Christmas Marathon: Parts 1-5

Christmas Marathon Part I:
On the 23rd my mom and dad take us all out to dinner and we open presents from each other back at their house. Mom wanted to go to Camp 18, but the roads were closed because of snow, so she settled for Cannon Beach. It was a late night for the kids, but we all had a good time.

We have a hard time posing for pictures...


We all had a group picture in front of the restaurant's Christmas tree...but my camera didn't get in on the action =(

Here we are back at the house. Soren got a tractor that looks JUST like daddy's! He loves it so much, he even slept with it.

Dad's new pickaroon!

Christmas Marathon Part II:

On the 24th everyone on my mom's side of the family comes over to my parent's house for a big ham dinner...and, of course, more presents. There were 28 people there!

"CHEESE!"

The adult table only seats 12...the kid table only seats 11 (including high chairs)...SO, 5 of us ended up on the floor.

We open presents in the basement (the only place that will fit all of us) after a "concert" from the young talent. This year, my cousin Craig played his guitar. In years past we have had the piano and singing...but it's always something. And, NO, Synnove is NOT picking her nose in this pic.

Christmas Marathon Part III:

Christmas morning is spent opening gifts from Santa at my mom's house. (We spend the night for a few nights during the "marathon" season.) This year the kids were especially into Santa and it was great! Synnove ended up giving her pacifiers to Santa this year!

Here's Henry wearing some of his Santa gifts...and holding one as well. I think he wanted a cookbook so he could impress the women =)

Soren got a new miniature chicken (see earlier blogs for chicken story) in his stocking and a "Tigger-Pooh." So, naturally, the chicken is driving the "Tigger-Pooh" around in the tractor that's just like daddy's. So cute!

MY 1st WHITE CHRISTMAS!!! It was snowing when we got up that morning! Here's a view of Anchor Street in Warrenton.

Christmas Marathon Part IV:

After we open Santa gifts at mom's, we head over to my Grandparent's house to spend all of Christmas Day with my Dad's side of the family. We almost didn't have this Christmas at grandma's house because she had back surgery on the 11th. BUT, she made a very speedy recovery!

Grandma bought all the great-grandkids new dresses/shirts for a picture...this is the only one (out of about 6 pics) that turned out ok =)

We had dinner early this year because Travis had to work and Wesley had to take his family to Portland to spend Christmas with Stephanie's family. We ate some delicious prime rib! This is just a shot of the "kid" table. The adults ate in the formal dining room.

Christmas Marathon Part V:

After dinner at grandma's, we packed our tiny Civic with a huge load of presents, as well as our stuff from staying a few days, and braved the road home. We still had Santa gifts at our house! I know, gifts, gifts, and MORE GIFTS!! Fortunately, I didn't overspend this Christmas...so the kids were only "really spoiled" and not "SUPER spoiled"

Charlie got some cat treats and a new toy...(he also got some prizes from Santa at my parents house)

Here's the kids finding their new Sigg bottles...bpa free!

Christmas Marathon Part VI:

Coming next weekend!

Hello Sunshine, It's GREAT to See You!

Arg! I can't believe these words are about to come out of my mouth but...I'm sick of this snow! I have not been in a vehicle, other than a sled, since last Sunday! Yesterday, I thought we would be able to escape because the forecast said that the temp was gonna go up to 40 degrees by early evening. But, by 2ish, the rain had turned into HUGE snowflakes and didn't let up till evening. The temp never went passed 34 yesterday =( I was so bummed. But, as I type, the blue sky is out and the sun is melting the snow. The trees are so weighted down that I fear one will fall on my house before too long!

