We Anniversaried! {Year 17}

It's time for the annual anniversary report! Russ and I celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary yesterday with pedicures, shopping, and dinner out. It was relaxing and slow-paced and lovely. 

We had some good laughs reminiscing about our baby days...

(back when we were 15 and 17 but looked 15 and 12? Hahaha ;) 

And we marvelled at how amazingly well things have turned out for us, considering we were basically toddlers when we started dating. Or, excuse me, NOT dating, because I was not allowed to date at 15, even though the evidence of Russell pictured in every single family and life event captured in our family photos from this point on would argue otherwise.

This led to a great discussion on what we each thought we'd list as our ingredients to remaining so happily married, if some imaginary person were to ask, and here's what I came up with (off the very top of my head), and what Russ had to add... 

Me:

- being on the same page in our parenting (through taking Growing Kids classes at our church pretty continuously since our oldest was born)

- being on the same page in our finances (through going through Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University...twice so far)

- being on the same page in the effort we put into our marriage (going through the Love and Respect course by Emerson Eggerich really helped, and dating and doing couch time regularly)

- being on the same page in our faith and beliefs (a huge one)

- and just having really compatible personalities

Russ:

- having great examples to follow in our parents and the way we were raised

- GOOD LOVIN'

If that's not a man vs. woman list for you, I don't know what is. Bahaha. I could add a ton more now that I've thought about it more but that's not the point. It was just fun to talk about and the bottom line is that I'm excited for the next 17 years :)

InstaMonday {Life Lately}

It's Spriiiiiing Breeeaaak!

(I don't know why I get so excited about my kids being out of school for a week. I still have to go to my part time job, and Russ still works, so we're not on vacation or anything. I think it's just the break from making sure everyone's homework is done/is in bed on time/to school on time/picked up from school/etc.etc. And everyone can sleep in!

So I guess I do know why I get excited :)

And here's what we've been up to lately, according to the cell phone...

I tried this delectable selection of mini cupcakes from Fat Cupcake in Oregon City, did not share them with anyone, and decided, yes... they are the best cupcakes I've ever had. 

WILL RETURN SOON. 

Blake turned eight...

and requested a mini-trampoline for his gift. You know, so he can do dunks on the hoop outside.

We laugh in the face of imminent childhood injury. 

My husband's cute grandpa also had a birthday... his 90th! We loved celebrating with him last weekend, and look! Santa's photobombing! hahaha. 

My parents returned from New Zealand with gifts that only someone from New Zealand would understand. Like the Raro drink mixes we grew up with, tomato chutney that is waaaay better than ketchup, and salad tongs with the all important sliding closure thingy. Yes, we are weird about our salad tong preference. 

Birthday celebrations continued Saturday night with a double date with my sister and her husband for their birthdays... and we still have one more to go with Cooper's 13th this week!

After dinner we saw Allegiant and I found out the final book is being split into two movies, so really this was only part 1, and I felt TRICKED AND BETRAYED. On the other hand though, at least I didn't have to watch the horrible book ending yet and now I can still cling to my secret hope that they will totally rewrite it. 

A girl can dream, right? 

The Weekend Report

Well hello, internet friends!

Aren't I turning into the slacker blogger! Life's been good, all is well, and I'm here to play a little catch up, mostly because I just finished my third book for the week and I'm feeling quite accomplished and like anything is possible... even blogging!

First off, it's been gorgeous. Cold, sometimes wet, but gorgeous.

Second, puppy update: they are cuter than EVER.

{this little guy sold over the weekend, only 3 left available!}

Also of note: I recently purchased my first ever hair wand (super sale on Amazon) and promptly gave myself two small 2nd degree burns on my neck. This thing means business. 

{hair attempt #1. Am getting better and yesterday didn't burn myself at all so... improvement.}

Friday night was Girls Night In at my Nanna's with my cousins and aunts, mom, and sister (and soon to be sister-in-law). This is the second time we've done this this year and it is my absolute favorite. Girls Night In involves fondue, desserts, yummy drinks, sweatpants, possibly games, girl talk, and more girl talk. I got home at 2am. Worth it. 

And I have to show you my Nanna's walking cane. This blinged out beauty epitomizes Nanna. It's perfect.

Unfortunately I had to be at Blake's basketball game at 8:45am Saturday morning, and my short night of sleep, interrupted twice by a yelping puppy who had escaped his pen in the night and was lost and alone in the corner of the living room, led me to be more than just a little bleary-eyed that day. 

In short, After Blake's game I was supposed to go pick up Cooper from a sleepover at a friends. I totally forgot. And then when they called to let me know they'd brought him with them to their younger sons basketball game, I said I'd come get him there and then DROVE TO THE WRONG SCHOOL.  

Sleep is important, guys. 

Thankfully I was able to get a nap in that afternoon, Which was a good thing because I went to hear a guest speaker at our church Saturday night, and after the service ended at 8:45 pm, Russ and I sent Blake home with his grandparents and surprised our older two with a late night date to see Mockingjay Part 2!  Weeeeeee!  

