Day 1099

We hosted a small New Year's gathering at our house this year - Kelly, Cecil, Grayson, Rhiannon, Mindy and Carrie all came over.  We had lots of snacky foods and the kids got to run around like crazy people and stay up until midnight.  It was the perfect combination of good company and fun times.

Day 1098

Kaitlyn wanted to wear her new Timbers jersey to school today, so Parker joined in the fun by wearing his Timbers shirt too.  When I root, I root for the Timbers!

Day 1097

This was the sight Les was enjoying at the Rose Garden, while I was home with two very cranky kids.  Just another example of how I am the best wife ever.

Day 1096

The white board in Les' office - sometimes he likes to snap a picture before erasing it, just in case there was something on it he really needed.

Day 1095

Kaitlyn, still in "Holiday Recovery" mode, fell asleep in all of her clothes right after dinner.

Day 1094

At the last minute Les was able to secure a second ticket to the Blazer game - and Grandma to the rescue - we were also able to get a babysitter.  It was the home opener for the shortened season and the first time I'd gone to a game in a long time.  The best part, besides spending quality time with my husband of course, was that Blazers were able to claim victory over the 76ers.

Day 1093

It was very hard to keep the kids in bed until there was actual daylight this year.  The were estatic when we finally let them open the gifts in thier stockings.  We had lots of special guests this Christmas; Grandma, Uncle Mike, Uncle Andy and even Grandpa (!) made the early morning drive to watch the kids open presents.  After gifts were opened we had a lovely breakfast then played with all the new toys.

Day 1092

We spent Christmas Eve with Les' family and had a delicious Surf 'N Turf dinner.  It's nice to have family that values photo as much as I do; Les' sister set up a nice black back drop and took lots of family portraits.

Day 1091

Dinner at the little cafe with Carrie and the kids tonight - our standard Friday "date."  Parker has really mastered the art of raising one eye brow at a time and it just cracks me up.

Day 1090

Since cousins Sean and Tobey have been on vacation all week, Les and Parker have been spending their evening play HALO and MW3 on Xbox Live with them.  Since they don't have headsets, Les has just been calling Sean and Tobey on the phone and keeping it on speaker while they play.

Day 1089

Our Christmas cards arrived today, now I just have to get them out in the mail before Christmas.  In honor of our recent vacation, we went with a Disney theme this year.

Day 1088

With kids expert ornament hanging skills, the tree is now decorated.  (just don't look at the backside, it's a bit naked).  The kids love hanging the ornaments, but so many of the are fragile it is very hard for me to sit back and let them do it on their own.  I'll admit to lots of hovering and then readjusting the ornaments when the kids aren't looking.

Day 1087

Traveling the first week in December put our decorating for the holidays a bit behind schedule.  However, the stocking are now hung with care and waiting for St. Nick.

Day 1086

It was raining outside and both Kelly and I needed to get the kids out of the house before our kids drove us crazy.  So we met at McDonald's for lunch and ended up staying over 3 hours.  The boys played so well together and Kaitlyn loved having "baby" Rhiannon to play with.  The kids were able to run around and Kelly and I were able to catch up - perfect lunch date.

Day 1085

Grandma came over to spend the evening with the kids so that Les and I could get some Christmas shopping done.  As usual, we bought the kids way too many gifts.

Day 1084

I really hate mornings.  Getting out of bed is my least favorite thing to do all day.  But sights like this . . . make it a little easier.

Day 1083

Kaitlyn's letter to Santa - she drew pictures of all the things she wanted.  They are a bit absract, but they include a stroller, a bed and clothes for her baby doll.  And, of course, sunshine and rainbows - which is what every four year-old girl wants.

Day 1082

Carrie was kind enough to come have dinner with me and the kids since Les had a poker game.  Parker snapped this shot of Carrie and Kaitlyn just as we were finishing up.

Day 1081

As a reward for a stellar report card (all pluses), Parker got to choose what we would have for dinner.  As both Les and I braced ourselves for the inevitable McDonald's, Parker surprised us and choose breakfast for dinner at home.

Day 1080

My office held it's Holiday Party at a bowling alley for the second year in a row.  As strange as that may sound, it was a ton of fun.  Kaitlyn and Parker both got to bowl and had a great time hanging out with the gaggle of children attending.

Day 1079

Les had to make 6 dozen cookies for a Cookie Exchange at his office so he and Parker did some baking.  They put a spin on the traditional peanut butter cookie with a Hershey's Kiss and instead put the cookies in a mini-muffin pan and put in a mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cup.  They were delicious. 

Day 1078

Les spotted Trail Blazer Nicolas Batum at the Albertson's near our house and managed to get a stealthy picture of him checking out.

Day 1077

Our last day in California we didn't actually have tickets to the park.  Instead we had breakfast at the Paradise Pier Hotel where we spent some quality time with Mickey.  Then we headed over to Downtown Disney to see the new Muppet movie - which I think Les and I enjoyed more than the kids.  After that it was off to the airport to head home.

Day 1076

At the top of Kaitlyn's priority list for Disneyland was to see Cinderella.  And since standing in ridiculously long lines was at the bottom of my list, Kaitlyn and I had lunch at Ariel's Grotto where you get to meet five princesses with the price of your meal.  Seeing Cinderella wasn't on Parker's list at all, so he and Les ran around California Adventure hitting all the rides that Kaitlyn was too short for - they even went on Goofy's Sky School roller coaster twice.



