Puppy progress...

Olly is now officially 3 months old.  He weighs a little over 7 pounds and is getting better and better about his nipping and manners every day.  We just started puppy classes today too!  Anyway, here's some updated pics of our adorable puppy Olly! 

He's sitting below me while I prep in the kitchen.

Standing next to his giant bed.

Chloe getting her loves in!

Halloween- a Shark (a "baby white that doesn't hurt anyone) and an Angel (sparkled from head to toe )

Getting our pumpkins

Freshly carved pumpkins a few days before Halloween





 Here they are all dressed up on the front porch, as we headed home from higher ground (or at least where trick-or-treaters actually show up).  We went to Aunty Lissa's house for trick-or-treating.  We had one angel (of course- all glittered from head to toe) and we had a shark (he found his costume in August when we at the Oregon Coast- thankfully he was still stoked about it when Halloween came around).  Of course Olly had to make it in the picture too!!

Sparkling Angel's loot....



Great White Baby Shark's loot....











Wow- check out this loot.... then they gave up 75% of it the night of Halloween for the Great Pumpkin to take away to Halloween land.  In place of their candy that they left on the front porch, was a gift for each of them and a $1 bill.  They both agreed the best part of Halloween was the actual trick-or-treating, the sorting, and then the finding of the Great Pumpkin gift for them the next morning.  Good Halloween for sure.









Puppy Olly has arrived

The very first snuggle with Olly- in the van in Edmonds!

Breeder's picture

We have a new family member- his name is Olly.  It started as Olympic, went to Oly (but too many Sven and Oly jokes from Kent), so we added and "l" and got Olly!  He's a total fluff ball- a roly, poly, Oly, kind of soft and fluffy guy.  Now once we get his nipping under more control he'll be even more fun to pet and love.  He is almost 9 weeks old now, but we got him last week Friday- he is part American Eskimo and part poodle.  He looks like a golden doodle puppy...  all wavy and such. 

If you ask Blake where we got him, he'll tell you that we got him at McDonald's- which makes it sound like we ordered him off the menu.  But alas, we met the delivery person at a McDonald's in Edmonds after she made the long early morning journey with Olly and 2 other pups from Spokane.  Chloe instantly took to him- holding and snuggling him. 

Chloe getting in some post-soccer snuggles on the floor

Kent has found his couch buddy- Olly!

Blake is still unsure of him, as the nipping is hard to control... but he loves to hold Olly when he is sleepy or when he's in a "petting mood". 

First Day 2010

Well we're there... Kent and I have 2 elementary school students.  Blake made it through Kindergarten and Chloe is excited about 4th grade. 

Blake has 27 kids in his class... WOW!  That's a lot of kindergartners in one room for 2 1/2 hours.  But, his teacher is confident that they'll manage and I pray Blake will too.  He (for once in his life) was actually pretty quiet.  There was a lot of activity and not a lot that was very familiar.  Its really different to be AT the school and not just picking up his sister. 

Chloe has about 23 kids in her class, but she feels OK about that.  She doesn't have any of her regular girlie friends, but I think it will force her reach out and make some more friends.  She is excited to have more homework (what's up with that?) and she likes the sound of more responsibility.  Lets see how long this lasts with soccer and piano too!  But I think she's up to the challenge.  She did go through 3 outfits last night though to end up with today's look- she looked great.  She even put on jewelry and let me fix her hair (which is unheard of). 

Here's to a new great year!  Can't believe my babies are so big.... wow!  Well more news to come on the puppy front (and we're having a little baby here this year part-time too).  Guess with my babies gone, I am needing my "baby fix".  Stay tuned for more!

A trip to Indy to see Kelly!

Well, I never thought I'd have the opportunity to go to Indiana by myself, after moving Kelly and Art there about 7+ years ago.... but I did!  I was gone for 6 days and 5 nights... Kent was in charge for 6 days and 5 nights (thankfully both kids had some school, but he had the responsibilities).  I had pretty non-eventful flights and travel- took the Link (super easy and cheap way to go to the airport), only a few slight time delays (but no kiddos to keep busy, no crying babies, no one else but me and my book), and then I arrived in Indiana to visit my buddy Kelly! 

