Jam, remember when?

 Hi Jam.  Got your message. Of course I'll blog about you.  Remember the time that we were in sunny California for Kirstin's wedding, and you were like 16 and I was 26 and 7 1/2 months pregnant with Ansen?  Remember how we walked all over the pier in San Fran? Thanks for helping with the girls.

 Remember when we did the Warrior Dash and I made fun of the clothes we wore because most of them came from your favorite local store, GenX?  Well now I frequent there because they do have (some) cute stuff, and also because you made me get rid of my Friday shirt.

 Remember when you moved to Portland and we took you to meet Aunt Helen?  You two were peas in a pod.  She had spunk, just like you.

 Remember when everyone thought we were twins and we didn't see it?  Yep, still don't see it but I will most def take it as a compliment.

 Remember when Jason took us to Hometown Buffet for Thanksgiving dinner and we got all clean and fresh smelling because we didn't want to look like everyone else?  We were the cleanest, cutest, eat-you-under-the-tablest family there.  Thanks for being part of it.

Remember....heart shaped chicken nuggets?  Nothing says amore like McDonalds.

Miss you.  We all do!

Cake auction

Last weekend was our annual ward cake auction and as it is every year, it was "sweet."

 

I made these cupcakes above:

They were vanilla cupcakes with a chocolate pudding center. On top is a raspberry cream cheese frosting and topped with a milk chocolate heart.

A bunch of the kids decided to pool their points and go in together on this bubble gum cake.  I think they had the whole thing eaten in under 20 minutes!

 Our friend Brandon bid on a Oregon Ducks cake.  Well, to be fair, when someone else raises your hand for you I don't know if you actually did the bidding.  The second his hand accidentally went up ALL other bidding stopped and the Hoopes won it!

The ward was pleased as punch and I think Dallin Stimpson deserves a medal for pulling that off.

 As fun as some of the cakes are, you just never (ever, ever) know who has breathed on them. (Or coughed on them, or licked them or sneezed on them.) It's kinda a tradition with my friend Tabatha that I make a cake/cupcake thing to auction/share and Tab brings an ice cream cake. When the bidding on cakes beings, we pull out the ice cream cake and chow down.

 And sometimes we have such a huge sugar high going on that we think we can take someone 3 times our size!  Ansen gave Tim a run for his money, but in the end they were arm wrestling over a cake and Tim wasn't about to loose.

 The next time we see cake is most def going to be too soon.

Sweet rewards

 Report cards came in the mail this week for our 2nd and 5th graders and WOW did they do awesome this term.  Straight A's--both of them.  Whoop! whoop!

The school that the kids attend has a very strict grading scale which I have to admit I sometimes worry about. Just look, a D is a 80%.  While this does seem harsh, I know that my kids have wonderful teachers who care and do their best to make sure the kids are learning and understanding, not just regurgitating.  Tests do account for a high percentage of their grades, but neither Jason or I feel that they are only being taught test material. They are receiving a well-rounded, fun education with an exceptional teaching method.

So hurray for good grades and hurray for smart kids!

Ice cream for everyone.

Wurst lunch ever

But in a totally yummy way! Our favorite German neighboring town had their annual Wurstfest and you better believe we were there.

 

 There was food and music and friends and food and well, food.

 Oh and local made root beer.

 The kids carved soap and were so enthralled with it.  Who knew a bar of Ivory could mean hours of quiet?

 There were some craft booths as well and Braley and I found some cute winter hats on sale.

And because we were in Mt. Angel we most definitely danced the chicken dance.

Fieldtrip

 The kinder, 1st and 2nd graders got to go experience the new new Portland Aquarium last week.  It is a great place and the boy had lots of fun with all the touch pools....and the dress up area (sigggggghhhh, oh boy).

Mrs. Claus got us a family pass and we are ready to put it to great use!

Bride-to-be

At a reception a few weeks ago this lucky lady caught the bouquet.

She was beyond thrilled until she found out what it meant.  With all seriousness she looked at me and said, "I was only in it for the flowers."

*Whew* That was a close one.

Trumatic

 She HAD to get a shot last week.  Boy, oh boy was she freaking out.  The whole car ride there she sat in her seat not saying a word just looking like she was ready to bolt at every stop light. Shots are not her thing.

 Are they really anybody's thing? Above is before.

Below is during.  Do you see the grip she has on her brothers hand?

After the shot was given she looked at the nurse and said "When are you going to do it?" Good heavens! She got the shot with out feeling it.

Annnnnnd she survived.  We are all so relived at our house.

Now she has 3 years to worry about her 15 year old shots!

Happy Valentine's Day

 Our silly little Valentine's....

They smile and look so precious.....

 They must love the day of love....

Or at least like the candy that comes with it....

 But in all honesty, this is more how they feel:

 

 Like I said, silly little Valentine's.

Let's get real, again

I do this every once and a while.  I get all "real life" with you and that can make some of you a little uncomfortable.  So here's your hall pass. Come back and see me tomorrow.  There will be fun pictures and a good story or two.  This is purely for journaling purposes.

This week I seem to be be a little touchy and I hate that. It's no fun to feel picked on.  What's even worse is that no one did it on purpose....I just have felt a little bummed out by a few actions and words.  Lame, I know.

