Moments with the Boys

I spent yesterday hanging out with my dad, and brother, Nick. What a fun day we had!! After having our little snow storm, the next days were beautiful!! Yesterday especially!! My dad and I had planned on going on a hike by the beach. He had do do some work, mow the lawn, etc. It got later in the day, and going to the beach was no longer an option. So, we loaded up the bikes to go the a nearby park that Dad told me about. By that time, Nick had come home from work, so we squeezed into the pickup, and took off! 

Here we are! 

Buddy was with us too. Dad does not go anywhere without him :)

Nick setting up his video camera to capture the beautiful day! 

Dad buys the yearly pass to the state parks. It's a good thing, cause he goes all the time! Time to play!

Dad and his Buddy.

Our bikes, out and ready to use. 

Taking a look at the trail map first. 

Here we go! It's an easy trail, so not really much of a work out. 

Trying to get a picture with all of us in it, and not crashing. I had to be careful cause I forgot my helmet! 

Nick and I.

We went about a  mile, and then we could go no further. A river was going through what used to be the trail. It was not just a little puddle we could wade across, but an actual river!! 

Standing in front of the largest Cottonwood in the nation! 

Father and Son. :)

Nick found a tree he wanted to climb.

Dad giving it a go.

I had to give it a try too. Dad was a little scared I was going to fall down. 

Hanging on for dear life!! I wanted to picture to look like I was high up in the tree. But, Buddy is right there, and you can see that I am not that high compared to him. Oh well :)

Nick never was able to make it up that big tree. I guess he is not superman! ;) So, he climbed a different tree right next to it. It turns my stomach to see him so high! 

We had a fun time together! I can't wait to enjoy more sunny days outdoors!

After our outing, we were hungry. Dad had a coupon for a Chinese place close to home, so we went there or dinner.

With Dad's coupon, we enjoyed enough food for all 3 of us, for only $10! And there were leftovers! 

The Newberg theater is just down the road from the restaurant. I saw there was a 7 pm showing of the Hunger Games. We finished up dinner, just in time for the show! I had to talk Dad and Nick into going with me. I had just finished the book, and was excited to see the movie, but did not want to go alone! 

What a fun filled day spent with my dad, and brother!! 

Moments of Snow in the Spring

Oregon weather has been a little crazy lately! This last week we got snow on the second day of spring! Those of you from the Portland area would know, it's kinda a big deal when we get a little bit of snow :) It starting coming down, and the part I did not expect, it was sticking!!! It made me instantly feel like a little kid, and I had to get out there and play in it! It was dark out, but I knew that if I waited for morning, more than likely it would all be gone. My cousin, Karen, was home for SPRING break, so we bundled up, and went outside.

I made snowballs, but had no one to throw them at! (Karen was not outside yet, lucky for her!)

I'm super happy to be in the snow!! 

Karen joined me!! Someone to play with :) 

Started the base of my little snowman on the table. 

I know some people will think this is gross. But there is nothing better than the taste of fresh snow! The earth becomes my Popsicle! 

We took Ruby out. She was SO eager to go out into the snow! Karen is throwing her little snowballs, and Ruby is catching them in her mouth. 

The finished product of my little snowman. Isn't he cute? We named him Emmett in honor of my new nephew:) 

Snow just makes me feel carefree. The world is so beautiful with a fresh coat of snow, covering everything. It's so peaceful, and even though it's cold out, it feels cozy. I have so many great memories of drinking hot coco around the stove, the power out, candles lit, while it snows outside. Sigh, I love happy memories :)

Moments of Babysitting

Last weekend I got to babysit my little cousins while there parents enjoyed a weekend away. We had a lot of fun! It was a nice day, so we decided to go for a walk.

They found some rocks along the way, and each took turns standing on them. It does not take much to entertain little kids :)

The next day was going to be St. Patrick's Day. I wanted to do something fun with their food for breakfast, but I was not sure I was going to be there in the morning. Andrea, my sister, was going to be going into labor at any moment. So I decided to do breakfast for dinner that night, just in case. It was a good thing too!  As you know from my last post , Emmett was born the morning of the 17th. 

So, together we made pancakes and eggs, with green coloring. It was fun to have them help!

I made sure to measure everything in a way that they each got to add each ingredient. They were really good at sharing turns! :)

Mixing the pancake up!  

Added the green coloring.

E told me what a great egg cracker she is, and she really was. 

The pancake cooking.

The eggs cooking. 

Final product! I thought it turned out great :) The pancake was more green on the inside, than the outside.

Yummy! Eating the food they helped make :) 

It was fun spending time with these cuties :) Babysitting them reminded me why I loved being a nanny. Who knows, maybe one day I'll be one again. In the meantime, I will just enjoy my cousins, and especially my new nephew ;)

Moments of Becoming an Aunt!!

March 17, 2012 Andrea and Bill had a baby boy. His name is Emmett Joseph Schueler. He weighed in at 8 pounds 6 ounces, and 18 1/2 inches long. He is a very sweet baby, and I could not be happier for them! 

I will write a blog in the next couple days with more detail :) 

Moments of Knitting

When I learned I was going to be an aunt, I wanted to knit my little niece/nephew a blanket. I had never done anything like that before, but I went to my good friend who is an expert, and she showed me an easy pattern. So, I started on it, and finished it before the baby was born! I was very happy with the outcome of it, and would do this one again. I tried to get a gender neutral yarn, and was pleased with the one I chose. 