We ate at all sorts of great places (and Lord knows that 2 girls that went to culinary school together love to eat and drink together).  We ate at Taste (and had yummy veggie sandwiches with sinful basil mayo with giant lattes)....  Brugge (where we had the world's best french fries, had some good dark beer, and spicy mussels that we couldn't finish)...  Oakleys (to the FREE, yes FREE wine tasting before dinner.... and then shared some shrimp corn dogs.  I'll never eat another regular corn dog again- this were so yummy.  I had some lovely local duck, Kelly had the beef.... but they were all some fabulously creative dishes, not just in the presentation but in the combinations too- this was bliss- this was magic- this was amazing food.)....  Petite Chou (for lunch with true French bistro food... and the environment and decor was so awesome- great colors).

We checked out some great places too....Mass Ave Wine and next door was Best Chocolates where we bought some creative chocolates and savored them after dinner later that night (cinnamon, Gorgonzola, chili, rosemary, a super dark chocolate one.... and well I can't remember, they were all good!).  We shopped at all the Mass Avenue shops, the Broad Ripple shops and boutiques, the Fountains.... 

We went to the 2010 Wine Fair in southern Indiana.... yep, Southern Indiana was a cultural experience.  There was a definite change in the scenery- it was rolling hills, had wild dogwood trees in the woods... it was truly pretty.  However, with every "back country",comes the folks and it was a hilarious combination of wine, country folk, city folk, young, old, and a lot of syrupy wine.  We had a good time, just people watching and trying to wade our way to finding some good, dry, red wines.  We tried.... but I think I'll stick to OR, WA, and CA reds!  Although, overall the dry reds from Carousel Winery weren't too shabby.  Oh, and did I forget to mention that when we arrived the looming black clouds were hanging around and we ended up tasting during a thundery shower. 

We went on a run, I borrowed her running buddy's great road bike...  I went on some long rides on the monon trail (which you can catch just 3 blocks from their adorable house in Broad Ripple) from her place through Broad Ripple and just about to Carmel.  The weather was up, it was down, it was cold, it was hot, it was muggy, it was pleasant... it was Spring in Indy!  But we made the best of it for sure.

We drank wine... we drank some more wine.... (we even popped open a bottle she had as a wedding gift from some family friends- French wine - yum!)we drank coffee, and more coffee, and more coffee... we stayed up late talking, we stayed up later talking, and we just enjoyed our time. 

Thanks Kelly!!!  Love you and miss your company already.  Thanks Art for sharing your wife and Kent for taking the helm at home- I couldn't have done it without your blessing or your efforts!

Easter now and then...

Wow, its amazing to see the difference in our kids in 1 year.  I happened to find a REALLY old (well, "really" being relative to how fast time goes with kids) video saved on my camera from last Easter.  Check the link out:  Easter at mom's house with the kids 2009

Then, here is a quick video of our kids the morning of Easter 2010 at our house.

Easter morning basket discovery 2010.  Of course, another egg hunt too (just our 2 kiddos at our house though) Beginning of our kids' Easter egg hunt

Christmas time...

We have had a wonderful Christmas.  We went to the Carousel, the downtown lights, the Nordstrom Santa, the Fairmont's Teddy Bear Room, the Sheraton's Gingerbread House display, we've driven around to see the lights, we walked the downtown streets to see the lights and holiday displays, we've made cookies, eaten cookies, more cookies, and more cookies, we've gone caroling with friends, we've partied, partied, and partied some more, we've danced, we've laughed, we've watched, and we've taken a lot of pictures.  Chloe was lucky enough to get her very own sweet, little camera!  So now we not only have the family cam, but we've got the Chloe cam.  Thought we'd share some of our Christmas fun (super fun year for Blake- he is filled with excitement and anticipation- energy that wouldn't stop and Chloe just took everything in stride but is still full of wonder and awe).