In no way do my feelings of "what the what?!?!" change how I feel about most people, Sometimes I feel like it's just best to get things off your chest.  So this is me getting things off my chest.

Uno:  My kids deserve the best that Jason and I can give them.  They deserve us in their corner every step of the way and, because I'm me,  if you do something to injure their feelings it could get a lil' messy.  I'll be polite about it but you will know I'm sad for your choices.

(side note: As great as my kids are if they ever do something to injure others feelings I'll get a lil' messy with them as well.  Life is a 2 way street.)

Dos:  Sometimes things that shouldn't unnerve me, do.  It's like there is this rational person inside me that wants to be calm, cool and collected but she is trapped by the worry-monster that I inherited from my Grandma Forsberg.  If you ever need a lesson in obsessing over things you can do nothing about come see me. I'm the master.

Tres:  Never diss (super technical word there for you) someone else's parenting choices to their faces.  It can come off as insensitive.  What is best for my brood is not what is always best with yours and I respect that .  Do what's best for you and yours.

Four: The world could use more free ice cream!

Last night

It was just one of those magical nights at our house last night.  Nothing special happened, it was just nice to be home.  Just so I don't forget:

Kahau:

*Did Rosetta Stone for an hour and is really excited about learning French.

*Had her nose in her new book until we MADE her put it down for dinner.

Braley:

*Chatted and chatted about her upcoming science project which she is THRILLED to be doing.

*Took a practice spelling test and aced it. Wha bam! (fyi- I'm so glad my kids can spell bc I can't!)

Ansen:

*Couldn't stop tell me "fun facts" about his upcoming field trip to the Portland Aquarium.

*Kept telling me how much he LOVES his family.

Other:

*Jason's been home all week.  That just makes the week not feel sooooo long.

*At dinner we sat and talked and talked about some important family plans we have made and how to save for them together as a family.

*Laughed and smiled at FUN family memories.

Like I said, it was nothing earth-shattering but it did make my week to sit with my family and just be happy and content.

That's all.

Adios and Aloha

 For a while now we have been talking about getting a mini van.  We used to have one and I loved it.  We were talking about selling the white car and upgrading.  Then the other day Jason said "why don't we just trade in the truck for a van?" I was baffled.  He explained, "The truck is getting up there in miles and I'd like a bigger engine so let's trade the truck, get a van, pay off the van quick, and then get me a different truck."

Whoa.  But I said ok cause it meant I got a van.

Goodbye Big Red.

 I'll miss my stickers. I might just  have to head back to O'ahu to get me some new feet.

 I had very few requirements for the new ride.  I wanted low miles and 7 seats. That's it.  Oh, and I wanted a small payment. I found this beauty on-line and we decided to go check her out.  The miles were right, the price was close to right and it sat 7. When I saw that it was leather, had a 6 cd changer AND a dvd player I knew I wanted her.  I let Jason work his car magic and now she's ours.

 Jamie called it a loser cruiser.  I called her a tard.  When she comes to visit she is NOT driving around in the van until she apologizes and gives me some chocolate from NZ.  I mean it, well mostly just about the chocolate.

Sister Missionary

Back a few years ago when we decided to go to Disney World with the kids for the first time I had a brilliant idea.  I talked to Jason and we decided to take an extra person with us as a "nanny" to help with the kids.  That way we would have 1 big person for every little person.  There was no question about who I wanted to take.  Her name was Ashely and she was the daughter of a good friend of mine. It worked out great and it was a perfect trip to Walt Disney World.

Two Sunday's ago we attended Ashely's missionary farewell.  She took advantage of the new missionary age and is off to serve in the Provo, Utah for the next 18 months.  That was Jason's mission!  How cool is that? 

So good luck to Sister Reynolds and can you believe that my little's are the same size as her now?!?!

Winterhawks vs. Chiefs

 Saturday night was date night with a bunch of our couple friends.  We took in the Portland Winterhawks vs. Spokane Chiefs game and, as always, we had a good time.  For a hockey game it was really quite tame this year.  I don't condone the fights that seem to break out all the time but I've got to be honest, they are fun to watch.

 This game only had one fight but is was a good one. There's a lot of things to remember about this date night.  1) Watching a game in Memorial Coliseum is really cool.  It is a totally throw back to when I would go and watch the Springfield Indians play back in high school with friends.

2) Our friends are so well versed in "game music"lyrics it's ridiculous.  Every snippets seemed to cause someone to say "I LOVED this song!"

3) We've got dancers in our crowd.  Who knew?  It's amazing the skillz some people have been hiding. (Em-if you are reading this I need that pic of Joe:)

 4) Our nephew David's girlfriend, Adrianna, is a dancer for the Rosebuds.  She's a cutie and it was good to see both her and David.

 5) We rode the MAX into the game. We super-lucked out and all had seats on the way in.  The way back to the cars was a totally different story.  Look at these crowds.  Insane.  It was hilarious riding and MAX and "experiencing" late night Portland as a group of sober Mormons.  You just never know what you are going to learn on public transportation.

 

 We always finish off hockey night with dessert at Cheesecake Factory.  It was so yummy.

Great night!