Date Night & Game Day

Hello world. Let's all give a collective hallelujah that Thanksgiving is only two days away, and bring on the food and family and shopping and noooo school! 

I'M READY.

So you may have noticed that I've been a bit anti-blogging lately, and I apologize to those two of you that this makes sad. It's just been getting a wee bit "chore-like", and I don't want to burn out because I really DO love blogging, so I've been taking it easy and not making myself do it when I don't feel like it.

(This, by the way, is the opposite of how to have a successful blog, so don't be like me if you are after... well, success. I'm just here for recreational purposes :)

ANYWHICHWAY...

We had a date-y weekend!

As a thank you for some emergency water repair work that Russ did for my Nanna and Duke, they blessed us with movie tickets and money for dinner out, offering to watch our kids as well, so off we went to Mockingjay Part 1 Friday night. I loved it, even though the book was my least favorite of the series, so I have high hopes that Part 2 will be just as good.

We were also recently blessed with a pair of free tickets to an Oregon Ducks football game, so on Saturday, for the 2nd time in our lives, we got to attend a college game, and for the first time, watch the Ducks play Colorado at Autzen Stadium!

AWESOME describes it pretty accurately.

Our first college game experience was four years ago at OSU, and while we suffered pretty much the exact same weather, fortunately our day started off MUCH better than that day.

Meaning Russ drove and listened to sports radio, while I enjoyed a white mocha and then laid my chair all the way back and napped.

(If future day dates include a morning nap I am IN!)

Russ is a HUGE Oregon fan so it's a given that he had a blast, but I had a ton of fun too. I enjoyed the game, the people watching, snuggling under our wool blankets, the marching band intro and halftime show, and the amazing atmosphere of team spirit and camaraderie in the stadium. I can't wait to go again!

A couple things I came away with from the weekend:
1. you haven't really seen a true die-hard college football fan until you are surrounded by them at a live event. HOLY COW.
2. Red Robin is always the way to go for an after-game dinner. All that cheering and wet-weather huddling deserves bottomless steak fries!
3. I have no fear of Russ and I not knowing what to do with each other once our children have grown and left home. We are a well-matched team and sure enjoy being together, and this weekend was a great reminder of that.  

Awkward and Awesome Thursday

Awkward:
- the percentage of days I've worn my new hoodie from Costco since buying it 3 weeks ago: approximately 65%. What I'm saying is slightly more than every other day. I think I need more than one hoodie in my life. 
- driving your husband's car to work and forgetting your office key which is on the other car keychain FOR THE FOURTH TIME. Being so embarrassed that you don't call the owner who works around the corner but instead drive all the way back home.
- my children's affinity for losing their toothbrushes. Happens on a monthly basis. Don't ask me how. I just buy them in bulk at Costco now, and good golly if we're not already halfway through the 12-pack I bought two months ago.

Awesome:
- the elk tenderloin I roasted for dinner last night. I even liked it! And Russ... well he basically worshipped at my feet ;)
- free tickets to the Ducks football game this weekend! Date day, baby!
- ANDDD... a date night the evening before to see Mockingjay Part 1, also with free movie tickets. What?! How did our weekend get so awesome?
- when your children start to write all by themselves and can't spell worth a darn. It's the best!

(I like to go to the pumpkin patch! I like to carve a pumpkin. 

I love to watch the leaves turn different colors. ADORABLE!)

Happy Thursday, folks!

A Concert Date With My Girl

Last night I took Kendall to her first music concert, Portland's Winter Jam at the Moda Center.

Headlined by Hillsong United, Winter Jam also featured Francesca Battistelli, Newsong, Jeremy Camp, Trip Lee, Colton Dixon, Disciple, and more.

It's safe to say it was a PACKED HOUSE. I think over 18,000, all worshipping Jesus with reckless abandon. 

I can't even describe how amazing the atmosphere was. AMAZING.

Kendall was most excited to see Francesca Batistelli, and I was most excited to see Colton Dixon (loved him on American Idol!) but my far and away favorite ended up being Hillsong United. I lost my voice singing my guts out to Oceans, along with every other single person in the arena!

{Colton Dixon}

{We sat with our friends the Gilmers and the Kendalls. Thanks for the awesome seats, Cristy! And thanks for letting us pack into your van to get there, Larry & Danielle!}

{Newsong}

{Amazing artist Jared Emerson painted this with his fingers while Newsong sang How Great Thou Art}

(So sad my phone died before I could take pictures of the rest of the performers.)