 Blake had lots of wants and the list didn't stop growing even until Christmas morning- but he thought he was a pretty cool dude when Santa brought him the wooden firehouse (the boy version of a dollhouse) and his very own Camelback backpack so he can go hiking like a big boy now (which we had to do 2 days after Christmas). 

Then our Chloe ..... 

...  caught online sending Christmas post cards!  That girl knows her computer (or should I say, knows how to hop onto any computer that's on!).

Here are some Chloe Christmas pics- Christmas Eve 1 and 2, and of course her excitment when she walked down the stairs to find out that Santa had brought her a new bike (although its too big for now- so she's got some growing to do!):

Chloe is always finding a snuggle-able lap to sit on or cozy up to.  She is sure our little love-bug!  We hope that never goes away!

Of course, after the present opening ended (3 days of opening)- we decided to take a family day and go try out some of our gifts.  Blake HAD to use his new camelback ....

and Chloe HAD to get that camera shooting pictures- lots and lots of pictures...

the camera is pretty sweet and she has a good eye!  I have to say, we couldn't have picked a better day to make a trek up to Dungeness Spit- beautiful clear, blue skies, the water was flat and calm, the wind was non-existent, the cold was numbing (but we had hand warmers), and the crowds were small... what a gorgeous day to go out.  By the way, Blake walked 90 % of the hike out and back (we figure we went about 3 miles- way to go Blake!). 

We hope all of our friends and family have had a great Christmas, New Year's and are looking forward to an awesome 2010! 

We've got such a good looking family, if I don't say so myself!

Well we decided to do some annual family photos with our good friend Mark Gsellman (Mark's blog).  Slight problem... usually we drag him out to do this in September or early October (and the fall weather has set in already), but this was mid-November!  Yikes- it was freezing cold, windy, and luckily the rain didn't start until we just finished!  Mark was a trooper, my kids were troopers (with hand warmers in their pockets), Kent was a trooper... and yet my hair did not comply (being windy and all)!  But, alas we got a few good shots to work with (especially of my kids)

Sharing my kitchen is a new skill I'm learning!

Ok, so sharing my kitchen is not really my best skill as a parent.  My kids LOVE to be in the kitchen with me and they've always been little on-lookers, sitting on the counter when they were little, getting things from the cupboard as they've grown, but I am really not good at letting them do the actual "work".  Well with this new holiday season, I've decided I need to carve out more time, to let my kitchen get a little bit more messy, and teach my kids (by letting them do it themselves) how to love cooking and then in turn bond with them that way.  Wow, what a lesson in patience (which if anyone knows me, is not my foretay).  But..... they LOVED the mixing of the triple batch of reindeer poop (which to anyone else would be called a peanut butter ball- and they're Kent's favorite, so if we want any for the rest of us this year or to share, we need multiple batches every season), helping to get my holiday preparation underway.....  Blake and Chloe worked as a team, they both kept the kitchen fairly clean and yet they were just tickled I let them do it all! 

By the way, Chloe also made us dinner tonight from  a children's cook book.  She made angel hair with alfredo sauce (mixed with some browned sausage) and brussell sprouts.  Good girl!!!

Well hopefully there will be many more of these photos.  I'll try to share my kitchen more!  (But it is tough!!)

Halloween fun!

So we have the Mama Witch, the little good witch and our very own super hero (a.k.a. superman that can fly with a cape).  We had a great Halloween.   We even had a fairly dry Halloween- it only poured in the middle of the day, which was perfect for Chloe's soccer game earlier and of course the trick-or-treating later!  We went into town first, saw some friends, got some candy.... came home to light our pumpkins and take some pics and then we were off to our friends' home to eat a yummy dinner and do our night time trick-or-treating!  The kids had a great time, the adults did too... all in all it was a quiet night (I think a lot of families were sick with the flu) and we all had fun! 

Blake's carpool girlies are here with him. He sure does love his girls!  They had a fun time at their Halloween party at school too!