Only 9 Days Left!

I couldn't believe it when Thanksgiving came and went, and I only had two Christmas gifts purchased. I didn't have a plan either. I was at a loss as to what to get for everyone and I was starting to panic! Fortunately, I got the Christmas card ordered before Thanksgiving! Last year we didn't send one out, so I had to get one out this year. By the time I paid for all the postage, I was wishing I had skipped this year as well! I started looking for blocks of time where I could get out without the kids. The weekends were full, Adam was busy, and I was starting to brainstorm other options. My Mom was in a bit of a panic as well, as she often relies on me to help her figure out gifts. Somehow we found a block of time to run to Longview for a quick trip. But, before we left, I had to take the kids over to the local church to meet Santa. Synnove had been begging to go! It ended up being a bust because neither of the kids wanted to get within 6 feet of Santa...

In about a weeks time, I finished my Christmas shopping. Online shopping is great!! I could finally breathe a bit...but the house still wasn't decorated. Synnove was soooo excited to decorate, and asked me several times a day..."when are we going to get the decorations out!?", and my response was always.."not until we get our tree." Getting the tree was proving to be difficult. We were busy...constantly busy. And when we weren't busy, it was either dark or raining. We were looking forward to cutting our own tree out at the dairy, but I was beginning to wonder if we were going to have to pay an arm and a leg to the boy scouts down the road for one of theirs. BUT, the weather cleared one day after Synnove got out of school, and we raced to Brownsmead just in time to be home by dusk.

The kids took a bath before dinner (they were filthy and wet) and I made homemade pizza. When dinner was over, I turned on the Christmas music and the decorating began. The kids had such a great time. I think this is the first year that I felt the kids could handle decorating the tree on their own (less the lights and garland)...and they did. Adam helped, while I decorated elsewhere. It really was a fun, no-stress, Christmassy time!

Soren loved all the ornaments...and was constantly coming up to me saying "look at this one!"

Synnove was my grown-up helper girl...she's got this whole Christmas tree thing down pat.

That night I was exhausted, but determined to wrap a few gifts. I ended up wrapping every single one! I still had a few that hadn't come in the mail yet, but, for the most part, I was done! I went to bed well after midnight and was dragging the next day. The kids were surprised to see all the gifts under the tree the next morning and started checking the tags for their names. Synnove was pretty disappointed that there was only one gift with her name on it...ha ha.

We still haven't put any lights outside, and I haven't done any baking...but it feels good to be almost ready for Christmas!

Easter, Etc.

Saturday started off early with the annual Easter Egg Hunt at the Svensen church. It was raining, but the kids went anyway. Adam picked up Heidi beforehand and they all went together. I stayed home to prep for egg decorating.

Synnove found the golden egg and won a prize!

After the hunt, they all came home to color eggs and hunt them all afternoon with Heidi. It was raining for most of the day, however, I think they managed to hunt outside a bit...but mostly inside. I'm still hoping they found all the eggs! While they all played, I attended a funeral for Grandma Barbara's daughter-in-law Pam. She became my aunt when Barbara and my Grandpa married several years ago, however, I didn't know her well. Pam had only just turned 47 when she died last Wednesday. So heartbreaking.

On Sunday we all went to church and then headed to Ridgefield to have our annual Easter celebration. It was also Lyndel's 2nd birthday! The kids had a great time playing with the cousins that they hardly ever see. Kamille and Heidi hid eggs, and managed to do it before it started pouring outside. We stayed late visiting and didn't get home till 9:30.

The hunt.

While trying to get a shot of Heidi and Kamille, the neighbor's dog came by and freaked Soren out. It made for a funny picture!

The little ones pose with their birthday hats.

He's only 2, but he sure knew how to blow out candles...drool and all! Yuck!

At the Creek: A Short Video

Doug dunking, Sophie swimming, dam building. Just a snippet of our fun.

Thanks to all for being good sports when I forced you all to go down to the creek!! Unfortunately, Chris and Tonya aren't off the hook for day 2...

4th of July Slideshow

Here's the photos of our latest camping trip. The weather was awesome...and I think we all had a great time!

Just click on it if you want to see full-screen or download any of them.