Made with love for the special baby who is making me an Auntie :) 

Moments of Reflection

I find myself awake at this hour, 2:30 in the morning. I am tired, but earlier tonight I was suddenly ready for all my Christmas decorations to be put away! I am just now realizing that I did not take a picture of my little set up. It was quite cute with lights, and a winter village with snow, trees, little houses, and little people. 

Spring is coming! This makes me smile. We used to get our cute chicks in the spring. 

Dad, letting some chicks roost on his arm and nap :)

Mom told me that they might be getting some chicks this year at their new home! It's always nice to have fresh eggs. 

I got a little off base of what this post was going to be about :) Just having fun thinking about the good old days living in the country! 

So, as I was taking down my winter decoration, and putting things away I came across some notes and poems that I got from someone a long time ago. I wanted to share one of them, because it touched my heart. It's called

Fruits of the Spirit

Love is the principle fruit of the Spirit. 

Joy is love rejoicing.

Peace is love resting.

Long suffering is love waiting. 

Gentleness is love understanding.

Goodness is love serving. 

Faith is love trusting. 

Meekness is love submitting.

Temperance is love controlling.

Isn't that just a beautiful picture of what the fruits of the Spirit are! So, as I am sitting here, thinking about spring coming, I am thinking about the spring of my life coming as well. A time of fresh starts. When seeds are planted, flowers bloom, and fruit comes forth. The fruit that is yielded is evidence of the seed that is planted. I can provide the soil of my life, but I want to let God do the planting. 

So, now it is after 3am, and I should wrap this up. Thanks for listening :)

Moments of Baby Shower # 2

A few weeks after the baby shower Ginger threw for Andrea, I had one for her too. I had decided that because Ginger and I were both throwing the parties at Andrea's house, I would decorate for Gingers, and leave the place decorated for when it was time for my party. It was Valentine's Day themed mostly becuase it was close to Valentine's day, and also because we don't know the sex of the baby I thought red and white were good colors. So I'll start off with pictures of the decorations that Andi and Bill were so nice to put up with for a few weeks! :)

I got the idea of wrapping all of Andrea's pictures on the wall off line. I thought it turned out really cute. 

All the food set up! No paper plates for us! We used formal glass snack sets. Makes it feel a little fancier :)

A nice Costco cake. 

I made little cards for people to put advice on for Andi. We had some very wise ladies in the group! 

You gotta love the Dollar Tree :)  

I made this washcloth cake for Andi out of 40 super cute cloth wipes. 

The party started at 2pm, people were showing up, but Andi was no where to be seen! She was out with my cousin, and things had taken longer then we thought. So Andi showed up a bit late for her own party, but it was well worth the wait! She made her grand entrance, with her beautiful baby bump.

Our cousin, Karen, painted her belly for the party, and it turned out really cute! 

Then it was time for the games to begin! The first one was the classic game of guess the size of Andi's belly. Everyone cut off streamers to the size they thought she was, and then we did the real measurement. I really wish I would have gotten more pictures, but in the moment I was not really thinking about it.  

Everyone's guesses were so different, but there was one that was right on! 

The next game was guess that candy bar. I took 6 diapers, and melted a different kind of candy bar in each one. It was amazing how gross it looked, but fun to watch as people tried to decipher the candy bars!  

Juliette looking a little disgusted. 

Karen and Emily combining their minds, trying to figure it out. 

Then our last game we all moved out to the garage to do a relay race with 4 teams

Each team member had a quarter that when it was their turn they had to put it between their knees, and run across the room to the other side, and drop the quarter into their team jar.The first team to finish won. It was fun to watch all the ladies, but I did not get any pictures of them doing it, only a video.....but I won't be posting that :)

Next Andi opened gifts. A thank you to Juliette for making the who-gave-what list! 

Andrea surrounded by all the awesome, useful things she got! People have been so generous. 

Andrea with a few items from Laughing Baby Designs. Her sister in-law bought them from one of Andrea's friends who makes wonderfully cute baby items.  On the right is a wet bag, then a nursing cover, and a diaper changing mat. Below is a close up of the mat.  

A few home made blankets she got. The white poka dot one is from a sis in-law, and the other 2 Mom made. I also knitted her a blanket that I don't have a picture of right now. So, I'll put it in another post :) 

Some snugly stuffed animals she got all set up in the crib. 

The stroller I got for the Schueler family. We all fell in love with how easy the City Mini is to use, and most of all, to fold up! Like I said before, I wish I had gotten more pictures of the presents for those of you reading this that could not be there, and sent things in the mail! We will take pictures when the baby is born with the items, so you can see how everything is very appreciated! ( You know who you are :) )

Andi with another prego lady, Sunny. Sunny is the one I mentioned before who makes the Laughing Baby products. 

As I bring this post to an end, I want to make a special shout out to Karen and Emily. They were both VERY helpful before, during, and after the shower. Thank you so much Karen for painting Andi's belly, and keeping her occupied while we set up. And for all your help cleaning up after! Emily, I don't know how I would have gotten all the food done, and prepared without your help! You were just what I needed! And, like Karen, thanks for the clean up help! 

I am lucky to have such a great sister, and now she is making me an aunt! I am so looking forward to meeting this baby that we already love so much.