Snow and Christmas Update - Part I

Well, its been a while, but I thought I would update the family blog.  First, the week before Xmas week, we had a very abnormal winter weather storm that left the streets with snow and icy conditions, making it very difficult for people to get out and cancelled school the whole week.  Day care was cancelled as well, and lets say....Jason (I) worked from home and had a sitter come over in the mornings to assist Jacob-sitting while I had meetings etc.  It really helped out.  Ethan spent the first part of Xmas break with us and it was awesome.  Suzi's parents came out the Thursday before Xmas, and stayed for 8 days or so.  Ethan and Grampy worked on a snow fort and a huge (8 foot) snowman....We had over 2 feet accumulation.  I had cabin fever, and so, I drove into Forest Grove...let me tell you CHEVY TAHOE's are excellent in the snow and ice....no chains.  I was so impressed, I decided to pull a neighbor out of the middle of the street (she was in her benz with no chains, silly girl!)...we had a blast depending on that SUV.  It got us everywhere....with Grampy, milk was gone daily, so I had to make grocery runs constantly - ha ha.  We really were blessed with a great time with family and it really was awesome having Ethan home!!!  He is such a great kid and Jacob and Ethan are inseparable......stay tune for Part II of Xmas posting...coming soon to a web link near you!

New iPOD User

Self explanatory...this kid is an APPLE follower.

Winter Snow Day

No school for Ethan today.  Yesterday we drove to church and it started to snow.  On the way home we relished in the drive...it was awesome.  Ethan played all day in the snow with the neighbors and I brought Jacob out to check it out.  Ethan and his friend Gracen were building a snow brick (using the recycling bin to make snow bricks) fortress.  It is two bricks high and awaiting Ethans return Wed (as it may snow more!).  Jacob was cautious about his exploration of the 20 degree weather!

Ethan - 10 years old

After 1 month,  I finally have downloaded some pics.  These are from Ethans Bday dinner at Benihana...one of his favorite spots....Go Hibachi Chicken!

Oklahoma Retirement or America's Premiere Travel Spot

Hi everyone. We just got back from Oklahoma for 8 days. We went to Suzi's cousins wedding (Curtis) , Thanksgiving Dinner, and Grandma's 80th birthday party. What a great chapter in my life. I love Oklahoma. Suzi's family is great! Some of the highlights one may encounter on the farm:

- Sausage and Bacon every day for breakfast (yum!)

- Feed the cattle with Grandpa
- Go to the Elevator (Co-op - Grain Silos), chit chat with farmers about Obama, Wheat Futures, Cattle, Sesame, Crops, GM, Ford, Weather, Soil and more wheat futures. Famous Phrase : "Roy, you should of sold at $8.63 / bushel)

- Go back to house and play cards.

- Eat Lunch and plenty of PIE!

- Take nap, play cards, walk outside on the farm...take Jacob to the wheat field.

- Go to the elevator (repeat from above), find that the Wheat Futures went up or down.

- Get Gas.

- Go to Watonga, hang out with some of the same farmers and some new ones...swat flies, drink lots of coffee....talk about Obama, GM, Wheat Futures, Stock Market, Computers, Intel, Soil, Crops, the government.....play a game of guess the number...if you guess it...you pay for everyones coffee....13 people one day....

- Come home, have dinner, + lots of PIE....

- Talk with family, enjoy each others company and play some more cards...

It was awesome! I have included some pics....I am sure Suzi will post as well....

Maybe I could retire there!!!

iPhone ^2

Well, for our 4 year anniversary (for those who don't know - it is Nov 7th), we discussed the option of improving our communication, our productivity, and our geek abilities.  We came up with...

iPhones 

Suzi really likes her phone, but was a little leary at first.  But now, she is calling me more than she used too...hmmm......

I better buy more Apple products!  I am trying to figure this thing out, but I have some cool app's.....No wonder Apple has $25 Billion in CASH!!  It really is handy....I think writing APP's can be a lucrative biz.

Sabbatical is OVER

I've been back to work 2 weeks now. I was thinking the other day, it has been a while since we've posted, the time has FLOWN by the past 5 weeks.

So, what have we been up to?

4 weeks ago, we were blessed with the opportunity to volunteer at The Community House which is in South Portland about 45 minutes from our house. It is a home for young women who get pregnant and don't have support (family, spouse, etc...) They pay for everything for the girls and help them learn the skills to keep the baby or put the baby up for adoption. We helped paint, build shelves, power wash the house, pick weeds, Goodwill trips, etc. It was a great experience.

The next week I took a class for the Program Management Professional Certification and then took the class. Jason did lots of yard work, planted some trees and cleaned up a bit. That weekend Lisa, Jason's sister, and Brody, our nephew, came up for Brody's 1st B-day. Jacob and Brody had a good time together, but I think Jacob has already assumed the bully 'older' cousin. Brody wasn't so happy with him - especially when he ripped his binkie out of his mouth.

Jason went back to work the next week and I had my free week to clean the garage and clean out the boy's clothes. All sort of fun stuff. We even got a great day to have a sprinkler party in the front yard before fall started.

Then I went back to work and am already planning my next trip to China...in 2 weeks! Crazyness. But I'm liking being back at work.

Jason liked being back at work so much, he decided to have back surgery today! Just kidding, we've planned it for a month or so. His MRI was looking worse now than before his last surgery 1.5 yrs ago. He was hurting alot so we just needed to get it done. They surgery went well and his spinal fluid sac stayed in tact this time, so the recovery is already better. He'll come home tomorrow. Thanks to all who have been praying for him. We are anxious to see how the pain is next week. I'm praying he will feel much better and actually be able to sleep.

Ethan is really coming into his prime in soccer and we have been really pushing being aggressive. It's been super fun to watch him develop. He's doing the choir at church and is due for a limo ride at school for his fundraising efforts. So, he's having fun.

Jacob is crazy, it is so much fun, he is climbing all over everything and is saying new words every day both verbally and in sign language. His newest words are Thank You and Bath. He started ball, cracker, milk, more, shoes, socks, cheese, please, bye bye, nye nye over the past few weeks, it is so cute! He is so smart.

This past weekend Jacob and I went to Colorado for a football game with my awesome sorority sisters. It was so much fun. We got to spend time with Tob and Tam and with my parents. They had a great time being Grammie and Grampie and he loved being with them.

OK, I think that's it for the update - sorry for the long blog. Just so much to say!