Still here!!

I'll bet you all think I forgot I even have a blog... well, I did, for a while! Things have been super, super, super busy for us this fall and it is going by WAY too fast! Can't believe next week is Thanksgiving! And boy, do I have soooo much to be thankful for this year.

This'll be short, but hopefully I'll get back into posting more regularly... we'll see. Here are a few pictures from our weekend in the mountains last weekend, celebrating my Mom's 60th birthday. We had tons-o-fun!

Trying out the bikes at the rental house.

We woke up to a little snow Saturday morning!

Don't throw snowballs at Grandma... she'll throw 'em right back!

Grandma and her little cupcakes!

Harvesting!

Some one is awfully proud of the fact that his carrots are bigger than mine!

So, it seems a huge amount of time has once again passed since I blogged. The garden is in full swing, despite an unusually cool summer here. Probably not the crop sizes I would have normally gotten, but at least we're getting something to harvest. Tonight we enjoyed dinner from the garden; corn, tomatoes and carrots! Lots more of each to harvest soon, with zuchinni and eggplant which should be ready any day. Here's some pics of the bounty!

This weekend Kai discovered that, much to his dismay, he loves cashews. Especially when paired with raspberries. He invented a new food: razz-ews!

First harvest!

OK, so I know it's incredibly meager, but not a bad start. And tasty, too! There will be more snap peas soon, but unfortunately, this may be my only radish. I'm about to go pull the rest out because they're starting to go to seed... guess I got 'em started a little too late. Oh well, this is my first shot at this.

Backyard Excitement!

Just a few of the exciting things going on in our backyard these days.

We're all incredibly excited about this one!

Look at all those plump berries, ready to ripen!

I'm excited about this one...

Can you guess who's excited about this??

Other exciting things that happen in our backyard; nightly soccer matches, track races, hockey games, croquet, tag... you get the point. The play structure is not yet done, but done enough to play on and that's all that matters to a certain 4 year old boy!

Star Wars Dinner!

On the Menu:

Yoda Soda

Obi-Wan Kabobs

Jabba Jiggle

TIE Fighter Ties

Completed with:

R2D2 Treats

Tonight Kai and I surprised Joe with a Star Wars themed dinner. It was so fun! Those of you who know us know one thing: this man is nearly impossible to surprise, but we did it. Victory!

I thought for sure we were doomed when he "surprised" us by getting home from work nearly 2 hours early. When it came time to cook, we kicked him out of the kitchen and got to work. The force was with us and we pulled it off. The best part... Kai really, truly helped me make almost the whole dinner! He even built some of the Fighters and helped put the veggies on the light sabers (umm... I mean skewers). Sorry no pictures of the kabobs, lets just say... it's not a good idea to grill veggies on light sabers. They got a little, umm... black. We even made a menu and a Leg0 centerpiece. I had such a great time with this; from beginning (planning) to end (watching Joe very much enjoy his surprise dinner). Kai and I got the idea earlier this week when we found a SW cookbook at the library. Of course, we had to check it out and we knew what we had to do next! Kai kept the secret since Monday! Most definitely a fun, fun family memory!

(Sorry the pictures aren't the greatest. I had to take them quick before my hungry boys dug in!)

Garden Update

See Kai's little carrots poking up down in front?

Carrots, corn and radishes... OH MY!

...With snap peas, pumpkins, zucchini and

wax beans peaking up from the other bed.

Looking green and lush!

Has it really been less than 20 days since I last put up pictures of my veggie garden? Amazing, given how much it's grown! I'm excited to see what it does once we actually start getting some decent weather! As you can tell, things are coming right along. My two sad broccoli plants are still hanging in there and I am very curious to see how these strange, leggy things turn into edible broccoli (assuming they will). I think my radishes should be ready for harvest in a few weeks, and I'm very excited to get a taste of my home grown veggies. We picked our first strawberries this week, and it's becoming clear to me that with the rate we go through produce (OK... mostly me), my meager garden will be nothing more than outdoor nibbles, and most of it probably won't even make it in the house. That's OK, I love the growing process and this year is definitely a "test" to see how different crops come out and what works best in our climate. And I'm not gonna complain if my 4 year old wants to eat stuff straight from the garden!