Yesterday, as I was going out to get more wood for the fire, I found that the pathway to get to the wood was blocked by large low-lying limbs. Upon further investigation, I realized that these limbs were also lying on a bunch of cables that went from our house to the power pole. Uhh...that's no good! So, I alerted Adam and we all went out at 5 to help him clear the branches that he was about to cut down. We were 99% certain that these wires were not important. One wire, we postulated, was connected to the old TV/radio antenna, and the other was used for "modern day" cable TV. We have satellite...so these were not of use to us. Adam cut down several branches with little problem...until the last one. The branch ripped one of those wires right out of the hole in the house! No biggy...just the old antenna wire =)

Anyway, after that little incident, I started to fear for my life! Huge branches were breaking all around us (on their own) from the weight of the snow. Adam and I even contemplated sleeping in the basement for fear of a tree falling through our house! We survived the night, though, and the snow is dropping in clumps off of the trees.

The snow was great fun, but I certainly welcome the thaw!

Party on the Hill!

Well, yesterday was predicted to be the last day of sledding for us folks who live near the coast. And after a week of talking about it, my mom decided to toss around the idea of having a sledding party. This is hard to do because everyone works...and everyone would have to brave the roads to get to our house. Since yesterday was likely the warmest all week and the rain was predicted to come, it seemed like the conditions would be as good as they could get without our snow melting. So, after several phone calls and much convincing (my dad was being a scrooge) we decided to plan on meeting at our house at 7pm. That was actually the earliest time everyone could get here! Anyway, at around 5ish, the sleet started to fall off and on, but we didn't let that detour our plans. Everyone eventually made it, and we were sledding by 7:15. Even Daniel...who decided to brave the trails from his house to ours on his 4-wheeler with no headlights! He taped little flashlights to the front and wore a headlamp! What a nut =)

I was happy to see that my Uncle Don came with Heidi (who had spent the night at our house the night before...and had already had her fill of sledding with the kids) and brought 2 lanterns. What an awesome idea THAT was! We had gone sledding at night the two nights previous, but we being towed by the 4-wheeler, and didn't need lights. I wasn't sure how we were going to safely get several people on several different sleds down the hill without some sort of light...Uncle Don saved the party! I tried to take a picture of the hill in the dark, but it didn't work so well. Below, you can sort of see the 2 lanterns on each side of the slope...

The sleet stopped, and the rain started to fall just as we were getting started. But, there was no wind so we stayed quite warm as long as we had enough clothes on. My mom, dad, and brother were a bit late in coming. Mom brought 7-layer bean dip and put it in the oven when they got there. Dad was one of the designated "pushers" as he was either too chicken or too "old" to go down himself.
There were several sleds to choose from, so several people would be at the bottom of the hill waiting for a ride up from Adam who was towing us all back up with the 4-wheeler. We tried our best to get as many people up in one trip as we could. Pictured below from left to right...Henry, Sophie (Chris and Elise's dog), Chris, Daniel, and Heidi.

In the back from left to right...Don, Heidi, Dad, Chris...and Elise, Mom, and Soren on the sled.

Adam was on the ATV the whole time. He got in a couple of runs at the end when 1/2 the group had gone inside to warm up with chips and dip.

Despite the rain, it turned out to be a good time. In this family, we're all about the memory-making. We try our best to take our "togetherness" opportunities when we can. I feel so blessed to live so close to my family and hope that their spontaneous spirit never runs dry!

A Few More Pics from Today...

Sledding!

It snowed a bunch yesterday, so when Adam came home from work, he took the kids sledding at about 7:00 last night. It was a blast!! Even Charlie (our kitty) enjoyed it =)
This is what our house looked like when I woke up this morning....so pretty.

Today we invited our fellow Svensenites (the Thompson's) over for some fun. Alice and I towed Daniel all over the property with the 4-wheeler....he thoroughly enjoyed himself...as you can see below.

Auntie Alice with Soren.

Once we got the field packed a bit with the 4-wheeler, the kids were able to sled down the hill on their own. Daniel then picked them up at the bottom so they didn't have to walk back up. It worked nicely. Their dog Zoe came with them...Charlie spent a couple of hours hiding in the lawnmower bag in the garage =)

Here's Daniel towing them up from a run. Heidi is holding onto Soren's sled too...Choo choo!!

