Monday, February 26, 2024

February: Fencing Tournament, Julian and Friends at Mt. Hood, Rachelle in Utah, Julian's Birthday

 

Julian participated in another fencing tournament. This is him with the group of boys that also participated from his gym (PDX Fencing) He came in second to last out of the 21 boys that were in his age group but he did his best in each of his bouts and I was so proud of him.

For his birthday Julian asked if he could bring a few friends to Mt. Hood for the weekend. We invited about 5 people but only 2 could make it. We had such a fun weekend with Caitlyn and Ian. 

Ian had never seen the Harry Potter movies so these two stayed up super late every night to watch movies.

They had fun tubing in the snow

The pools and hot tubs at the condo were also a huge hit with these kiddos.  

We love the Rats Keller restaurant in Government Camp

Walking around at night, the ski run on the mountain was lit up:)

These crazy kiddos pretending to drink wine from fancy glasses:) 

We drove up to Timberline Lodge. It was completely clouded in...you couldn't see any sign of the top of Mt. Hood!

Ping pong in Timberline Lodge.  I think Julian had a great weekend with his friends.  I'm glad he has a group of people he connects with and enjoys spending time with.

Katrina makes these cookies only once a year (for Valentines Day) and they are so delicious!

Hyrum always spoils me on Valentines Day. The chocolate and flowers are nice but his cards are the best. He makes me feel like I'm the best part of his life 💕

I went to Utah for a quick weekend trip. It was super fun to see Andrea and Oma.

Some friends and I went to the Jordan River Temple. These are a few of the ladies I met and came to love while I lived in Germany:)

Sarah Brown hosted us at here lovely house in Salt Lake for a ladies night. We had delicious food and such  fun time talking about our lives and remembering fun stories from Germany. I seriously love these guys:)

Oma and I drove to Salt Lake on Sunday morning for Music and the Spoken Word...only to find out the Tabernacle Choir was out of town this week! We still got to listen to a great organ concert so I was glad we drove up. Even though my trip to Salt Lake was very short (barely 48 hours) I loved seeing family and friends that are almost family:)

Oh yeah...and Cafe Rio.  Maybe my most favorite thing about a trip to Utah 😜

While I was in Utah, Hyrum and Julian drove down to Corvallis to help Emerson fix his bike pedal.

Julian and I took advantage of a sunny day off school (for Presidents Day) and walked around Rood Bridge Park. The trail was still flooded so you couldn't make the full loop but we still soaked up the sun!

Look who came home to celebrate their little brothers birthday! We sure love it when the twins can come home, even if it's for a few short days.

This little boy of mine is now 15 years old! He is studying to take the test for his driving permit and he needs to shave his face!  Where is my snuggly baby boy?

Wednesday, January 31, 2024

January: Snow and Ice, Fencing in Seattle, Twins Birthday, Floods in Hillsboro

Starting the New Year off with a raw egg toss:)

It snowed a tiny little bit in Hillsboro. I love how snow makes the world just a little quieter when you walk around at night.

A snowy walk around Jackson Bottom wetlands

The ice made such pretty patterns around the tree trunks

After a few days of snowy weather we were hit with an ice storm. Luckily we didn't loose power (my friend was out of power for 4 days!) School was closed the entire week...that made Julian happy:)

We went to Seattle for the weekend so Julian could compete in a fencing tournament. It was a bit rainy but we still enjoyed some nice clam chowder at Ivar's:)

Julian at his first official fencing tournament. I was so proud of him! He came in last place out of 19 boys his age BUT he didn't give up and he kept trying his best.

We drove down to Corvallis for the twins birthday.  My babies are 20!  Hyrum framed this cool world picture for them...

...he also built them a nice shoe rack for their front entryway. We took them to their favorite Thai restaurant and ended the day with chocolate cake:) It was so wonderful to spend the day with them. We are so lucky they aren't too far away from home 💖

From snow and ice to lots of rain...so much rain that they had to close some streets...

...This guy was out kayaking on the flooded street.  Some things you only see when you live in Oregon!
 

Sunday, December 31, 2023

December: Christmas concerts, book club Christmas and New Year

Hyrum, Julian and I went to the Portland Choir and Orchestras Christmas concert. I love going to concerts and hearing the music fo the Christmas season, it always makes me happy

Decorating the house for Christmas

I hosted book club in December.  We read "American Dirt" which is a book about a migrant mother and son trying to escape violence in Mexico and find a new life in the United States.  I had fun with a yummy taco bar and other Mexican treats.

The twins came home from college on December 15th.  We spent a beautiful sunny Saturday morning finding the perfect tree to take home for Christmas

We got a good one!

The whole family went to the Oregon Symphony to listen to the orchestra play the soundtrack while we watched The Muppet Christmas Carol. Our family loves this movie and we watch it every year at Christmas but it was really special to watch it with live music

Time to decorate our tree

Decorating some gingerbread houses


Katrina, Jason, Hyrum and I went to the Nutcracker Ballet. Before the ballet we had dinner and walked around the giant tree in Pioneer Square in downtown Portland.

Our Christmas Eve tradition is to go to the Doxey's and have Chinese food for dinner followed by "grab bags" If you want to choose a "grab bag" you have to perform a talent of some sort. Katrina made us all pot holders out of super cute fabric!

Hyrum played Silent Night on the ukulele

Emerson did some amazing pull up stunts

Townsend did a handstand for a full minute!

Taylor (and Luna) did some dog tricks

Steve did a blind cola taste test...he only got 2 out of 8 right but it was pretty fun to watch:)

Some of the silly "grab bag" treasures


We always wait until Christmas Eve to put gifts under the tree. I love to see the excitement on the boys faces when they wake up:)

Our traditional Christmas morning breakfast. German rolls with cocoa, stollen and assorted German cookies.


Present time! Hyrum always buys the boys new books...not sure if they have EVER read any of them:)

I took the boys to a climbing gym. It was one of the few things the twins asked to do while they were home for Christmas break.

It was Julian's first time bouldering. He said it was OK but he didn't really love it.

Hyrum and I went to the Symphony on December 30th to hear Beethoven's 9th. At the end of the concert we sang Auld Lang Syne and then they dropped some balloons to welcome in the New Year.

My friend, Daria, invited me to join her at a pow wow being held in Hillsboro.  Hyrum and I went for an hour and enjoyed browsing the booths and watching the grand entry of dancers.

New Years Eve back at the Doxey's. We have some sandwiches and other snacks and play lots of games until about 10 PM.  We go home and have begun a tradition of playing games together on Nintendo until midnight...

...then we go out to our front yard and set off fireworks!  Happy NEW Year!