Camping Videos

All 3 of these were shot while on a 4-wheeler...so they are a bit bumpy. Remember to turn the sound on.

Camping Slideshow

Our camping trip this Memorial weekend was awesome...NO RAIN! This year, we had more quads than ever and we made good use of the trails. Even Synnove got to ride with some of the big boys =) Since the weather was decent, we had two movie nights around the campfire (thanks Doug and Sherri) and we played a few games. Tons of fun was had by all! I can't wait till our 4th of July trip!!

There have been lots of requests for the photos I took, so I tried to put them in a slideshow/album. I hope it works! Just click on the slideshow to view pics larger or individually. You should even be able to copy/save them for yourselves =)



I hope to post the videos I took on the trail soon (it takes me a while to shrink/upload them)

Making the Most Out of Mother's Day Weekend

We got started early on Saturday. We needed to make the garden more level and the dozer had done all it could do. I got out the roto-tiller to till up stiff soil so it could be easily dug out, while Adam used the tractor to shovel up the soil I tilled. It was a pretty good system! Then, we laid down some of our fancy underlayment (thanks GP!) and started building our walls/raised beds. It's gonna take us a while to get it all done...but it's a start! My mom and dad stopped by to give me a new plant for mother's day and watched us work for a while (both recovering from bad colds). Once we laid an entire pallet of cinder blocks, we headed back to Home Depot for another. While we were there, Adam and the kids let me pick out 3 new plants for the flower beds for Mother's Day! I picked a rose, a gardenia, and a pink flowering shrub (don't know the name).

Since it was nice, we let the bunnies out one at a time to play in the dog kennel. Charlie thought that Bunny-Him's cage looked cozy. He slept like this for quite a while! His neck is pink from Synnove's sidewalk chalk.

On Sunday, we all decided to show up at my parents' church for Mother's day. All of us were there, except dad (sick) so we went out to lunch and made plans for a spontaneously fun day at our house! We went to Chinese and had some really great food! They even gave out little crystal "Happy Mother's Day" figurines that lit up! It was sweet. Anyway, everyone had to go home to change clothes and get a few things and they all met at our house later.

The weather was decent so we set fire to our smaller burn pile. We also took a sledge hammer to the old goat shed (in pieces below).

While waiting for the fire to burn down to a reasonable hot-dog roasting fire, we split some wood. Dad and Adam split, while Mom and I stacked.

This is Synnove "helping"

The kids were good all day, despite a weekend with no naps.

The fire finally burned down enough, but it was still really hot! Mom found a unique way of roasting with out setting her pants on fire.

In the midst of all the fun, Synnove wanted to show off her 4-wheelin' skills...

After hot dogs, we all went up to the house to have ice cream sundaes! We had all kinds of candy toppings, chocolate syrup, caramel syrup, whipped cream, and bananas. We were all watching Bedtime Stories so I let the kids eat in the living room...Soren in his chair, and Novie on a towel. What a treat!

After ice cream, bath, and movie...

Hope your Mother's Day was as awesome as mine!!

Easter Pics Galore!

Heidi "aka" Fifi came over in the morning and we went to the Easter egg hunt at the church in Svensen. Adam was springer fishing.

Afterwards, we came home and Fifi helped with the egg coloring and hunts in the yard. It was great fun despite the crummy weather.

"Cheese"

Looks like the Easter Bunny stole an egg...

We went to our Easter church service the next morning, and then headed to Steve and Kathi's for lasagna. Here's Kevin, Uncle Steve, and Adam chatting in the living room.

We had a relaxing time visiting...notice the two dweebs on the left...

Henry and Jenessa playing toys with little Lyndel (sp?)

Grandma, Stan, Auntie Kathi, and Uncle Don

The kids in their Easter garb that they got from Grandma Balensifer. They had a BLAST this Easter. They even got a new Little Tykes basketball hoop from the Easter Bunny!

Dexter Had to wear a muzzle and wasn't too happy about it. He's a little edgy since being brutally attacked a year ago.

Craig entertained us with some tunes on the guitar...and Jacob with his recorder =)

All the men were sitting around the table while the ladies were laughing up a storm in the kitchen.

