Sauerkraut Festival

Yes, there actually is a Sauerkraut Festival and you better believe we attended. I mean, how could you pass up the chance to celebrate the stinky, smelly German dish? Truth be told...I could have missed it but Jason would not hear of it. So we went. And we had FUN!!! We made several interesting discoveries while we were there: #1 WE were related to the Sauerkraut Queen. Oh. Yeah. Baby. Cabbage Royalty in our family tree. Jealous? This is Jason's mom's cousin's daughter, Stacy. And yes, she was the reigning Sauerkraut Festival Queen. The ladies are now determined to be festival queen themselves. THAT is still up for discussion.
#2 When Ansen is offered a pony ride he MUST ride on the Painted Pony "'cause its the bestest."

#3 A running start and a huge leap is the only way for Braley to attempt a 40 foot slide. GERONIMO!

#4 120 feet straight up. Less than a minute for this little girl. Up, up, and away. I think we need to get her to the rock gym soon. We have been slacking there.

#5 (Sorry, no picture) Chocolate Sauerkraut Cupcakes...not awful. Interesting taste but chocolate in almost any form is good.

Do you like Sauerkraut????

Mmmmm...Dinner!

The school kick-off carnival was this week. The kids jumped in bouncy houses, had their faces painted, played with new friends, introduced their teachers to their family, and had snow cones for dinner! It was just too hot (90 in the shade) to make them have anything warm....hot dogs and pizza were being served. So snow cones it was! Gosh, I am becoming a l-a-z-y mom.

It's Daddy's Birthday

Jason turns 35 today. He started his day with 7 am ward correlation and 8:30 church and then afterwards we gave him presents. This year it was all about food. I know that sounds silly but we gave him all his favorite things to snack on. With Steph living with us we have to all keep nuts out of the house. She is deathly allergic. She is off to Washington this week so the kids and I decided to load him up with all sorts of nuts while we could.
Ansen gave daddy cashew's. Daddy didn't feel like sharing.
Braley gave daddy Reeses Pieces. Yummm...peanut butter!

Roasted Almonds from Jayden were also in the mix.

And for my sweetie, Macadamia nuts to remind us of the good old days...when we were both in our 20's!
For Jason's birthday we hit Oktoberfest TWICE! Friday night we went with our friends Dave and Lorelei and Chad and Misha. We ate sausage, sauerkraut, onions, strudel, apple butter cake, and fish tacos. I'm not sure how the fish tacos got in there but they did and according to Jason, Dave and Chad, they were g-uhhh-D.

We also participated in the Adult Chicken Dance Competition and let me tell you the competition was fierce but we came out on top! (thank you, thank you very much)

The above picture is Jason and his beloved Apple Butter Cake. It is the only cake in the world that Jason likes so today when we went again to Oktoberfest with our friends the Kurns and Mercado's and all the kids (10 of them) we used that as his birthday cake. We also had a Austrian Choir and the entire audience sing Happy Birthday. I have to believe that a group of 200, singing Happy Birthday in English and German, while eating your all time favorite cake has to be a pretty great day.

Happy Birthday Babe! We Love You!

Let's Dance!

Chicken Dance to be exact. This weekend was Oktoberfest in Mt. Angel, Oregon. It is one of our favorite things to do as a family and with our friends simply because we Chicken Dance our hearts out. Chicken dancing to live tuba and accordion music in 94 degree heat.....Could it get any better? The dancers prepare for their performance.
Jalen (l) and Nathan (r) doing the "mosh" style chicken dance.
Jayden (l) and Jessica (r) flapping those wings!

Lisa (l) and Braley (r) getting ready to shake their bums.

Ansen and Daddy, Michelle and Sarah doing everyone's favorite part. Da Da Da Daaaa Da Da Da Dumm Dum. Da Da Da Daaaa Da Da Da Duuuuum...spin til you feel sick.

We love Oktoberfest and all the really, really yummy food as well as the fun time we always have with friends! Can't wait til next year guys.