To be continued tomorrow...I'm sure =)

Synnove...Playing Dress-Up Again...

...with a little help from mom =)

Charlie & Peppermint Patty Sittin' in a Tree.....k-i-s-s-i-n-g...

Charlie likes hanging out with the bunnies...but today I caught him being naughty =)

Christmas Decorating and SNOW!

The last few days have been eventful. Adam came home from work fairly early on Friday and we decided to put together and decorate the gingerbread house that Synnove has been BEGGING to get for 2 weeks! We got it from Costco for only $9.99...it was a great buy! Then, Adam took the kids shopping for Christmas yesterday while I stayed home and prepared the animals for the cold days ahead. They were finally able to pick up a Christmas tree for the living room. We've had open Christmas storage boxes scattered around the house from decorating last weekend, and we were waiting for the tree so we could finally put them away. I was up late last night wrapping all of our Christmas gifts and didn't go to bed till after 1am. It had started to snow at around midnight =) We awoke to a winter wonderland this morning! We frantically carted the kids into town to get some mittens and a sled (thinking that everyone else would be doing the same thing)....BUT, Astoria and Warrenton were only dusted with snow...heh heh... We came home and went sledding all afternoon! Here's some photos of the weekend...

Soren was almost silent throughout the whole gingerbread building...you could just see the wheels spinning in his clever little mind. He took great care in placing every little candy...including the "shinys" (stars).

It was a messy event....but it turned out quite nicely.

And here's the tree. Again, Soren was so careful and persistent in trying to put on his few ornaments. Synnove, on the other hand, was quite chatty, busy, and willing to help in any way possible.

Just getting out the sled for the first test-run.

Can you find Charlie??

Synnove's having way too much fun, while Soren looks bored....typical

Snow wasn't thick enough for them to sled without some extra help =)

Wind and Rain

I thought I'd get some blogging in before my power inevitably shuts down. I guess there's a big storm brewing for today! Since living out here in Knappa, we haven't really experienced a BIG storm...or maybe we have? The weather here is very different from what I'm used to. Even though we only live maybe 20 miles away from the coast, it makes a big difference. At my parents' home in Warrenton you can actually hear the ocean! Storms in Warrenton/Astoria are epic and often. As a kid, I used to love storm season. I couldn't wait for the power to go out! For some reason, it didn't take much for the power to go out...but it hardly ever stayed out for longer than a few hours. This was always such a great disappointment...especially on school days.

I think there were only 2 or 3 times (all while I was in high school) when we either didn't have school, or were sent home because either the power went out for too long, or there was a big storm coming (big storm of '96). I also have a few memories of stormy elementary school days. One time, the wind was blowing SO hard, that as I was walking home from school, the wind literally lifted me off the ground! It happened right in front of my house...right were the HUGE mud puddle always sat during the rainy season. And, of course, that's where I landed. And to top that off, the bus drove through the puddle and drenched me even more. This is NO joke...this REALLY happened! It was a scene straight out of the movies! I remember my mom being upset with me as I walked through the door. I don't think she believed my Mary Poppins story.

Several years later (my sophomore year in hs), my parents were in the process of building their new house and we were all living in a tent (my parents in a trailer). We lived like the Beverly Hillbillies from August through November. Anyway, one time my best friend Ann invited me over to spend the night. I was sooo thankful that she did because sleeping in the tent would have been quite scary. She lived in Gearhart, less than a mile away from the beach, and we had the most exciting thunder and lighting storm I have ever seen! The whole sky lit up like it was day! I can't remember if that was the same storm that we chased her camp tent all the way through the neighborhood. It was hilarious! We chased that tent from house to house in horizontal rain.

