Thanksgiving

We spent the day with my family at my parents home in Woodland. They live in a beautiful log home on several acres out in the country. The wood burning stove keeps it cozy and warm while we enjoy our time together as a family.

We missed my brother and his family who were in Eastern Washington for the holiday.
Our tradition after dinner is cleaned up is to make wreaths.
Mom starts collecting greenery from trees and shrubs around the property several days ahead of time. After dinner we go to work making the wreath that will start our holiday decorating
Today we give thanks for many things but especially our realtionships with family and friends. We appreciate your support and love.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Turkey Bowl XVIII

The day started with the 18th annual Turkey bowl. The weather was cold but dry.

This was Ryan's first year playing and he had a blast. I like this picture of him running next to his dad in hot pursuit of Jackson.The smiles on their faces say it all!
One of the cutest cheerleaders who, shortly after this picture was taken, carefully placed her gloved hands in a partially frozen mud puddle.
She had to go home after thatOur Turkey bowl tradition started when Steve was a bachelor and invited some friends from college and high school to play. Most of those folks have moved on and now it has become a family tradition which the kids love and look forward to each year.

Doughnuts and hot chocolate after the game.....Yum!

Twilight Review

We had a fun time watching the movie but the Edward in my imagination was much more attractive than in the movie. I thought they did an okay job telling the story but as expected the book conveys the emotion much better. If you read the book I would recommed the movie just for fun; but read the book first!

Twilight

It's finally here, the day we've all been waiting for, Twilight is now playing. Okay that may be a bit of an exageration....... but I am going with a group of friends to see it this morning.

Farewell to Soccer

Bruised and battered, muddy and cold we bid a fond farewell to the 2008 soccer season.

Ryan enjoyed his team and always had a great attitude and a smile on his face and if I may say he's pretty darn cute.

Mackenzie is surprisingly aggresive and can play anywhere on the field, she made her share of the goals and was an effective player on defense. She is hoping to play indoor soccer soon, I'm thinking................January.

Magen was a defensive player who could effectively send the ball to the offense. Unfortunately she was unable to finish the season due to a leg injury (anterior compartment syndrome) probably caused by over use. She is now trying to play basketball but her inability to run is making it difficult as you might imagine. I have encouraged her to take a break but she thinks she will wake up one morning and magically be healed. It could happen.

Besides the opportunity for everyone to heal their sore muscles I am looking forward to sleeping in on Saturday mornings!

One Step Closer

Trevor is one step closer to his dream of becoming a fireman. During his Junior and Senior years of High School Trevor spent part of each day at the fire department as a cadet. He earned college credits towards his fire science degree as a result of his time as a cadet. He is now enrolled in the fire science program at Lower Columbia College.

A few week ago he heard from a fellow student that the Longview fire department was hiring interns. He went to the fire department to inquire about a position and was told that they had already hired the interns that they needed. Out of curiosity the Chief asked him what kind of qualifications he had. He explained that he had been a fire cadet in Vancouver and that he had worked for the US Forest Service during the summer fighting wild fires. He also shared that he was currently enrolled in the fire science program and for good measure he mentioned that he was an Eagle Scout. The Chief took his name and number.

A few hours later he received a call asking if he could come in for an interview the following day. The interview was with a panel of firemen and Trevor felt that he had done well. He was called several hours later to come in the next day for an interview with the Chief. A few days later he was offered an internship pending a physical exam and psychiatric evaluation.

He will earn a little money and work about eight shifts per month. This opportunity will provide valuable fire fighting experience that will be beneficial as he seeks employment in the coming years.Congratulations Trevor!

Nie Nie Dialogues

I came across this blog one day. As I began reading I realized I had just opened the door to a family in the midst of the greatest struggle of their lives. Sometime later as I walked away from my computer I wasn't sad but amazingly inspired by the way this woman cherishes her life. If you have a few minutes click on the button below.

Dave Ramsey

Some good friends of mine ended up with an extra ticket to see Dave Ramsey in Portland and invited me to go with them. Mr. Ramsey is a very inspirational financial guy who believes that getting out and staying out of debt is the key to financial prosperity. He has a nationally syndicated radio show where he gives financial advice to callers. I often listen to him and I was excited for the opportunity to learn more about his financial planning techniques.

Trick or Treating

Our Halloween tradition is to get together with my family before trick or treating for dinner. This year we all met at my sister's house for her yummy chicken chili and cornbread. After dinner we all headed out. Ryan dressed up as Indiana Jones and Mackenzie is a clown The kids dressed Brindle up as a bat using a well used cape that has been in the family for years. She was really cute and didn't mind the costume at all.Indiana Jones found a treasure!

We were getting ready to leave the house; Ryan had been up in his room for a while. I called up and said we were ready to leave. When he came down he wasn't wearing his whole costume instead of his hat and whip he had on a tie and suit jacket. He explained that he was starting out the night as Indiana Jones the professor. After dinner he transformed into Indiana Jones the adventurer. So cute! (He's never even seen an Indiana Jones movie.)

Hannah the wizard and her good friend Emily the witch

Jake the mouse and Raggedy Ann Rachel

Batman Parker and Belle aka Maya

A few minutes after we started trick or treating we met up with Janet and the kids. We hadn't planned it but it was fun walking around with them. It is so nice having our family so close. My kids got to spend the evening with almost all of their cousins from both sides of the family. Oh yeah! and the weather couldn't have been better, it was warm and dry. That doesn't happen very often on Halloween.