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Lots of photos to share from Thanksgiving but no words (because it's late and I'm tired) so my hope is that the photos will speak for themselves.
Three things though:
1. I have no idea what happened to my uncle's shirt.
3. My cousin Sammy was unhappy because he had to sit on a tiny, pink stool during dinner.
2. You might think my kitchen is big enough for dancing, Yo-Yo-ing, Skyping and cooking Thanksgiving dinner...but it's not.
We walked down to the school by our house for our annual Thanksgiving football game.
Ross was one of the captains. He picked Brad (my uncle), Jesse (my little cousin), Roshelle (another little cousin), Cole (my boy) and Adaira (Jesse's girlfriend).
With both Brad and Jesse on his team, I was sure we were doomed.
Josh's brother, Jamey was the other team captain. He picked me (moi), Josh (my hot husband), my Grandpa, Alicia (my Aunt) and Sam (yet another cousin).
And a few minutes into the game, we added some cute, little, neighbor-kid to our line-up.
I jammed my wrist trying to stop my little cousin on the first play of the game and it still hurts. (I'm no match for Jesse Ray.)
The field was really wet.
And my family doesn't play very nice.
Roshelle was guarding me the whole game. (Doesn't she look ruthless?)
Ruthless enough to nail her opposition in the (tiny) chi-chi's.
And her little brother, Jesse is just as ruthless.
Jesse said he was taking off his shirt because it was wet but I think he was just trying to impress all the ladies in blog-land.
Very impressive Jesse Ray.
Jamey got wet too (but he left his shirt on.)
Josh Downs on the other-hand, decided to impress everyone by hiking his shorts.
Look at her going for the (tiny) chi-chi's again.
That's Ross & Jesse on my heals. (I'm so fast I'm blurry.)
Touch-down for the underdogs.
And another touch-down for the underdogs.
And yes, a third touch-down for the underdogs. (We stomped 'em 3 to 1.)
Ross, quarterbacking for his losing team.
It almost looks like we're mocking them, huh???
But we were gracious winners.
Kind of. (That was just a pay-back for Cole trying to tackle me.)
And I'll just leave it at that (because no one wants to hear about how we had to cut the game short because my adorable, hot-headed little cousins wouldn't stop trash-talking each other.)
And thank you Misty (my step-mom) for all your handiwork with the camera. (Love you.)
Of course, I have no way of knowing her exact thoughts, but I bet I'm not too far off...
"Wow, a whole bowl full of stawberries & raspberries!"
"Oh, and blueberries, they're my favorite!"
"Actually, I think I like raspberries the best because I can stick them on my fingers!"
"Uh-Oh, I hope my Mom isn't watching because I'd probably get in trouble for sticking my fingers in the bowl."
"Whew, I don't see her...just two more fingers to go."
Hope your Thansgiving is wonderful.
Just finally getting around to posting Coley's birthday shots too. (Cole & my little cousin, Sammy shared a birthday party.)
The lighting is wonky but I love that shot of Ross & Coley.
And of course, a party just wouldn't be a party without my Uncle Donnie sticking something up his nose.
The birthday boys hugging.
Don't even get me started about the slope of the picnic table...it's a long story.
In fact, I'm just going to pretend there wasn't a picnic table.
I still can't believe he's in double-digits.
Love you Coley.
As promised, more untimely photos lacking dialogue...
And if you must know, those pumpkins are still sitting out on my front porch (full of mold.)
Is it ridiculous that I even bother posting our pumpkin patch photos now that it's nearly Thanksgiving?
The problem is that once I get something in this Type A head of mine, I can't get rid of it. And currently, I have it in my head that I'm going to edit/post all the important events I missed during my blogging hiatus.
The biggest obstacle being that I've already forgotten most of the details since I didn't bother to blog them in a timely manner.
Ain't that the way it goes...
Unfortunately, we have a 'If you can lift it, it's yours.' policy when it comes to selecting pumpkins so Courtney Lee didn't get to bring that one home.
