treasure hunt

We celebrated Peekaboo's birthday today.  It overwhelms me to realize my baby is this old.  She's got her own distinct personality, sense of humor, style.  She's her own person.  It's cool and scary all at the same time.  I remember being 15. Like I said, scary.

So, we had a low-key celebration.  Grandma Jo came and so did Uncle Sethy.  Peekaboo got a bunch of gifts....but she was really just searching for one.  There was one thing that she had asked for, REALLY, REALLY, DESPERATELY wanted and as she opened her gifts you could see her getting more anxious as each gift showed itself to not be THE one.  Finally, the last gift arrived and she tore into it only to look completely stumped.  It was the first of several questions in a treasure hunt sending her to different locations around our home.

Do you think you know the answers?  I dare you to try to get them right.  post here and if you get them all I'll be shocked!

1. " If you get this gift in "TIME" you'll get the gift you want.  
2. "How much "wood" can a wood chuck chuck?
3. " A GRAND FIR is a beautiful thing"
4. "You know you love to rock out to the "oldies" but goodies.  

Almost music

There is always something so precious about witnessing a child as they learn and grow.  Seeing them light up with the knowledge that they can "do" whatever it is, is a precious moment.

Tonight I witnessed such a moment (or several of them).  I attended my niece Abi's winter music concert.  The first part of the program were the fledgling string players, specifically violin and 2 cello.  they looked so adorable all lined up, at attention just ANXIOUS to play.  They lifted their bows and something that was not quite music came out of them.  It was ear splitting, headache producing and unrecognizable and YET at the same time there was a feeling of joy in the room as the parents and loved ones who'd come to support welcomed the JOY of the child learning.  It was sweet and precious.  I'm glad I was there.  I'm glad I didn't record it.

So, Abi's part went much smoother.  6 sweet little songs so adorably sung by the choir.  I videoed them, but my video's NOT good so I won't torment you. 

I do have pictures.

I will share!

traditions rock!

There's always a lot of discussion this time of year about traditions.  Family traditions and personal traditions abound around Christmas.  I love traditions.  I'm a traditional gal.  My mother built traditions around us.  There was a tradition for everything from what we ate to when we ate, how we got our tree, what we sang to our tree, who put what on the tree....it goes on and on.  Marrying my JR was a shock because he was tradition 'light' I guess you'd say.  The only tradition he had was that he eats Ham at major holidays. Ham???? that's it????  I quickly realized that if there was going to be any traditions in our home they would need to come from me.  So, I started with traditions from my childhood, some worked, some didn't (stolen anyone?).  Getting a Christmas tree turned into one of the meetings of the minds for the two of us.  Both of us love live, fresh trees and the hunt for the perrrrfect tree.  Over the years we've had quite a few adventures getting our trees.  One time we actually had to thaw three absolutely frozen trees in our garage (with little space heaters) and then spray one with fire retardant so it could be at the church. Looong story short.  There was an ice storm the night before, the missionaries wanted a tree for someone they were visiting, we wanted a tree for ourselves and I was in charge of the tree for the church, so we cut down 3 ice laden, HEAVY trees and thawed them in our garage.  It was messy, crazy and totally fun!  oh, and we got them from JR's tree farm...we went there for years!
So, now that we live in N.  We have a new tree place.  It's called Jorgensen's family tree farm.

WE love this little family business

Every year we hunt, peck and nitpick until we find the perfect tree.  Then, I try to get JR & Peekaboo to cooperate long enough to get a good photo (note:  JR's saying Christmas tree over, and over and over, and over again)

aaah, finally 20 photos later!

Then, I try to sing to the tree, while JOHN cuts down the tree!

Then, we schlep it down the hill

where the kind people of the tree farm shake the tree out and then bind it

WE then have hot cocoa and cookies and browse their items for sale...the pickin's were slim this year but we did get Mistletoe!!  Ha ha ha ha!!

Did I mention we got a Grand Fir this year?  Usually we end up with  Douglas Fir, they're prolific and inexpensive (relatively) but this year we found a Grand Fir that was just our size.  I gotta say it's the best smelling tree we've had in a looooong time!  Yum!

So, back home we go to set up out treasure.  This year peekaboo was tall enough to help set up our beauty and so she got to cut the twine on the tree--- drum roll please!

Isn't it a gorgeous Tree?

now we can turn on Christmas music!

