My life...just not on the road I expected (but it's still dang good).

Paper-Chains

The kids made Christmas paper-chains for Josh's tent last week and they just got mailed off to him along with a whole bunch of other Christmas stuff today.

I cut a whole bunch of strips of Christmas colored paper and some white strips too (so they could draw pictures and write notes to their dad) before I even picked them up from school.

We even listened to some Christmas tunes to get into the holiday spirit.

That's part of Annie's choreographed rendition of Santa Claus is Coming to Town. ("He knows when you are sleeping.")

They turned out so cool that I want to make some more for the house.

And then we had brownies and vanilla bean ice cream.

Of course Coley wanted to ensure that he had the longest (and most detailed) paper chain of the bunch, so he kept on working long after the girls had grown tired of paper-chain-making.

He is SO my child.

And if you're reading this Josh Downs...I hope you can feel how much we love you even from 10,000 miles away.

Thanksgiving 2011

We normally have enough family over on Thanksgiving to fill up three, 6 foot long tables and even then, we're packed in like sardines come dinnertime.

This year though, we barely filled up two, 6 foot long tables and didn't even have enough willing-bodied players for our annual football game.

That said, it was a lovely Thanksgiving all the same...

I gave Annie a Thanksgiving haircut and a couple of curls before everyone arrived. (Seems like every holiday season, she and I both get tired of the length of her hair and decide to chop it off.)

And Coley decided he wanted to look sharp for Thanksgiving too so he donned a tie. (He had to Google instructions on how to tie it since his dad wasn't there to do it for him.)

Playing with my iPhone before everyone arrived.

Still playing with my iPhone. (Man, I love that mole on his left cheek.)

My mom took that one.

And Coley took that one. (My Dad told Annie that she looked like she had 'mommyitis' - a term I coined when I was little and couldn't get enough of my own mommy.) 

I love those handsome guys. (My dad and Coley.)

And that one too. (Josh's Grandpa, Leroy.)

Coley showing off his mad tie-tying skills to my Uncle Brad and Rudy.

I have no idea why anyone in my family makes faces like that (Jesse Ray) because I always blog them.

My Aunt Alicia cooking gravey.

And a heated discussion about the OSU Beavers.

Jesse Ray is a senior at OSU right now so he loves the Beavers. My dad loves the Beavs too - he just likes to complain about them.

I had to intervene on Josh Down's behalf though (because he specifically requested no Beaver's trash-talk in his home on Thanksgiving.)

And then Coley joined in on the conversation.

However anytime Coley joins in a conversation with Jesse Ray, he winds up in a headlock.

That one's kind of blurry, but I love it anyhow. (My dad and my step-mom.)

And then these guys set things up so we could Skype with Josh.

Sammy and Jesse. (My little cousins.)

The girls made all the Thanksgiving place cards this year.

The turkey on Leroy's place card gave everyone a good laugh...

Want to see it closer?

And then there was dinner. (That's my mom.)

I was in charge of cooking the mashed potatoes this year and was so worried about not having enough that I made two runs to the store on Thanksgiving morning to get more Yukon Golds.

Thanksgiving note to self: 17 pounds of potatoes is overkill for 15 guests.

I had planned on doing something with the top half of those white walls prior to Thanksgiving - in fact, I had even ordered this wallpaper, but as (my) luck would have it, Pemberley Blue was discontinued.

Josh Downs Skyped just in time to join in with everyone going around the table, talking about what they're thankful for.

My step-mom got all weepy and said she was thankful for my mom. (Could have had something to do with the three vodka/Sprite/lime/cranberry drinks I mixed for her.)

Vodka or no vodka though, my family is so blessed by how well these two women get along.

And then something happened that has never happened on any Thanksgiving past....

The men in my family helped clear, scrape, wash, dry and put away the dishes. 

It was a holiday miracle. (In Josh Down's defense...he always helps with clean-up on Thanksgiving.)

And then we played Apples to Apples. (It's super-fun.)

That's Coley sandwiched in between my uncle Brad and cousin Jesse.

Yes mom, not only are you 'timeless' but you're also quite 'sexy' and 'funky.'

Hope your was great.

And if you're reading this Josh Downs...Thanks for being the best half of our little two-man team.

Job Hunting

I probably happened six months ago, but I had totally forgotten about it until this morning when I was downloading some pictures...

Josh Downs oftentimes lets the kids do things that I would never let them do.

So when Cole & Courtney asked him if they could ride their scooters around town to look for jobs, he said yes.

When they got back from their job-hunt, Courtney Lee said that she thought she had secured a volunteer position at a retirement home down the street where she could read books to the elderly.

When Josh inquired about Cole's search, Cole told him that when he tried to get a job at Bobbio's Pizza, the manager asked him if his parents knew he was out looking for a job, to which Cole replied, "They sure do...in fact, anytime I ask my dad to buy me something, he says, Go get a job so you can pay for it yourself!"

And if you're reading this Josh Downs...These kids are so lucky to have a dad like you.

Saturday

It was just me and the girls most of the day on Saturday.

We went to Target to pick up some Christmas stuff for Josh Downs and since the weather was so great, we decided to plant some Coastal Strawberries when we got home. (I decided on Coastal Strawberries for some ground cover in front of the house since it will stay green year-round and will have pretty white blossoms in the Spring and tiny strawberries for the girls to pick in the Summertime.)

About halfway through, Annie decided she was done planting which left Courtney Lee and I to finish up.

About 3/4 of the way through, Courtney Lee bailed on me too which left me finishing up on my own.

