Saturday, March 28, 2009

Photoshop...Oh. My. Word.

I received a package today.
It was for my birthday so I probably shouldn't have opened it yet :).
I did.
And I'm glad I did.
Thank you Joe, Elli, Madeleine and Jackson!
I am completely blown away!
You are all too good to me.

I opened the package as soon as I humanly could.
It's awesome!
So much to learn.

Here are a few of the photos I edited tonight:

I went from this...


To this...


And this...


To this...


Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
I am thrilled!

Thursday, March 26, 2009

i'm in love!


With my new purse! Thank you Poke and Bob! I ADORE it! :)

it's spring!

Although it's still raining here in Oregon (not every day, but almost), new signs of spring are a welcome relief! Daffodils are popping up all over town. Our grass is green again. The plants on our front slope are sprouting new growth. Our plum and pear trees are about to pop. I love spring!

We have already managed to start cleaning up the backyard a bit although the deck especially could still use a nice power-washing. We also rearranged some things back there in order to accommodate these...


Dan built these along with his little helper (Gracie girl) last weekend. They were very proud of their work (as well they should be). We have never had a vegetable garden before so here's hoping we can make at least a few things grow! We're not known for being the family with the greenest thumbs! Ha! :)

Here are some of the things we want to plant...


Sophia is very excited. Actually, we all are! We'll keep you updated with photos as things progress!

Sophia and my dad also planted these last weekend...



Aren't they beautiful? They make me happy :).

We have all struggled with nasty colds over the last week. Sophia and I seem to be over the worst of it (although, as I write this, I'm feeling pretty nasty) and Nate is on the mend too (poor guy got an eye infection on top of the cold). Dan, on the other hand, is in the thick of it and feeling pretty crummy. He went to the doctor today and got antibiotics for a sinus infection and an eye infection. Yikes! So, a decent part of the last week has looked like this around our house...


Can't wait til the nice weather is here to stay so we can get out and about every day and air the house out!

I'll leave you with some photos of the munchkins. Nate turned 16 months this past Sunday the 22nd and Sophia will be 3 1/2 years old this upcoming Sunday the 29th.

Amazing how fast they grow. Just amazing...

Sophia building a Play-Doh tower...


Big boy with his Dora cup :)


Nate's avocado moisturizing mask...


The many silly faces of Sophia...




Happy Spring everyone!

Friday, March 20, 2009

happy birthday uncle matt!

We spent the day with my bro-in-law to celebrate his birthday last weekend.


Marionberry cake -- YUM!


Little helpers


Make a wish!


Mom and Andy


Disk golf champions


Cousins

Our neice and nephew in Illinois also celebrated their birthdays last weekend. We love you Madeleine and Theo!

Thursday, March 19, 2009

cute chicks

One of the (many) benefits in living in a small, rural town is you can stop by your local feed shop after work in March and see these little cuties...


The kids were fascinated...



I have to admit, they were super cute. There was even a (very small) part of me that wanted to take one home with us. Didn't take long to remind myself that, before you know it, they're, well, chickens. Still, they were fluffy and sweet...


Of course, Dan had to make some off-handed remark about how we had chicken for dinner last night...


Don't worry. The kids didn't hear him. At least, not OUR kids.

Sophia was DYING to touch one. But, of course, the rule was we were allowed to look and not touch.

Shhhhhh...don't tell....

men at work



Like father, like son.

Speaking of which...

GO ILLINI!

(You'll notice Nate's little nose and forehead are a bit banged up. He decided to run on the sidewalk yesterday, stumbled, and caught himself with his face. Yikes! And, he has a cold on top of it. It's been a rough few weeks for him. Poor little guy.)

Monday, March 16, 2009

wicked



I saw Wicked last night in Portland. What a treat! (Thanks, Mandy, for thinking of me!) Anyone who knows me knows I love musicals. This one was, by far, the best I have experienced live. I'm definitely going to take Dan to see it before it leaves in April!

LOVED IT!

Saturday, March 14, 2009

i've got my eye on you














Don't worry, honey.
I will look, but I won't touch :).

Friday, March 13, 2009

piggy paint

If Sophia had it her way, she would always have pretty painted nails. The problem is she tends to bite her nails and peel the polish off. Uh, not so good since the stuff is, well, you know, toxic. Anyway, after a suggestion from a friend of Dan's, I discovered this cool company called Piggy Paint that sells non-toxic polish for the whole family!

I ordered the cute little "love" gift pack today.


It should be here within a few weeks. Just in time for Spring!

Sophia will be thrilled!

funny conversation

Sophia: You know what, mommy?

Me: What Sophia?

Sophia: I'm not going to call you mommy anymore.

Me: Oh really? What are you going to call me?

Sophia: I'm going to call you Awesome Girl!
____________________________________________

Also, Nate seems to be on the mend. He's still favoring that arm a little, but he's back to his happy, playful self. Yay!!

Thursday, March 12, 2009

will work for...


noodles...


strawberries...


goldfish crackers...


The Wonder Pets...


Dora...


Each other.