Thanksgiving was held at C & R's this year.  Seth & his girlfriend Nichole drove up for the day, and so did we.  Christy provided a delicious brined turkey...YUM!  Seth made his hitmaking mashed potatos and I made 5 pies--- 1 apple, 2 pumpkin and 2 slighly burned chocolate (luckily, everyone had a good sense of humor about the burned chocolate.  Aaron even said, "it was pretty good, if you put enough whipped cream on it!) WE all had a lot of fun together.  Lots of wrestling went on.  The kids were hysterical.  Funny quotes of the day are: Aaron "I'm invisible" (because he wore camouflage in honor of Uncle John), Alton: " Easy peasy, lemon squeezy" (while he ran up the stairs to make a 'scorpion'), Kara "You broke my heart" (when Sarah had the audacity to not be upstairs playing with her.  There is such joy in simply being together.  Christy, Seth and I played a few rounds of Family Seek, just to brush up on our family history (hopefully we didn't scare Nichole).    It was a good day (loooong drive, but good day!)

 

Uncle John attempts to text "happy thanksgiving" while being tackled, constantly!

Alton's living for his art right now.  He decided his art belonged on his and Peek's faces!

the whole clan-- even the elusive ryan

you can't tell by his face- but, alton was thrilled to be taking a picture with uncle john

girl power!

Sethy and Nichole

the camouflaged ones!  (we almost couldn't see them in the couch!!)

back again!

JR and I have been married 17 years, actually, it's 17 years next week.  When we got married, it was 2 days after Thanksgiving.  We got married then because we thought it would be easiest for my friends and family who were away at school to attend, otherwise we would have to wait for spring and we didn't want to wait that long.  In retrospect, getting married at thanksgiving time has had distinct ups and downs.

The ups are:
Everyone's in a celebratory mood that time of year
JR usually has time off of work that time of year
WE always have our marriage to be grateful for @ thanksgiving

The downs are:
every 4 years our anniversary LANDS on Thanksgiving, making it expensive to go anywhere & our special day is glossed over in favor of the holiday everyone else is sharing
every 5 years our anniversary lands on a Sunday, ensuring that we don't go anywhere on those years- and for those who are curious those are the big ones...5th anniverary, 10th, 15th....we always end up doing something small on a different day so that we can keep the sabbath day holy.
JR may have time off...but, it is limited, meaning we usually can't get away for loong.

This year we had the opportunity to go back to the place we went on our honeymoon 17 years ago.  It's a condo owned by a good friend's parents and we were thrilled to be offered the opportunity to go.  Sneaking a way for time together can be hard.   There are so many pulls on us, on our time together.  I literally felt the pull as we drove away and then it snaked it's arms back around us when we came back, but while we were gone....we exhaled.....it was bliss.

For those of you who are familiar with the Oregon Coast in November...it is rainy and windy.  We have celebrate several anniversaries at the coast in near gale force winds (it's actually quite fun!).  Imagine our surprise when this particular trip we arrived in freezing, pouring down rain but awoke to blissfully blue skies.  It was surprising to say the least!

I'm so grateful for my time with my hubby, although I think I need more.  I think I'd just started the relaxation process when we had to come back.  I feel lucky that after 17 years together we still really like each other and are relaxed and happy in each other's company.  All in all 17 years is just a drop in the bucket.  It's a small fraction of the time I intend to stay committed to this wonderful man.

This quote says it all for me: "A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person."  ~Mignon McLaughlin, The Second Neurotic's Notebook, 1966

october 2010 recognition night

Recognition Night has come and gone.  It was actually held on October 10th but the leader who was going to bring her camera forgot so we enlisted a willing parent, who then was unexpectedly called to Japan (or is it China) on work for a while.  So, now...ta da....

Recognition Night pictures! 

For Muti

Ok, Muti,

This post is for you.  baby J came to Oregon briefly for a friend's wedding.  WE got together as a fam for dinner and frivolity.  Mostly, we just chatted about everything from politics to family, emphasis on two particular brother's having significant others.  We certainly covered a gamut of topics.

Abi & Cedes entertained us by dancing.  First Abi danced her dance.

Then, Abi & cedes danced together (no music available).

Too Cute!!

I did take some family photos.  It's tricky getting pictures of this goofy group. 

the sibs! (and I'm wearing heels!!:( )

one constant wrestling match!