Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day at the Coast with my Mom and her husband, Steve, Kamika, Zephyr, and Shannen.

Graham loved his first visit to the coast.

He didn't like his bare feet in the sand.

He couldn't wait to get his hands on the rock beach though.

The kids couldn't wait to get up here to explore.

It didn't take long for them to want to get in the water. The water at the Oregon Coast is usually freezing. While we were there, the temperature outside was also freezing. Really it was 30 when we woke up Thanksgiving morning. We waited until the sun had been out for awhile before we ventured to the beach. We all had such a great time. With our family.

On Friday we went to the Tokarski's in Salem. We had a wonderful time with Aaron's family. We didn't get any picture if you can believe that. Of course anytime the cousins get together there is always the desire for sleepovers. The fun didn't end on Friday. It continued to Saturday when we all met at our house to watch the Oregon, UCLA games. Such fun this weekend.

Time with Daddy

This is when Harrison was having a hard time breathing when he had the croupe. Cuddling with Dad made things easier for him.

Graham and Aaron reading a book before bed. We just love our Daddy so much.

So Precious

Most times Harrison and Graham have a great time together. Then there are the times Harrison doesn't know when to leave Graham alone. Graham will just scream whenever Harrison comes near. Well, today we went to Winco after we dropped Gavin off at school. By the end of the trip Graham was ready for lunch. He was getting fussy in the van on the way home. Thinking I was hearing the normal sound coming from the back, Harrison just talking about whatever comes to mind and Graham way of say it was time for lunch. Once I stopped myself and listened to what was going on back there. Harrison was trying to calm Graham by sing 'I Am a Child of God". That was such a precious and tender moment.

Graham also likes to do the face he is doing all of the time. It started when his top front teeth came in. We just love it.

Flying South

Click on and you can see that the brown patch in the middle of the field is geese.

One of the things I love about living in Oregon is seeing the geese migrate. I don't think I will ever get tired of seeing this. When ever we go somewhere, we pass this field just down the street from us. The geese are there resting and eating. It doesn't matter how many times we pass the field a day we still get excited to see geese there. What is even more fun is when they all take off together. Just this mass of geese over our house.

Being Chargie

Gavin has come up with some clever sayings, as most kids do. One, as of late, is "being chargie". I heard him talking to his older siblings about this. They had been playing in the backyard and this is what Gavin was accusing the others of being. I couldn't quite understand what he was talking about. So I asked him to explain. He explained, "They are just being chargie and telling me what to do and thinking they are the bosses." I was also notified that I was chargie sometimes too. So anyone who thinks that they are in charge, according to Gavin you are being chargie.

Set, Hike!

Hunter had is second to last football game yesterday. As you can see the weather was so sunny. We have really be fortunate to have had only one game rainy and cold. Yesterdays game was great. Hunter is really starting to understand the different positions that he plays. He had four tackles. I guess that is what you would call it. He was blocking for the quarterback or for the guy with the ball. He had such a great time. Next week is the last game. Hunter's team is playing Ian's(his cousin) team.

A Little Help

We are looking into buying a new video camera. The last one we purchased was before we had Hunter, in 1997. The battery doesn't charge anymore and we can't record for more the a couple of minutes at a time. Also it isn't digital.

It has been so long since we have looked at video cameras. We are wanting it to just capture the fun moments in our family. So we are turning to you for advise, suggestions, things to stay away from, brand names or anything that would be helpful in our search. Does anyone have a camera that records right onto a DVD or is a memory card better? As you can see we are clueless. Any help would be so great.

I've been tagged...

RULES:
1. List the link to your tagger and also post these following rules.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog - some random, some weird, etc.
3. Tag 7 people at the the end of your blog also leaving the links to their blogs
4. Let them know they are "TAGGED" by leaving a comment on their blog.

The first time I have been tagged just like my friend Stephanie. Here goes...

1. I really like to knit... hats, washcloths and any pattern that I can find that looks great and challenges me. I was taught how to knit when I was about 10. My mom's best friend Judy, was so great to teach me. I did a pair of slippers and didn't do anything else. Until about 5 years ago, I saw in a Martha Stewart magazine, some fun patterns for things. I thought I could do that. So I taught myself to do it again.

2. I love to organize things. You probably wouldn't be able to tell when you look at my house. Have 7 people in a house makes it hard to keep things organized. But I do love to organize closets, drawers, bookshelves, the garage, anything. Then I love to go back and look at it several times because I know it won't stay organized for long.

3. I love to read. When I find a good book, my house and children suffer. I usually just sit and read until I'm finished. The house gets dirtier and dirtier and the kids usually end up begging for attention. I have read a book for awhile because I need to get some projects done around the house.

4. Puzzles, the jigsaw type. I love to do them. I even bought an inflatable puzzle carrier. I can work on the puzzle and the roll it up when we need the table for meals. Just like reading though, I don't get much done when I have one out.

5. I turn into a pumpkin at about 8:30 every night. Okay not really but I tell my kids that. I find that my body needs the down time at night after the kids go to bed. On weekends when the kids are still up, I find myself getting irritable and agitated. That is when I turn into a pumpkin.

6. I really don't like pears. Growing up I would eat them and enjoyed them. Now there is something about the texture of them that I can't handle.

7. Hearing my kids laugh is one of my favorite things. There is just something so pure about the sound of their laughter. It makes me smile.

I now tag:
Alli
Amy
Dawn
E
Kara
Lindsay
Tonja

What's Happenin'

We have had a crazy last couple of weeks. Or maybe it is just normal couple of weeks for us. On Oct. 27 we got into a car accident on our way to drop stuff at Goodwill. A college age kid was stopped at a stop sign. He thought we were turning, but we weren't. Crunch! He ran into the passenger side of our van. Graham and Gretchen are on that side of the van. They were both very shaken up. Now the van is at the auto body shop. We have one more week until it is fixed. Luckily we have a rental van until then.

The last couple of days Graham has had a fever. He is usually crawling everywhere and just so happy, not the case lately. He has been on my hip. Thankfully the kids don't have school for the rest of the week. We can all be a little lazy, hang out and play. No rushing to take kids to school and pick them up. I think Graham is on the mend.

For FHE this week Aaron reminded us of a talk by President Eyring from conference last month. It is entitled O Remember, Remember. We watched part of the talk from the computer. In this talk we are reminded to recognize the many blessing we have. Aaron encouraged us, as did President Eyring, to write down in our journals how we had seen the hand of God blessing our family. I'm very grateful for a my wonderful husband. I wanted to share this especially in this Thanksgiving season.

Halloween

Oops! We already lost a balloon. The kids and their friends, our neighbors.

The happy trick or treaters.

Hunter's spider pumpkin and the two on the left are Graham and Harrison's.

Aaron's bat on the left and Gretchen's cat and pumpkin on the right.

Mine on the left and Gavin's ghost on the right.

The loot. This isn't all of the candy either. So much for having small buckets.

We had a great Halloween. Gavin got to go trick or treating at school. Then after we picked up the kids from school. We headed downtown for trick or treating at the different businesses there. We met up with our neighbors and had a wonderful time. Then home to get some dinner and down time. Then off around our neighborhood to finish off the night. We have way too much candy. What a great time though. Hope you all had a great Halloween also!

I realize I didn't get any pictures of Graham, more later.