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...

The Last Few Days...

It's now day 3 at mom and dad's house, and the bed-wetting has returned. I'm still optimistic for our return home tomorrow, but it's a disappointment. Still, the kids are having fun spending time with Grandma and Papa...and the hunting continues.

Adam has been trying his best to get his first elk with 2 "almosts" under his belt. At least he has that much! It was unbelievable when a small herd appeared in our backyard the afternoon of the day BEFORE hunting season opened. Adam searched them out early the next morning, only to be startled by two shots in the property right next to ours. And yesterday he went out with my dad and spotted an elk and had a clear shot to shoot. However, they couldn't determine for sure if it was legal (enough spikes on his rack) and let it go. Fortunately, Adam doesn't seem too bummed, and continues to go out every night and morning (last day is tomorrow).

In the meantime, the kids and I have been hanging out at the house. My sister has just moved out (obviously) and my mom and I have been stripping the little girl ballerina wallpaper off the wall and choosing some neutral tones to downplay the purple carpet. It seems my brother wants to move in for the added space. Henry, being the only boy, got jipped in the room-size department. When my parents built this house Henry was about 7 and my sister was 9...so their wallpaper and carpet choices match their ages (hence, the purple). And despite the fact that this house is only around 12 years old, the carpet in my sister's room is trash...and not for lack of quality. The word "clean" isn't in my sister's vocabulary. So, it's been a bit difficult trying to make "hideously stained" and "purple" fit with any sort of scheme that my brother could live with. Nevertheless, it has been accomplished the best we could and the paint is being purchased as I type.

I suppose I should go get my paint clothes on...

October Happenings

Blogging has been last on my list of things to do, and it's hard to believe that November is already almost half over! So, here I am, playing catch-up. We did a lot in the month of October, but here are a few of the little things that happened...

My cousin Heidi's bunny had bunnies, and we were promised a girl so that someday "Bunny-Him" (our male lop...also given to us by the Thompson clan) could be a daddy. So, when it came to giving her a name, we thought "Bunny-Her" would be a suitable choice, but I thought "Peppermint Patty" would fit her perfectly...and would go well with our "Peanuts" theme. So, we now have our "Charlie Brown" and our "Peppermint Patty" and someday we'll get a dog and likely name her "Lucy"....but we'll see.

We aren't to the pumpkin carving age yet, so we painted pumpkins for the 2nd year in a row. The kids really got into it and their pumpkins were covered in blobs of mixed paint that all ended up being one color in the end.

On one of our trips into downtown we ended up walking over some of the Astoria "underground." The purple glass in the sidewalks is to let light into the underground. Of course, the city underground has been closed off for many many years (I don't know when exactly), but I'm sure many of the downtown businesses have access. Anyway, as we were walking by, one of the glass "windows" was broken open and somebody had put twinkle lights down there right under the hole. It was like finding treasure =)

And here's an awful picture from Elise's bachelorette party in Portland. All the other pictures were not exactly appropriate for my family-friendly blog (not bad...just silly). We had lots of fun. It was just Jenni and Krista (two of Elise's best friends and bridesmaids) and myself. I even got to meet up with Natalie, one of my best friends from college!

Weesie's Wedding Day

The last two weeks have been non-stop. First was the bachelorette party! We had a great time downtown P-town and staying at the Embassy! I was the oldie-moldie...but practically the life of the party =) Then, it was dress-alterations...a spendy undertaking...but needed. Then it was all those last-minute things leading up to the weekend...

And what a weekend it was! Halloween, rehearsal, wedding...almost too much for my children to handle! Synnove was the flower girl (her third wedding!) and has been SOOO excited for Auntie Weesie to get married. She's been talking about the dress since April! And she was a princess...as you can see from the pics. She was made to be a "junior bride"...she had her own veil, tiara, and even a train with a bustle! My darling mom-in-law came for the weekend to help out, do our hair, and, of course, go to the wedding. She was a life saver! It was a headache trying to juggle kids from practice up-dos, to trick-or-treating, to rehearsal. I felt so bad because Synnove has been talking about trick-or-treating since LAST year! We were only able to go downtown Astoria for 20 minutes of LAME trick-or-treating before having to go to rehearsal. Needless to say, she was disappointed with the arrangement...it wasn't even dark yet! It certainly wasn't like last year. Novie was a fairy/butterfly, and Soren was a pirate. We were so rushed, that I didn't even get a picture.

Rehearsal went well, dinner was great, and Saturday was a whirlwind of crazy. Again, my mom-in-law was a life saver. It's rough having little ones sometimes...they make every task 10 times harder to accomplish! She also took some great pics. Here are a few from the day...

A rare photo of myself...(I'm usually the one taking pictures)
My mother looked absolutely stunning...she's so beautiful!

The darling couple at the reception (The Loft) at the Bridgewater Bistro.

Dancing with Daddy (he had knee surgery the week before!)

Novie and Chris's nephew Ryan (the ring-bearer). He was SOO incredibly cute! They danced and he "twirled" her like a pro. They are only 2 weeks apart in age!

Farewell to Cabo San Lucas! I pelted Chris good!

Anyway, after that was over I was able to get back to my PAINTING! I FINISHED on Thursday!!!!! I just have a little bit to do where the track lighting is in the main room...but first we have to get the new fixtures. I'm SOOO happy to be done...you have NO idea!