue water and sunshine prompts me to take pictures!

We hung out, played on the computer, watched t.v., etc. for some time. Then Larry decided to BBQ again just for us! We had chicken, corn on the cob, watermelon, and honeydew melon! It was delicious! We ate outside and then we all got in the pool. The water in the pool is up to 80* which is more my speed, but I was still a bit cold!

After we swam, we came inside and hit the couch. Larry and I watched Breaking Bad while the boys played Legos up in their rooms and watched Disney.

The weekends seem to go so fast...

Scuba refresher

2011-07-29T07:30:00.000-07:00

Last night I went to the pool for a scuba refresher. It's been over a year since I've been scuba diving and we have plans to dive in the near future. I was anxious and nervous...don't know why. I did just fine and it came back to me pretty quickly.

Larry came along and snorkeled and took pictures of me with his new camera. He was testing it out. I'm so glad we went because I feel more at ease about diving in Cabo!

Hours of entertainment

2011-07-26T21:00:00.000-07:00

It's pretty obvious we are getting our money's worth with this purchase! They are in and out several times, but they are loving it. Luckily, I've taught them to only use one towel per day! Ha ha ha!

Not only does it provide them hours of entertainment, but it gives me some good picture opportunities!

Pool play

2011-07-25T17:00:00.000-07:00

The boys came home today to see the surprise pool all set up! They were soooo excited! They could barely wait to jump in!

Carson plunged in immediately and came out screaming "It's sooooo cold!" Adam was a bit more cautious and worked his way down the ladder.

They took turns jumping in...

Then pool floaties became ships on the ocean

and pool noodles became oars for their ships...

The pool is creating more hunger and laundry, but maybe just maybe they will go to sleep early...

Weekend fun!

2011-07-25T07:00:00.000-07:00

The majority of the weekend was spent doing this...

We (mainly Larry) had to put the pool together, the ladder together, get the pump all set up, and fill the pool! I had the big chore of blowing up the pool floaties! Ha ha ha!

Larry and I had to test it out...oh my gosh was the water cold!!! Brrrrr!!! Larry kept claiming the water was 70*, but apparently that is too cold for me! Larry had his mask, snorkel, and underwater camera...I wish I had a picture of that! The cutest thing is we decided to let Copper in and he is a great swimmer (Larry has taken him in lakes before)! He even got on the floaty and just laid there! At one point Larry was holding him and he was still paddling all of his legs....so cute and funny!

Besides that we had breakfast out, ran to Costco & Walmart, did laundry, watched Breaking Bad, cleaned carpets, napped, and just tinkered around the house.

Weekend update

2011-07-18T07:10:00.000-07:00

Our weekend got a jump start with a wedding! On Thursday night, Larry and Tom did the music for Kyle and Brittany's wedding. Brittany is a co-worker of Larry's and she was absolutely stunning. They both looked so happy!

Just pronounced Mr. and Mrs Collins!

They had the most amazing cupcakes! The frosting was pretty much to die for and the flowers on top were edible!

Larry and I danced to our first dance song (Lost Without You by Robin Thicke) from our wedding. Awwww! I figured out that it was the first time we have danced since our wedding.

Friday, we were back at work...of course! After work, I hit the grocery store and then came home to make french dip sandwiches for dinner. We watched several recorded shows before heading to bed.

Saturday, Larry worked and I didn't! Odd! The boys and I hung out and did some cleaning. After Larry got home we headed over to his Mom's house to celebrate Trisha's 20th Birthday! It was pretty low key, we were able to sit outside and enjoy her back yard. We had yummy Mexican food and German chocolate cake.

She's laughing because she blew out the candle when no one was looking!

Sunday, we got up and got dressed so we could head to Salem. We ran some errands...picked up Larry's glasses and contacts and we had to go to Best Buy. Larry purchased a new cool camera that goes underwater so he needed a memory card for it. We ended up with a memory card, a new camera bag, and a Harry Potter movie for Carson. Then we had to run over to Target to get Adam a video game to be fair since Carson got a movie!

We had Hometown Buffet for lunch and we figured out that the boys and Larry get their money's worth, but we aren't so sure about me! LOL! I love the ice cream bar though...yummy!

It was a rainy dreary day so we came home and vegged out. The boys played their new video game, Larry watched a movie while playing with the camera bags, and I napped/read a book. I read half of the book already!

Larry and I are watching the series Breaking Bad so we watched an episode of that and headed to bed. The boys were still playing video games and it was only 10 p.m. so I said good night to them, thinking they would head to bed soon too. Adam generally likes his sleep. I awoke at 5:15 to the boys talking...odd...too early. I went in the game room and Adam hadn't gone to bed! Oh my gosh! I sent him to bed at 5:15 a.m.! The little gamer! I have to get him up at 8:00 to head to daycare so today should be interesting...