May & June Hikes

May- Smith Rock State Park

This was done on our recent vacation. Smith Rock is so amazingly beautiful! Truly breathtaking. The hike started off rocky, but after a picnic lunch, ongoing Army stories from Mommy and just a little trail mix bribery from Daddy, we managed almost 2.5 miles! Our longest to date!

June- Heceta Head Lighthouse

This was on our beautiful coast, just last weekend on a spontaneous trip west. Joe was desperate to escape the high levels of valley pollens so we packed up and headed out for the night. This hike wasn't very long, but Kai did so much better on it than when we first tried it a year ago. I'm hoping we'll get another, longer hike in this month, but just in case... we've already got this one done! There were lots of interesting places to stop and explore, and Kai really enjoyed climbing on all the big roots!

perking up

After a weekend of nice weather and some help in my garden today, things are starting to look pretty good out there. Last weekend I pulled out a bunch of the broccoli that looked downright horrible (leaving two salvageable plants), got more carrot seeds planted and added a few starts. It left me feeling satisfied with how things are going, and feeling good to have a bit of green in the mix (I know, using starts... it's kinda cheating, but hey, it's keeping me motivated). Today Kai and I got seeds in for wax beans and zucchini (what decent garden doesn't have zucchini?). Now, the beds are full and nothing to do but water, watch and wait. Here's a few shots from Sunday, and amazingly, things have grown just since then!

Tomato, squash and eggplant starts

Pumpkins and snap peas,

with corn and carrots peeking out from the higher bed.

My container fruit garden.

Yum! Strawberries and blueberries!

Vacation Time!!

So, I had to get my starts in the garden because we went on vacation! I wouldn't be home to water them for a whole week, so I had to put them outside and trust that mother nature would do the watering for me. And, she did. Unfortunately, they haven't done as well as I had hoped, but some are coming along and salvageable. Oh well, it didn't take long to start the seeds... better get another batch going. I'll post some pathetic pics soon, but first, about that vacation...

We got to spend the whole week in a resort mountain town about 3 hours from our home. It is typically a beautiful area; nice and sunny this time of year. But since we were visiting, it decided to rain, and rain, and even snow... just a little (it appeared we brought the "valley weather" with us). The wet and cold weather forced us inside for some much needed R&R, and our little guy was fairly easy going all week which made it all that more relaxing. Let's not get crazy, we did have a melt down or two, but definitely the most laid back we've been able to get on a family vacation. Joe and I both had a few extra days of on either end of the week, so we got to spend about 10 fun filled family days together. I could have taken a few more vacation days, but Kai was definitely ready to go back to school last week! He missed his buddies terribly.

I can't get the video to upload, so here's a still photo few highlights!

Starting things off right with a snowball fight!

Kai is becoming quite the photographer.

Beauty abounds!

Pony riding is serious business.

Floating down the river...very, very slowly!

Biking around the resort.

We ended up with one beautiful day, in which we packed in those last 3 activities. We had some other nice weather, and had a nice hike on different day (first picture), more on that one later.

BED time!

I know it seems a bit premature, but I've gotta move these guys outside (you'll soon see why). So, ready or not... here they come! Let's hope for moderate temps and no major downpours to wash these guys away.

so far, so good...

Wow, I am shocked that after 4 short days, this is what our garden looks like! As a lover of watching things grow, I am so delighted to check on these guys daily. They are growing so fast! Honestly, only half of these had sprouted yesterday and now look at them. I'm really hoping this is a good sign of my first vegetable garden attempt...

They should be ready for their permanent home in no time, and it's all ready for them!

how does your garden grow?

Let's just say, I hope mine does!