And Annie was much more interested in Lady Bugs than pumpkin picking.
I'm trying so hard to get more group pictures (with the self-timer.)
She got to bring home that one though.
And I don't know why I like this blurry one so much, but I do.
Josh picked a pumpkin that had grown with what looked like the letters 'V' and 'H'on it (because he calls me 'Valentine' and I call him 'Harriet'.)
Courtney Lee is sporting a hairstyle called "The Folded Braid" which happens to be my specialty.
Annie is sporting a hairstyle called, "My Mom Put Too Much Gel in my Bangs and Now They Look Crunchy" which happens to be another specialty of mine.
Annie talking about how big her pumpkin is.
And then we went on a tractor ride.
And a really nice gentleman offered to take a group shot for us.
Bless him for trying.
And a little of Josh Down's handiwork on that last one.
Stay tuned this week while I continue annoying blog readers with even more more untimely October photos.
Ross, Cali, Billy (Ross's friend) and I decided to hike Table Rock last week. It's a really lovely view from the top unless it's fogged in, which was the case for us.
And that's another iphone shot (taken by Cali since she's got long arms) for nostalgia.
And a few more things:
1. Coley's simultaneously reading the Narnia series right now by C.S. Lewis and The Hobbit. (The kid reads constantly.) He just finished up the Lemony Snicket series too. I think Where the Red Fern Grows was his favorite book ever though. (Ross's too.)
2. Indoors, I almost always use a prime/fixed lens wide open and I custom white balance. I know that response isn't very in-depth but I don't feel like I can charge my students for information if I'm posting that same info. here for free - hope everyone understands.
3. The Canon 60D is a great camera (and a step up from the Rebel T1i/T2i if it's in your price range) but if you can swing the cost of the 7D, I'd go for it due to the improved focusing system.
4. The church we've been going to on Saturday nights is Applegate Christian Fellowship. If you happen to go there and hear someone singing obnoxiously loud/bad...it's probably me.
5. On Saturday, I bought a CD and a book from the bookstore after the service. As the checkout girl totalled me up, she said, "The person before you put $20 towards your purchase." I couldn't get the smile off my face the rest of the night (and plan to pay it forward as soon as I come up with a good idea.)
6. Hoping to get lots more photos posted this week since I'm on a roll here.
7. I'm climbing Table Rock again this afternoon with my friend Coral.
Hope your day is great.
The day after my Mom's birthday, my Sister and I took her to Portland for a suprise weekend. (We had never done anything big for my Mom's birthday before but figured '60' deserved something big.)
On our way there, we stopped at The Beanery in Eugene to get coffee. (My Sister likes to make lots of stupid faces for the camera.)
I propped my camera up on a newspaper stand for this shot. (If you don't know how to use the self-timer on your camera, you should learn how.)
Since my car doors won't unlock with the remote, I set my camera and my coffee on top of the car while I unlocked the door.
And then we got back on the freeway.
About thrity minutes later, we heard a rattling sound on top of the car. It only lasted a brief moment though so we didn't give it another thought.
Another thirty minutes into the drive, I decided to pull off the freeway for gas.
As I slowed down, the rattling sound got louder (You know where this is going don't you?) and upon coming to a complete stop, I saw my camera fly off the top of my car, bouncing onto the hood and then flying into the air again, landing along the side of the road about 30 feet away from my car.
I just sat there frozen.
My sister said, "Oh shit!", threw the car door open and jumped out to grab my camera.
And my Mom just sat there asking, "What's going on?"
(Those who know us well know how predictable all three of our responses were.)
There was a homeless guy on the side of the freeway who had watched the hold tragedy unfold. He just stood there shaking his head and said, "That ain't going to be good."
I expected my Sister would return with a handful of camera pieces.
But the camera was intact with just a few scratches and a broken hinge where my memory card goes.
It's a Nikon.
The first thing I did was take a picture to make sure it still worked.