Day 1075

What better place to get your Santa picture taken but Disneyland?  They even had real reindeer that we could visit with. Though this was one of the longer lines we waited in all day, the kids were troopers and pulled out a couple of cute smiles.

Day 1074

We started off our morning at Goofy's Kitchen for a "Breakfast with Character."  The kids loved seeing all the characters wandering around.  I have to say that even though it costs and arm and a leg for these things, it's worth it to be able to sit and have the characters come to you - as opposed to standing in line waiting for it.  We'd much rather stand in line for the rides.

Day 1073

An early morning flight put us at Disneyland by lunch time.  However, both kids suffering from lack of nap refused to pose for the photographer. This started to make Les a bit grumpy until I said "Who needs 'em?" and we got to have a rare picture taken of just the two of us.

Day 1072

I love having the "Art Table" set up in the den.  Kaitlyn can glue and cut and color to her hearts content.  And I get to get some time quality with my photos - both posting to the blog and working on some scrapbook pages.

Day 1071

New walking shoes - just in time to get them broken in over the weekend for all the walking we'll be doing next week.

Day 1070

Parker woke up with a case of hives this morning and since we have a vacation scheduled next week, it was straight to the doctor.  Thankfully, it was just a standard allergic reaction - probably to the new shirt he wore the day before.  All clear for school today and an airplane ride on Monday.

Day 1069

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas . . . when I arrived at work I found a cute little snowman peeking out the window at me.

Day 1068

We refreshed and revitalized the fish tank before Thanksgiving and it is looking so very lovely.

Day 1067

Time to wrestle with Daddy.  Parker loves to wrestle with Daddy, while Kaitlyn is a bit more timid.  I, however, love to watch them giggle and shriek and play.

Day 1066

Parker had a rough day.  He refused to eat breakfast.  He refused to eat dinner.  And then at bed time he spent 30 minutes screaming "NO!" because he didn't want to go to bed.  But when he finally fell asleep, I don't think a freight train going through his room would have woken him up - he was out.

Day 1065

Parker was playing in the den and he came out wearing Les' Superbowl hat. He then declared he was going to do a puzzle.  Okay then, you do that.

Day 1064

Kaitlyn got herself dressed today for dinner with the family and she was very proud of herself - and her style choices.

Day 1063

To celebrate Thanksgiving with my side of the family, we drove down to Neskowin on the coast.  Kaitlyn was very happy because Aunt Sara let her sweep the kitchen - whenever she wanted.  Here's the family getting dessert after a delicious dinner.

Day 1062

As I wait for copies of the pictures that Aunt Susan to at Thanksgiving (which we hosted again this year), I will post that I am thankful for my husband, because he saved our computer and all the precious memories on it.

Day 1061

An overnight power outage shorted the power supply in our computer . . . the day after my external hard drive backup failed.  As I spent the day nearly in tears every time I thought of losing ALL of my photos, Les was a bit more practical.  He bought a new power supply, installed it and made all things right in the world.

Day 1060

The box our new bed set came in was intended to be filled with old toys for donation . . . instead it was filled with blocks and small children.

Day 1058

A sunny day meant a chance to get outside for a while (only a short while it was freezing!).  We wandered to several neighborhood parks, found a geocache and - after a tantrum each - got a great shot of Parker and Kaitlyn in the garden at the McLean House.

Day 1057

The kids needed and outing this morning (read: driving me crazy), so the rain sent us to Target.  We grabbed lunch in the cafe before heading home for much needed naps - me included.

Day 1056

Job and Jen joined Les and me at the Rose Garden for Cirque de Soleil's show Michael Jackson The Immortal World Tour.  We bought the tickets almost a year ago, but it was worth the wait.  The music and dancing were amazing - I only wish our seats had been closer to the stage.

Day 1054

For the first time since 1999, we got a new bed set - I am talking all the pieces.  We've been looking for a while, but our mattress is super deep (22 inches) and it's hard enough to find sheets that fit let alone a comforter big enough.  Amazon.com to the rescue!

Day 1053

Les captured this last leaf on the tree while walking to lunch . . . winter is on it's way.

Day 1052

The power supply on our PS3 went bad and Les, that super handy fellow, ordered a replacement part and installed it himself.  All is right in the world now that we can watch our blu-rays again.

Day 1051

We had a wonderful weekend in Bend - and I got lots of pages scrapped.  These weekends away are so refreshing.  As we pack up the car I am always sad to be leaving, but at the same time ready to see Les and the kids again.  But come March, I'll be ready for some time with the Ladies again.

Day 1050

In addition to scrapbooking all day, I went to my first Pure Romance party on Saturday night.  I haven't laughed that hard in a long time! Of course, I can't post pictures from the party but here is one of the pages I completed - Labor Day 2008.

Day 1049

As I headed down to Bend for a scrapbooking weekend, Les and the children worked hard at installing the new interior doors

Day 1048

I finished the 2012 budget today!  Now it's off to corporate for review.

Day 1047

When Les and I carpool, he picks me up outside my office.  As I was waiting for him, I was struck at just how blue the sky looked.