I may not have the greenest thumb (just ask my coworkers who put signs like "Love Me" on the sad looking orchid at my desk), but I've decided to take a stab at a home garden this year. All I know about gardening is that you need sun, water and good soil. Joe has been working on building me a few raised garden beds which are in the sunniest part of our yard. SUN, check... if it decides to make an appearance this year! Water, shouldn't be a problem. Good soil, on it's way as soon as the beds are finished. Feeling a bit behind the ball due to our busy spring, I wanted to get my seeds started before too much more time passed. Hopefully by the time my sproutlings are ready to move outside the garden beds will be ready. I have a great assistant who helped me get things rolling yesterday.

Cross your fingers that our crops will yield carrots, corn, pumpkins, snap peas, broccoli, and cantaloupe.

More excuses...

Busy, busy, busy... not sure life will ever settle down, but loving every minute! We are all alive and well and staying, well... busy! Here's a few of the things we've been up to:

Spring Football Game- we made it to through the 3rd quarter this year.

Maybe we'll make it through the whole game next year!

More soccer. All I can say is:

The boy's got skillz!

Bearing Rings (not the real ones).

Taking Daddy's trombone for a spin.

He did surprisingly well for a 4 year old.

Last weekend, Kai performed his duties as ring bearer at his aunt's wedding. He did phenomenal! To say I was nervous would be an understatement, but he did such an outstanding job, I still can't believe it was my kid! Most of you know that he has a tendency to be a bit, umm... strong willed. I was nervous about him putting the tux on, nervous about him doing what he was asked to do, nervous about him staying where he needed to... the list goes on. One word sums up the day: "WOW!" It was a very long day, but not one whine, meltdown, argument or complaint. He stood quietly where he was told for the whole ceremony, and was so cooperative and polite for the pictures and reception. He even played quietly with his new toys from Grandma while we stayed to help clean up. Amazing. Definitely gave us hope for the future! We were beaming with pride as we got complement after complement about what a nice young boy we had! And, he looked pretty handsome in his tux, too.

Yikes! Hikes!

Due to a very wet March, and (so far) pleasant April, our family hikes for March and April ended up being about a week and a half apart.

Our March hike took place quite spontaneously one night after dinner. We just went on a short trail (about 1/2 mile) that is in the hills near our house. That one went well for being late in the day after we'd all been at work and school. That is, until the little guy fell in a bit of mud and declared that he was done. After a bit of tough love from us, he was able to recover and we completed our hike without further incident. Didn't really get any pictures on that one, that's just how spontaneous it was!

Yesterday we took our April hike (although with the improving weather, I'm sure we'll be getting in more than one a month through the summer). With the threat of rain today, we ceased the opportunity of a dry, somewhat sunny, slightly warm day. Kai and I actually did this hike with a group of friends in January and we thought it was so fun we wanted to take Joe to see it. It was another shorty (about 1 mile), but it is all hill. The view from the top is amazing, as are all the views around here. We are so lucky to have such beauty around us! This one went very well. Kai did not even ask to be carried and he literally ran up the hill, or at least a good chunk of it. See:

The view from the summit. This was enough for me to get up there, although Kai was only concerned about the rice krispy treat that I had for him at the top.

Yellow flowers for Daddy. I have to say, I love the kind heart our little guy is developing. He is really learning to think of what other's might like, and always wants to be sure everyone has things equally (ie, I got some "yellow flowers", too!).

Busy, busy...

I've done it again, I've been a very bad blogger...

Life just seems so busy right now, and the days are passing more quickly than I can keep up with them! We haven't been busy with anything particular or "major", I just haven't gotten around to blogging! So, here's a little catch up.