A Valentine's Day to Remember

Valentine's Day started bright and early Saturday morning. I was set to leave for downtown Portland at 10 to attend a fancy "high tea" at the Heathman Hotel for my sis-in-law's 27th birthday. I was excited to go, but nervous for the trip. The car had been acting weird the day before, I was scared to drive downtown scary Portland by myself, and I was on a time crunch and needed to be back home by 4:30 at the latest. To ease some of my nerves, Adam kindly took the car in for a check-up and lube at 8:30 that morning. In the meantime, I got ready, printed directions off Mapquest, and said a few prayers for a safe and successful journey. Adam arrived back home about 5 minutes before I had to leave, and I was off.

It was a beautiful day, so that made driving much easier. And God heard my prayers because I made it into downtown without any major freak-outs and actually found a parking garage right across the street! I walked into the hotel at exactly 11:59...one minute to spare.

The tea was an intimate affair with just me, Faith, Patty, and Faith's life-long friend Melissa. Melissa's birthday was on the 12th, and her and Faith are only 2 days apart in age. At the tea I learned that they even shared their 1st birthday together =) The tea was very very fancy. We each got our own pot of loose-leaf tea in whatever flavor we wanted, and we each got to partake in a mountain of yummy treats. There were lots of flavors...deviled eggs, cucumber/watercress sandwiches, black currant scones, marscapone cheese spread, mini chicken salad pitas, salmon puffs, goat cheese with chives, devil's food cupcakes, homemade marshmallows, lemon bars, etc. It was purely divine. Of course, it all came with a hefty price tag...but it was a lovely time and I thoroughly enjoyed myself.


We took our time visiting and exchanging gifts. Were there for over 2 hours. I left in a rush because I had to be home to see off Adam and Synnove for their Valentine's date. I sort of took a roundabout way trying to get out of downtown and finding I-5...but, again, I made it out with little panic. Hooray!! Below, Faith and Melissa make a birthday wish...



I got home just in time to help Synnove finish getting ready for the Father-Daughter Valentine Dance that was taking place at the Elk's Lodge in Astoria. Synnove was also very excited to be double-dating with Uncle Don and Heidi. They all had plans to eat dinner at the Pig 'n Pancake before-hand. On the day before, I had picked up an adorable pink carnation mini-corsage and Valentine's Day box/purse filled with lip gloss and pink heart tissues. She was set!

Adam said that they all had a smashing time. I guess it was a packed house, as usual. Don has been taking Heidi ever since she was Synnove's age. They didn't get home till 9:30, and I could tell that Synnove had a wonderful evening. She brought home a red carnation, balloons, and a priceless photo/memento. I would scan it in, but the photo is a bit dark.

So, Adam and I didn't get to spend Valentine's Day together, but it's likely the most memorable and special Valentine's Day we have ever had.

Christmas Marathon Part 6

This year I decided to start a new tradition with Adam's family and have a Christmas celebration at our house the weekend before Christmas. In years passed, we have all had a hard time trying to find a time/place that doesn't conflict with our other plans. For our family, Christmas is a very very busy time and I wanted to fully enjoy Christmas again and not feel stressed about where we had to drive next. Fortunately, everyone in Adam's family was on board...but the weather wasn't. When the weather cleared, I rescheduled for the weekend after Christmas, but that ended up not working either. SO, I rescheduled again to have it last weekend, and everyone agreed. I was completely "t-o'd" when the snow started DUMPING at our house on Thursday night! I had to brave the roads Friday morning to take Charlie in to Astoria to get neutered going 25 mph during the entire 12ish mile stretch. I became very worried that Adam's family wasn't going to be able to make it the next day. It snowed even more that night and was even colder on the day everyone was to arrive. But, much to my surprise, Adam's sister Faith arrived with her family somewhere around 10:00 from Battle Ground! The rest of the fam arrived 3-4 hours later. I was so happy that everyone made it and that this Christmas feast was actually going to happen! And, best of all, it turned out like I hoped it would. It was relaxing, fun, and the food was good! Unfortunately, being the host means not getting as many pictures as I would have liked...but here's a few that turned out alright...

This is Adam's beautiful mother, Patty

I gave Faith and Chris an album of pictures from their wedding

Here's Soren complaining about eating the skin of his ham...

I wish I had a bigger dining room/table

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!