I've said before that I'm not really a concert goer. I much prefer plays or musicals. But I'll make an exception for Winter Jam... Kendall and I can't wait to go again next year! 

State Champions! {A Redmond Roadtrip}

This was our view last Friday morning, traveling over the mountains on our way to an 8:00 am volleyball match in Redmond, Oregon.

Russ and I, along with Russ's parents, left at zero dark thirty and watched the sun rise halfway through our three hour drive there. And it was absolutely worth it.

We watched our girls (our school's high school varsity team) win their morning game, and then win again that evening to make it into the championship game Saturday night! A first in school history for any sport!

We stayed at a condo in Eaglecrest and had all day to play around before the Saturday night game. This is Russell and my father-in-law's version of playing around. 

And this is my version! We explored downtown, enjoyed a coffee out on the sidewalk, checked out some local thrift stores, ate at Sonic for the first time, found a tool sale for the boys, and visited the local Goodwill for some blue and gold (our school colors) for my in-laws to wear to the game that night.

Which is where this miraculous find happened! Brand new YELLOW Toms! 

SCOOOOORE!

Let's go, Cougars!

Saturday night was everything we'd hoped for and more.

{The pre-game lineup} 

{Victorious!}

{State Champions!}

Our niece Miranda was named player of the game and was unanimously voted to the first team all state. (Woot Woot!)

I've never cried so much over a sports game in my life. It was ridiculous and awesome and unbelievable. 

Such a fun weekend! We took our time coming home Sunday... doing a little more shopping and enjoying lunch and an ice cream cone in Sisters before trekking back to the wet side of Oregon. I just love Gary and Teri. They are so fun to spend time with and we are hoping we'll be back in Redmond together again next year!

(Although we might not let Gary drive next time. Wink, wink, Gary ;)

Tea at the Heathman

I'm going to tell you something you must try. And that is afternoon tea at the Heathman Hotel in Downtown Portland.

(Preferably with girlfriends, celebrating a birthday being optimal.)

I went last week to celebrate my mother-in-law's birthday with a group of her girlfriends and it was possibly the loveliest afternoon I've ever had. (And definitely the yummiest.)

The tearoom is just beautiful. Giant old restored paintings, a grand piano and fireplace, and a chandelier recovered from an Austrian mansion after the Nazi invasion that is now valued at about a million dollars.

The afternoon tea is a set menu and you get everything included... your own pot of tea and 12 different food items to try!

I'm going to go out on a limb and say the English would not necessarily consider it a traditional menu, seeing as that when I started to tell my Mum about my outing she rattled off a whole list of foods she thought would be included and not a single one of them were part of the menu. She looked quite disapproving.

But if you aren't English then you will be delighted by the fanciness!

And if you are like me then you will eat every single thing and declare each one better than the last, with the possible exception of the goat cheese crostini. That was some STRONG cheese.

This is my friend Cheri. And this is my fancy curled hair thanks to my circa 1999 hot rollers. (I say fancy because it's the first time I've ever used them semi-successfully. I was shocked.)

And this is my most favorite mother-in-law in the world (on the right), with her best friend, Sharon, who planned the whole afternoon. Nicely done, Sharon. 

Monday Confessional: the small confessions

- I love to watch makeup tutorial videos on YouTube, yet I continue to do my makeup the exact same way every single day.

- We gained an extra hour of sleep yesterday, yet I was still 10 minutes late to church.

-  I like to give my husband a hard time for getting so grumpy every time he's hungry, but the truth is I think I get even grumpier when I'm tired. (And I'm not nearly as good at apologizing for it either.)

- I have been watching Survivor since season two in Australia, which aired way back in 2002. That's TWELVE years of show commitment! How does Jeff Probst not age, is what I want to know.

- I love to read and I'm picky about my authors and writing quality, but I have this weird thing where once I've actually started a book, I'm committed and I MUST PERSEVERE and get to the end, no matter how boring it gets in the middle. I just can't leave a book partially read! (Except for that one book that was too trashy... I  got up in the middle of the night to throw that one in the garbage.)

- I drove to Nordstroms last week to return some makeup that I'd ordered online and thought was the wrong shade. I then went to a different store and after a color swatch test, purchased the same makeup in the exact same shade as I'd just returned. Either the first one was just in the wrong packaging, or I am a crazy person.

Happy Monday, guys!