First of all, I am loving age 4! We are seeing a level of independence, cooperation and understanding in our little guy that we've never seen before. Don't get me wrong, we still have our challenges, but overall, life with a 4 year old is grand! (Uh, oh... now I've done it...) Kai has never been one to play much with his toys, but he is finally starting to and we're actually seeing periods of independent play, something that was never before seen in our house! He's also been very cooperative in helping with chores around the house, and like his Daddy, is learning to take great joy in crossing things off the "to-do" list. Earlier this week, he "helped" me (ie, played while I did the work) rearrange the pantry section of our garage, then really helped me take a bunch of boxes to the recycling. I seem to be getting more done around the house, even though he is not napping at home anymore (or, rarely, I should say). The no nap situation has, of course, led to less Mommy computer time (hence the lack of blogging), which isn't entirely a bad thing!

A few weeks ago Joe and I escaped to the coast for a night while Kai stayed with my parents. Time with grandparents is a win-win-win situation. Everyone is happy! Grandma and Grandpa kept Kai very busy with super fun activities, while Mommy and Daddy did pretty much nothing, and enjoyed a stormy weekend at the coast. But, after a short time apart, we were all super happy to be reunited! It's amazing what a little down time will do for you!

Kai has been back in soccer for a couple months now and is doing so great. He is going move up two classes next session, where he will start learning more soccer skills and scrimmage! He is also expressing interest in trying baseball, and swimming this summer, so I think we'll stay pretty busy for a while. Oh, and he's already asking about the track meets like we did last year. He is really a natural athlete and I can't wait to see where this takes him (if anywhere...).

And I must brag about how he's doing a preschool... he is doing great!! He wrote his name for the first time around the first of the year, and he continues to practice and improve it. He is getting great pencil control and does really good at tracing and connect the dots. He's also been in speech therapy (they come to his preschool... how great is that??) since December, and we're starting to see lots of improvements there as well.

Alright, enough bragging... errr, I mean catch up. Here's a few recent pics!

A day to remember... the day he cleaned his room without being asked!

At the Monster Truck show last weekend... who do you think is more excited??

More food talk

Since I know you all have been waiting on pins and needles to hear how my diet changes are going, I thought I'd provide a quick update. Well, I'm happy to say that after almost 5 months of gluten free, and nearly 2 months free of animal products and artificial sweeteners, I am feeling better than I have in years! Amazing what cleansing your body of chemicals will do! The biggest struggle in all this has been no diet coke (huge former addict) and no chewing gum. I know, you're thinking... "Gum, this girl can't even chew gum??" After stripping my diet of animal products, diet coke and other artificial sweeteners, I was still left with a small amount of residual GI symptoms. I started researching gum contents and found that most gums and other sugar free mints or candies contain phenylalanine, which is a relative of aspartame, which we all know has a bad rap. Eliminating phenylalanine from my diet has made a huge difference, and bridged the gap from doing mostly better to feeling really quite normal. My skin is clearer than it's been in years, both my dermatitis and facial blemishes. I think I've had one zit in the past 2 months! My other symptoms are continuing to resolve or have resolved completely.

Again, you're probably wondering what on earth I eat. I am actually quite enjoying my new style and don't feel deprived in the least. I eat lots of fresh fruits and veggies, rice, potatoes, steamed veggies, beans, peanut butter (smeared on nearly everything!). I found a great coconut coffee creamer I've been using, as well as some pretty tasty vegan and gluten free cereals. Cooking (and eating) has become much more adventurous and challenging, especially with living in a house with two boys who want nothing to do with all my veggies. Don't worry about my hubby... I still make meat and other "normal" food for my boys. OH, and I've been eating Yumm sauce on everything... lots and lots of Yumm sauce!

Lots of people are worried about me, and feel bad about what I can't eat. Don't be! I don't feel bad about what I can't eat because I feel so good now, I don't even want the other stuff. And, I get to be creative and try interesting new things!

February Hike

A family hike each month continues... this month even more spontaneous than last. We saw a break in the wet weather and went for it! Our little hiker went about 1 1/4 miles without being carried AT ALL and very minimal whining. (I'm sure the rice crispy treat at the top helped just a litte.) We are so proud of our little trooper and hope the improvements continue!

It was a "race" the whole way!

Can you believe this is practically in our back yard?

Such a sweet little face!