It worked. (The focus on my lens is a bit off now so I'll have to send it in and realistically, I should send in the whole camera to be checked at the same time.)
Once we got to Portland, we stopped for lunch at Jade Bistro. (My Sister found it on Yelp.com.)
So good.
And then, much to my Sister's dismay, we went antique shopping in Sellwood.
I didn't get any pictures though (because I was busy antique shopping.)
But I did get a picture of my Sister and my Mom carrying the orange bench I scored for Coley's room.
And I did get a picture of these flowers only because I want to be better about photographing the little details around me.
Later, we checked into our hotel room (which was right across the street from this lovely mural) and then we went shopping on 23rd.
I should have taken some pictures of our hotel room because it looked like whoever designed it was on a bad acid trip...which might lead someone to believe that I know what it's like to be on a bad acid trip...but thankfully, I do not. (And just to clarify, I don't know what it's like to be on a good acid trip either.)
My Sister picked the hotel.
In my Sister's defense, it was clean and contemporary, had free parking and was centrally located (and she has no appreciation of anything that dates past 1995-ish.)
So I forgive her.
And then we went out to dinner at an Ethiopean Restaurant called E'Njoni.
I didn't get any pictures but I have to say that I'm not a big fan of Ethiopean food. (Plus, I had spinach au'gratin from Ruth's Chris Steakhouse on my mind.)
And this may not be funny to anyone reading but when I went to pump the bottle of hand-sanitizer provided by the restaurant (because you eat Ethiopean food with your fingers) it shot about 15 ft. (I kid you not.) and landed on the jacket of an unsuspecting patron.
I thought I was going to pee myself it was so funny.
After dinner, I made my Sister call in a to-go order of spinach au'gratin to Ruth Chris's Steakhouse. (Real food.)
When we got back to the hotel, I realized it was just creamed spinach though.
So I called Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, informed them of their tragic error, got back in my car and picked up my spinach au'gratin (because I am not lacking in the determination dept.)
The next morning, my Mom and I were up at 6:38 am (because we're morning people.)
My Sister however, was still trying to sleep at 6:38 am (because she's not a morning person.)
When she growled and asked us what time it was, my Mom crawled into bed with her, told her it was 7 am (because she knew how cranky my Sister would be if she knew it were 6:38 am) and started kissing her to lighten her mood.
I figured I'd help lighten the mood too so I started jumping up and down on her bed hollering, "Good morning!"
Because that always lightens the mood.
I can't believe I have a Sister that doesn't like antiques or the morning.
The breakfast joint we found on Yelp wasn't open yet (apparently they're not morning people either) so we decided to hang out at the coffee shop down the road for awhile.
If you ever go to the Dragonfly Coffee House, be sure to order the drink they make that has milk, orange juice and vanilla syrup shaken over ice. I can't remember the name of it but it's delicious.
And then I had the best breakfast of my life at Besaw's. (Eggs Benedict Florentine.)
And then we took my mom to get a massage and a facial and a foot bath at a place called the Dragontree Holistic Day Spa. (My sister and I just got facials.)
If you ever go there, get a facial from Cassie (it's magic.)
And then we had lunch at some Greek place (can't remember the name), dropped my Sister off at the airport and hopped back on the freeway to make the four hour drive home.
Loved getting all that time with you Mom.
Just a few more shots from my Mom's birthday party.
And though the lighting is lousy in my kitchen, these shots are actually some of my favorites from the night. (My Aunt Kelly and her family lives in Utah and couldn't make it to the party so we were talking to them on Skype.)
My Grandpa (who's generation didn't grow up Skyping) thought he had to speak into the mouse.
My Uncle Brad (lovingly) mocking my Grandpa's technological prowess.
I just kept looking down at my viewfinder every few shots thinking about how lucky we all are.
And then Josh Downs picked up the camera.
And Cole tried to give Courtney a noogie.
A few months back, I found myself home alone on a Saturday night with nothing to do so I decided to check out the Saturday night service at a church we don't normally go to. (I had been there before but not since my early 20's.)