Zoo trip!

2011-07-12T18:00:00.000-07:00

I took today off of work so I could take the boys to the zoo. They have $4 admission on the second Tuesday of each month so I thought we should take advantage of it! It was so crowded though. I think I would rather pay full price!

I love this picture...

The boys had to go on the Dino Walk so I paid the $3.50 each to do so...

The dinosaurs were very loud and Adam didn't like it!

They were very realistic though and some even sprayed water!

We saw all sorts of animals, I think partly because the weather was cooler and rainy. The elephants and monkeys were snoozing though so that was a bummer.

The bears were playing and eating...

One of the polar bears was playing with his toy...

You can click on the picture to make it larger

Several other animals we saw...

A few other random pictures...

We had chicken strips and fries for lunch to the tune of $28.95...eek! We had a good time though! It was good to get out of the house!

Commode clogging Chewy!

2011-07-11T22:00:00.000-07:00

Our downstairs toilet has been clogged for a few months now. There have been several attempts to unclog it, but nothing worked. We finally just stopped using it....until today. I went to the hardware store and bought a wax seal so Larry could lift the toilet. Of course, water goes everywhere and the toilet is just an awkward item, but he did it!

He's saying "No pictures!" Ha ha ha!

The culprit of the clog?

Chewy...

Another weekend in the books...

2011-07-10T21:00:00.000-07:00

Saturday morning, Larry and I got up and headed towards Salem. He had a 10:30 eye exam appointment. We got his eyes checked and ordered new contacts & glasses for him. This was on our "to-do before vacation" list so it was nice to cross it off!

We went to Honeybaked Ham for an early lunch. Larry has never eaten there and really liked it. I have to get him out of the house more! LOL!

Then we were off to the car dealership to look

around and look what I came home with!

A 2011 Volkswagen Tiguan!

In black of course!

Next to Larry's 2008 Volkswagen Jetta

It has so many cool features! It's turbo charged, has leather seats, heated seats, air conditioning, satellite radio, and connects to my phone so I can talk through the speakers. These are just a few of the many features! I'm still figuring it all out! It feels nice to drive a SUV and not a minivan!

We had no groceries at home so we went out for Mexican! Talk about lazy! I had the best strawberry daiquiri! Yummy!

Sunday, I woke up early so I decided to hit the grocery store before it got busy! I was in and out of there before 8 a.m.!

All the groceries fit in the back of the Tiguan!

I came home and vegged out with Larry for several hours! I decided that I needed to get my nails done so off to the salon I went...another excuse to drive my new car!

I chose some pretty crazy colors this time...my toes and fingers do not match at all! I thought they would, but I think the fluorescent lights messed with the colors I chose...

Blue/pink crackle

Bold RED nails! I thought it was hot pink, but nope!

I came home to find Larry working in the yard...talk about shock! Ha ha ha! I made beef stroganoff and salad for dinner. We had strawberry shortcake for dessert while we watched Breaking Bad.

Now we are playing on the computer and will probably go watch Dateline shortly.

Looking forward to this week...we have a few fun things planned, like a zoo trip and a wedding to attend!

4th of July weekend

2011-07-05T08:00:00.000-07:00

The weekend started out pretty slow. Larry and I both worked on Saturday and then did some work around the house. He mowed, I did the grocery shopping. I made tacos for dinner and we watched some shows we had recorded while the boys played.

Sunday was down right lazy! The weather was iffy and we stayed in our jammies most of the day! Larry and the boys built stuff with Legos for quite some time!

We hung out all day and ordered pizza for dinner! That's American, right? Ha ha ha!

Monday was the big day...4th of July!

I put the boys through a torterous photo session!

Then it was time for me to head out and get in line for our local parade...

My work had their car in the parade! I got to drive while my staff handed out candy and frisbees!

Debbie, Peter, Me, and Ann

Larry walked the boys and Copper down to the parade route so they could wave to me!

"Here comes Mom!"

After the parade, I was able to make it home super easily and fast! This is unheard of due to the traffic once the parade is over!

We came home to discover our air conditioning not working (for the 4th Summer in a row now!). Boo! The boys were all extremely hot and tired from their long walk back to the house.

We ended up bbqing steaks, hot dogs, and corn on the cob! Add in some strawberry shortcake and it was delicious! Larry and I started watching Breaking Bad.

All in all, another 4th of July in the books!