Slice Of Heaven

It may be September but we have found a great place to take advantage of those warm September days.
Steph is practicing for Baywatch: Riverfront.
We have made a discovery. It may not look like much but it is heaven for our little family. We found a great state park close by and playing there can't be beat. The best thing is the little beach on the river. The river is so shallow in this area and there is barley any current. You are able to walk out about 50-60 yards with out it going above your knees. So the kids run and play and Jason and I...well, we lounge and play. It really is a fun little spot. It just stinks that we have found it in September. It IS going to be in the high 90's this weekend so we just may get some swimming in...I hope!

Ansen loves to throw any stick, rock, leaf, bug...you get the idea...into the river and watch it float away. He also likes to pretend he is fishing for a river shark. He loves just hanging out and sittin' next to his daddy and talking about the "riber."

These two opt for swimming instead of fishing. I love that they jump right in and swim until you drag them out (2 hours later)whining and complaining that they barley got any time to swim . They are also working on their abilities to skip rocks. Lesson one took a while to comprehend: Never try to skip a rock as big as your fist. Lesson two we are still working on. Never skip a rock towards mommy and daddy....aim away from people.

Ouch!

Yup. That owie belongs to my little man. It's a nasty burn given by the iron. I still can't believe how fast IT happened. But it did and now he's the proud bearer of what we call the "super deluxe arm." I was ironing the ladies dresses on Sunday morning when he stumbled into the laundry room and pulled the hot iron on to him. The edge of the iron caught his forearm. My heart just sank. Thankfully I was standing right there and helped him before anything more could happen. He took it rather well and does not complain about having to wear the bandage. It's tender but not too painful. Nothing a little Tylenol can't handle. Thank goodness. So, that's that. He is one smart little guy though and has figured out that mommy feels so bad that all he has to say is "...but I gotta burn on my arm..." and he gets about anything he wants. Stinker!

Ward Lu'au

We had our ward lu'au on Saturday and had a great time. There was plenty ono food and some fantastic entertainment. Steph taught the Young Women a Hula and then performed it for the entire ward. She did a very good job. Jayden did it with her as well. She was too cute! I think I have me some future Seasiders on my hands. Allllllllooha!
(Steph pulled the Bishopric up on stage to hula. They were really good sports about it.)

First Day Of School 2008

Tuesday was the ladies first day of school. Everything went great. The teachers the ladies have this year seem wonderful and I have been very impressed with the Principal and Staff since our tour of the school last April. One of the biggest changes this year is that the girls now wear uniforms. Let me tell you how cute the whole school looked. Soooo nice and clean cut. I love the idea of the uniform. They get up in the morning and put on whatever they want. There is no arguing about whether something matches or not or whether or not they are wearing "play clothes vs. school clothes." It is so easy...love...love...LOVE it! Of course they will have a few days each month where they can "dress down" and I have a feeling Jayden and Braley will go all out on those days.

Hooray for 1st grade! Our little toothless wonder was extremely excited for class to begin. With school starting almost an hour earlier than last year, getting out of bed proved to be a little tough but doable. Braley walked into class and made friends right away. No surprise there. And when she got off the bus she was smiling from ear to ear and chattering non-stop about how she kept her uniform clean ALL day. Huge accomplishment for this 1st grader. This year Braley is not the only kid in her class with glasses. Her friend Jade has them too and she loves that they look alike.

Um...IS Jayden excited for 3rd grade? Yes, just a tad. Her teacher is the senior staff member at the elementary school and I really enjoyed meeting her. I think she and Jayden will get along just fine. On a side note: check this out. There are seventeen students in Jayden's class. Here are some of the names. Jayden, Jadon, Jade, Jael, Jalene, Janene. Think there are enough Ja's in the crowd. According to Jayden she had "the greatest day of third grade ever in the history of the entire universe." Well, then. That's a relief. I am so glad she is looking forward to this year. So the school year has begun and we are all excited. Good luck this year ladies and we love you!