Not long after that, we were still living outside, but we had moved our living quarters under the finished deck. This, in my opinion, was not a smart move, as our tent became more vulnerable. By this time, storm season was in full swing. Us kids lived in a very large 3-room tent. My brother and sister slept in one "room," I slept in another "room," and our 3 dressers lived in the large room in the front. The sleeping rooms were in the back, and were unprotected (no barrier from the wind). So, when the wind blew, we didn't sleep. One night in particular, I remember fighting to keep my bed from lifting off the ground! The wind would gust, and my head would bang on the ground. My mom called it "character building"....I called it...well...not that.

After high school, I went to college. I distinctly remember people complaining about the rain. And unless you are from the coast...particularly the North Oregon Coast you have little reason to complain. I did a quick Google search and found a website that listed the 10 wettest and rainiest cities in the United States...and Astoria, OR ranks 3rd!!!! 3rd in annual rainfall inches, and 3rd in annual rainy days!! Check it out... "ten rainiest cities" and "10 wettest cities" http://web2.airmail.net/danb1/usrecords.htm

It may rain a lot here, but I still love it....especially the mild summers. But, after living in the Portland area for most of 10 years, it has been an adjustment. You know, the DAY we moved back with my parents last year there was a storm and we lost power. What a welcome home!

Lizards, Cars, Trees, Eggs, Rubber Chickens, Etc.

I'm just playing picture catch-up from the last few weeks...

NO, this is NOT a salamander!!! This LIZARD was in my HOUSE!! I had to catch it with a wad of baby wipes and toss it outside myself (Adam was at work). I have never seen a lizard in this area of Oregon before...but here it is! It was probably 8-9 inches long.


This is Soren's newest best friend..."bokka bokka." It's a small rubber chicken that he carries around and makes nests for, kisses, and hugs. He's got it in October while at Deals Only (a local discount store) with my mom...it used to be a key chain. In the pictures, the infamous chicken is wearing a dress that I put on it from one of Synnove's miniature Barbies.

Notice the "nest" happens to be inside a play cooking pot...ha ha.


Here's a couple of photos from Thanksgiving. My grandma Barbara always has toys stashed for the kids to play with. Soren found a box of cars and even the "big" boys got in on the fun.

And here's another great shot. Sleeping...wrestling...typical after-feast activities.

Here's a shot from when we tried to burn some of our brush-pile a couple of weeks ago. We invited Chris and Elise for a hot dog roast.
Last Sunday we went to Beaverton for Samantha's (my niece) 8th birthday at the Oregon Gymnastics Academy. I didn't really get any good pics...but here's one of Synnove anyway.

I thought I'd snap a shot of some of our eggs! Our hens have not been laying in the last few months, but recently we've had 4 hens starting up again. The eggs on the top are from our Old English hens...they're like cute mini-chickens that lay cute mini-eggs. This is probably a weeks worth of eggs from 4 hens.

Adam decided to give the kids their own trees for their rooms this year since we have a bunch we'll be getting rid of anyway around the property. They decorated them last night. Soren loved the "Tigger-Pooh" ornaments, as he calls all Winnie the Pooh characters. You can also catch a glimpse of the awesome 70's carpet!

Synnove really got into it, despite her sparse tree. I couldn't get her to stop being silly to get a good picture =)

A Little Pain and Hard Work...Pure Joy!

Most everyone in my family knows that I despise yard work! I had done my fair-share back in the day when push-mowers with bags were high-tech. I remember walking home from school dreading those 3 words that I knew were destined to escape my father's lips..."mow the lawn!" Granted, I did get $5....and it was definitely earned. Weeding the garden was another pastime I vowed never to punish myself with in my adult life. I had even told Adam before we were married that if he wanted a yard he was gonna have to do all the work! Well, even though he's a true plant-lover with a passion for anything that's edible, he doesn't have time to devote his life to the ever evolving yard. Reluctantly, I chipped in when we owned our first house...there was just no other way around it. And when searching for our forever home I told him, "think LOW maintenance"...and he agreed. Unfortunately, even though we live in the sticks outside of view from any passing car, we managed to purchase a house with MUCH domestic foliage...not to mention the few acres of wild trees and field.