{It was so gooood!}

We still made it to church yesterday morning, but another nap was top priority afterwards. So basically, it was a perfect Sunday. 

And I had to take this picture of Blake because he is cracking me up with his latest clothing obsession: his two-sizes-too-small old snowsuit that he pulled out of storage and has decided is the perfect thing to wear indoors when playing with toys or when going to bed. 

Goofy, adorable child.  

{and no, our house isn't even remotely cold. Our woodstove has been keeping it nice and toasty!} 

So, anything exciting happen over your weekend? Catch the Mockingjay premiere? I kind of want to go again!

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.  

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! 

End of the Weekend Photo Dump

Snapshots from the cell phone...

Saturday morning soccer has begun. I was lamenting the fact that we won't be able to sleep in until November when my sister kindly reminded me that straight after soccer is Saturday morning basketball... so actually no more sleeping in till January. Then I went into a depression.

Jana and I were out shopping last Saturday when we ran into our favorite mother/daughter duo of Amy & Angey. This called for a two-hour-long lunch break at the Olive Garden because, breadsticks. And it was the most fun two hours I've had in quite a while. Sooooo much laughing :) 

  

While out shopping I decided to use my Target birthday giftcard on a new toaster, which I knew was sad and possibly old-ladyish, but really I was all, Yay! A new toaster!! Woohooo!

My newest Costco discovery of yumminess. Those darned sample tables strike again! 

Enjoying a beautiful day and a much overdue lunch date at C'est La Vie cafe, with the ever-lovely Sairaina. I am continually blessed and encouraged by our friendship. She is a gift.

Speaking of gifts... this immaculate mini fridge with a stainless steel front was just sitting on the side of the road with a "free" sign on it. A gift from God? We sure thought so! (Perfect for the shop and family camp next summer.) And then we brought it home and plugged it in. Lights came on, it turned on and started humming, but two hours later it was still not cold. Hmmmm. We are hoping it's a super easy and cheap fix, and if not, hey, for free it was worth a shot!

Saturday night was date night, and as an added bonus we spent almost an hour in Barnes & Nobles bookstore while waiting for our movie. I found this heavenly, although I laughed at myself when I realized I used up most of the time browsing all the bibles, when I have three at home! (I don't know why, all the pretty leather covers just drew me in and I needed to inspect them all?)

And yesterday afternoon was spent at the most delightful surprise garden tea party for my friend Therese, thrown by her three beautiful daughters. Perfect end to the weekend. 

(Those daughters... they did an amazing job! The food, music, and decorations were TOP NOTCH. Well done, little Lews!)

End of Summer Friday Photo Dump

What we have here is a whole pile of instagram shots taken over the summer that I never got around to "blog dumping" at the end of each week.

I have now determined that I will not feel complete until I get them on here, because you know I will eventually get around to printing my blog into a book for my family, and without these included there will be MISSING PEICES OF OUR LIVES that won't capture important things like the nine thousand pictures I took of my coffee drinks.

So there's the intro. Will it help if I make the pictures more compact? With less words? Like, barely any?

(The first week of school has been okay, by the way. I know you were worried about me with all my crying and mourning and such.)

1. Pool swimming. LOTS of it this summer.

2. Homemade strawberry shortcake & whipping cream. I'M FANCY.

3. Meeting up with Jana at the pool so we can do some dubious supervising while rehashing So You Think You Can Dance.

4. Enjoying a little concert in the park with Blake while big brother's at Royal Rangers.

5. Kendall's sketches.

6. My parents garden, aka: my favorite summer market.

1. I indulged in several of these this summer... Nutty Coconut on a sugar cone. YUM.

2. Miley feelin' the summer breeze.

3. Russ & Kendall out on a daddy-daughter date.

4. Fishy catchin' at the river.

5. The Music Man broadway show with girlfriends!

6. Russ brought this teeter-totter home (I call it a see-saw but am a bone on my own). It's been QUITE the hit. 

1. Date night at the Markum Inn. Little did we know a month later it would burn down. So sad!

2 & 3. A Black Rock coffee drive-thru goes in around the corner from my work and I become a big fan.

4: PLEASE CRY FOR ME, ARGENTINA.

5. Mum and I arriving at the hospital for my nephew's birth. Priorities.

6. Enjoying our new deck. And an iced white mocha, of course. 

1. Reunited with one of my best friends from highschool after 10 years! One of my favorite days of the whole summer.

2. The new deck almost complete!

3. Jana and I at the pool again, this time accidentally dressed as twins.

4. The face of concentration.

5. Taking Kendall for a shopping spree for her 13th birthday.

6. And then dismayed at her lack of stamina! There's no sleeping on a shopping spree!

1. Forgetting my husband's birthday till the day of, and saving the day with a banner & trail cameras :)

2. More fishy catchin' at the river, this time by a crawdad!

3. When the lego magazine arrives and all is quiet and at peace in the world.

4. First day of school! 8th, 1st, and 6th grade, respectively.

5. Documenting my first professional manicure EVVVERRRRRR. Shellac is my new love.

6. Adorable birthday rainboots from my sister... now how can a girl get some rain around these parts?