The girls just read and played with the neighbors while I finished and then we took the scooters out for a ride. (We have no helmets because Shindand chewed them all to smithereens.) 

The girls were trying to catch some falling leaves.

And then they played tag with some kids they met at the park.

That's Annie taunting the tagger while she was sitting safely on base.

There's nothing technically good about that last shot, but I just love it anyhow.

Let me share a close-up of that last one because it's actually quite funny...

And then we headed over to my Dad's house to pick up Coley and ended up hanging out and visiting for awhile before heading to dinner at The Roadhouse. (Didn't bring my camera though.)

The kids love The Roadhouse because they can eat handfuls upon handfuls of peanuts before dinner and then throw all the shells on the ground.

Annie doesn't like peanuts (she loves peanut butter but hates peanuts) but she loves to crack them open, so every time we go to the Roadhouse, I get to eat all the peanuts that Annie shells in addition to the peanuts I shell myself. We've been doing it this way for quite some time and I thought it was a brilliant plan until I saw Annie placing the peanuts on the ground and smashing the shells open with her shoe before handing them to me.

Lovely.

And if you're reading this Josh Downs...We miss you incredibly.

The Holidays Are Upon Us...

With the craziness of work right now, I've hardly had time to even think about Thanksgiving (and clearly I haven't thought about blogging much either.)

Annie had a Thanksgiving play today though and now it's starting to feel like the holidays are upon us...

And if you're reading this Josh Downs...It won't be the same without you.

Veteran's Day

Last November 11th, Josh, Cole, Courtney, Annie and I spent our morning at a local Veteran's Memorial Day Service.

I don't remember much about that morning other than the look on Courtney's face when she noticed her dad crying during the National Anthem.

This November 11th, my little family is scattered all over the place, but Annie and I went to that same annual service.

I never know quite how to express it, but I'm so thankful for all of you who serve and have served our country. So thankful for all of the families that sacrifice as well. And so thankful for all you patriots.

Thank you.

And if you're reading this Josh Downs...My heart hurts from missing you, but it's also so full of pride for the patriot that you are.

Gift Carding

Coley was rummaging through my wallet the other night and found 14 gift cards. (14 gift cards that I had totally forgotten about.)

So I decided to have the kids help me start redeeming them today...

It was a half day today, so I picked everyone up at noon and we headed to lunch.

Had a gift card for Red Robin, so that's precisely where we headed.

It was one of those pleasantly unexpected days when the three of them were acting like best friends.

Annie found that chain in my car and wore it just like that all through lunch.

When the bill came though, I forgot to use my gift card. (No wonder I have 14 of them in my wallet.)

That's us girls in the bathroom mirror at Red Robin.

And then we went to the park.

The kids played some sort of prisoner game the entire time we were there. (And I just chased them around with my camera the whole time - which was kind of hard to do because I just got a cute new pair of boots that apparently were not designed with chasing kids in mind.)

And then we headed to the kids' school for Coley's parent/teacher conference.

And then we went to the movies (where I did remember to use two of my gift cards.)

And then we went to Cold Stone Creamery (where I used two more gift cards.)

Four cards down...ten to go.

And if you're reading this Josh Downs...Have I told you recently that you're the hunkiest man I know? (Oh ya, I guess I told you that yesterday.)

Ross' Place

We spent Saturday at Ross' place.

Didn't do a whole lot of shooting (I was resting, remember?) and what I did take wasn't all that fabulous.

Good memories all the same though.

Before heading out to his place, we stopped for lunch at Circle J. (It's mine and Courtney's favorite restaurant in Grants Pass.)

Her (Republican) father has only been gone for three months and she's already reading Mother Jones.

Courtney actually walked outside right before I took that shot to ask if she should 'just look natural and pretend I wasn't shooting.'

Nice job acting natural Courtney Lee.

And then we had dessert from Blue Stone Bakery, watched movies and played video games at Ross'.

That's Ross's roommate, Billy.

At first I wasn't too keen on the idea of Ross growing up and moving out on his own.

Now though, I think it's kind of fun to have a big, grown-up son who has his own place - just so we can go and visit him.

Love you Roscoe-T.

And if you're reading this Josh Downs...You're the biggest hunk I've ever laid eyes on.

Sunday

I'm not really the type to lay around the house much.

Perhaps years of living with an 'on the go' man has made me into an 'on the go' woman.

But this weekend was different.

I haven't slept well for months now, but all of the sudden, it's like that lack of sleep caught up with me and all I've wanted to do for three days now is rest, relax and sleep.

Today after church, I curled up on the couch and fought to keep my eyes open while Annie played with some Jenga blocks on the floor beside me. About an hour later, I woke up to this...

And when she woke up, I turned on the self-timer to get this...

Hope your weekend was great.

And if you're reading this Josh Downs...All I could think about during the service today is how good it's going to feel to sit next to you in church again, with your arm wrapped around me like you always do.

Trick-or-Treating

Well, it felt weird without them (Josh Downs is in Afghanistan and Courtney Lee was with her mom.) but we did it and I think we did it pretty well...

A few iPhone shots before we left the house.

And a couple of posed shots before we started knocking on doors.

Ok, I know Cole looks mad in most of these shots, but he was just staying in character. (He was a vampire.)

We went to the same place we always go to (just because I love the neighborhood so much.)

I love that shot.

Cole really was in those last few shots, but his black cape just blended into the darkness.

Hope yours was great.

And if you're reading this Josh Downs...I think I'm doing a pretty good job here, but nothing is the same without you.