Summer came around and it had been about 13 years since I had pushed a lawn-mower, but I found myself actually wanting to mow the lawn! And since then I've probably mowed it at least 5 times. Then, a couple of months ago, out of my own free will, I spent the day yarding wheelbarrows of blackberry bushes out of the dozens of rhodies we have scattered around the property! Most know I'm not very fond of rhododendrons...but there I was, freeing their detestable root systems. I couldn't believe the satisfaction. I was actually enjoying yard work! But there's more...

Since the purchase of our newest digs, we have cut down a large handful of trees. Cutting them down is fairly easy...it's cleaning them up that is the hard part. It really is a LOT of work clearing branches and logs. And yesterday we devoted a day to clear away more of the many, many, MANY branches scattered around. We had already created a mountain of branches in our designated burn pile during the summer and decided to set it on fire. While it burned, we continued to add to it. We got out the tractor, the 4-wheeler, and our work gloves, and worked for roughly 12 straight hours. And while I was in the thick of it I stopped to think back when I was a kid, doing that very thing with my parents on their property. I hated every minute of it, but my mother loved it...LOVED it! She would get so excited to burn brush and get her hands dirty...trying her best to make fun a day of it by roasting hot dogs and eating chili-cheese Frito's. It's weird, but now I understand why she enjoyed it so much. It was a day where we could all spend a day together working toward a common goal. The kids can even take part...and when they get bored, they go off into the woods and imagine that they are kings and queens of castles made of stumps. When mom and dad want to take a break, they sit by the fire with a Diet Coke and make plans/dreams for the newly cleared area. And yesterday as I was sweating, rake in hand, legs like jelly, blistered toes, splintered palms, standing in front of a roaring hot fire, I looked at Adam with a smile and said, "I love this...I really do love this."

Daddy's Helpers

Synnove and Soren adore their father. When he's around, the kids are always close by. And, I'm happy to say, that Adam welcomes their company. He's a great father to them. He shows them how to do cool things, takes them on hiking adventures, and makes breakfast with them on weekend mornings. Weekends are great...the kids get to spend quality time with Daddy, Daddy gets to play around after a stressful week at work, and I get a bit of a break from the kids!

Anyway, we had some fairly decent weather last weekend, so we took advantage of it and did a bunch of "yard" work (3 1/2 acres worth!). We cleaned up a bunch of tree branches that have been waiting to be picked up since August, mowed the lawn, cleaned the chicken coop, cleaned the bunny cages, cleared away some junk that had been piling up here and there, and finally hauled away the huge noble fir behind the deck. Of course, in order to do that, Adam needed his chainsaw and tractor. And as soon as that chainsaw was fired up, Soren was frantically looking for his! You should have seen how excited he was as he watched Adam cut into that big tree! He wanted to help SO badly, so I ran inside, grabbed his chainsaw and "ear muzzles" and the video camera. In no time at all, he managed to find his way around the briars to get to that giant log. It was priceless. I didn't get a picture of them in action, but made them all pose after it was done. Synnove hates the chainsaw, but wanted to help too (thankfully we have 2 play saws!).

Drumroll Please....

Here it is...the basement I've been talking about for the last couple of months! I have a few before and after pics (or rather, "after and before"...couldn't get the pics to do what I wanted them to). I don't have all the pictures up yet, and it's still a bit messy, but you'll get the idea. The "before" pics are from when we first toured the house back in May of '07.

In the main room, with the painted brick and new insert (which you already saw)

This is the play-room/computer area

More of the main room (don't mind the awesome garage sale furniture)

New track lighting! You can see the old track lighting was mounted on thick cork-board that I had to scrape off...glue and all.

I didn't get a good shot of the hallway, but I painted all 6 doors the same color as the trim and gave our recessed fluorescents a face lift with ridiculously expensive window cling (not a very good pic...but you get the idea).


And that's all folks! Anyone want to donate to the new carpet fund?? Hee hee...