I was one of the oldest people there (The Saturday night service is geared towards people much younger and much hipper than me.) but I loved it. The music was amazing (but too loud) and the message was phenomenal (even though the pastor looked pre-pubertal.)
As I stood there, taking it all in, I realized that this was the kind of stuff that kept pre-teens, teenagers and early twenty-somethings close to God...because God made it relatable and 'cool'.
So I decided I wanted to start taking the kids to some of the Saturday night services while still attending our regular church on Sundays. (Beause my loyal husband would never agree to change churches.)
So a few Saturdays later, I found myself home with just the girls and decided to head out there again. Courtney wanted to go to Kids Church (which they only have through 3rd grade - once you hit 4th grade, they want you to attend the adult service which I think is a great idea) and Annie wanted to come with me. They both loved it.
And again this last Saturday, I found myself home with just Cole & Annie and decided to go to the Saturday night service. (Courtney Lee wanted to go too so we swung by her mom's house to grab her, Calie decided to meet us there and so did my good friend Coral and her family.)
The message was about how easily we choose to believe the lie that there's 'no hurry' in life; that we've got plenty of time to start living our life the way we know we should be living it. (You can find the sermon here, it's called 'Tired of Wasting Time?") and Cole was engrossed.
Towards the end of the service, the pastor started asking people to stand up if they wanted to meet outside after the service to be baptized. Cole and I had talked about baptism a few weeks earlier and the whole time the pastor was talking, Cole was literally on the edge of his seat.
In line with the message, the pastor went on to say that if anyone was feeling called to be baptized that they should know the truth...that there IS a hurry. That they should start living the life they were called to live NOW. That it doesn't matter what you're wearing, if it's cold outside or if your mom doesn't have her camera. (Blasphemy!)
And as people were standing to their feet one by one, making a commitment to be saved, Coley looked over at me and said, "I want to but I'm scared." And I just said, "Don't worry, you'll get another chance." because apparently, I had missed the entire point of the sermon. (In my defense, I didn't want Coley to get baptized without Josh being there...and I didn't have my camera.)
As the service ended, Cali said she'd stay with Cole & Annie while I went to get Courtney from Kids Church.
As I started to walk off, she told me she'd meet me out by the baptism pool.
So I rounded up Courtney Lee and met up with Cali and the kids, noticing that again, Coley was engrossed.
After the last person was baptized, the pastor began praying and my mind started wandering, thinking about how unfortunate it was that the gal photographing the baptisms was using a built-in flash and how beautiful the scene would be without it and about how I was going to start slipping my camera into my purse each Saturday night so that when Coley did decide to get baptized, I'd be ready.
And just as the pastor said, "Amen", Coley took off his sweatshirt, threw it on the ground and hollered, "I'm going Mom!"
I just stood there, completely caught of guard as I watched Coley running towards the pastor, taking the quickest route he could find; a narrow path with a fire-pit to his left and a row of lit torches to his right, wondering whether Cole was going to be baptized or was going to the E.R. with 3rd degree burns.
And then he stood right in front of the pastor and told him he wanted to be baptized if it wasn't too late.
Seconds later, Coley and the pastor were inside the baptism pool.
I immediately started looking around for the girl with the built in flash, hoping she hadn't left (because in my desperation, I was willing to take back every single bad thing I had ever said about built-in flash) but she was no where to be found.
So I did what I had to do...
I asked Cali for her iPhone.
On the drive home, Cole called his Dad, then his Brother, then his Paka and talked non-stop about what he learned from the message and how God had done amazing things in Ben (the pre-pubertal pastor.)
And when we got home, Cole wanted to lay in bed with me and talk and read the bible and his devotional book and as I fell asleep, he was writing an account of the night so he'd never forget.
Some time during the night, I woke up with the light still on and Coley sound asleep next to me, holding my hand and felt a rush of contentment flood over me.
Realy, genuine, overwhelming contentment.
Congratulations Coley.
