Thanksgiving

We hosted 30 people at our house for Thanksgiving.  It was a beautiful day filled with many of the people I love, especially our sweet Kaylie.  

I am grateful that Kaylie had the crazy idea of having everyone pose with a stuffed turkey because I didn't take one single picture.  

 Hannah, Kendal, Emily and Nate

 Austin and Kaylie

 The two Grandmas

 Grandma Linda and Tim

 Aunt Marcia

 Me eating turkey while posing with the turkey.

 Papa Larry 

 Uncle Casey

 Grandpa Jim

 Jason (look at those muscles!)

Aunt Keli and Kaylie

Thanksgiving was great and having Kaylie home for 3 days was even better.  It felt like she had never left.  Looking forward to having her home in a few weeks for an entire month!

.eleven.

Today marks eleven years of marriage to my sweet, calm, supportive, and hard working husband.  I love everything about our life together.  

I seriously wouldn't change one single thing.

Love you babe!

xoxo

.ten.

Our sweet girl turns ten today!  She is smart, spunky, sweet, a little anxious at times, and a self-proclaimed "neat freak".  

We love you Miss Kendal girl!  

Kendal's top 10 at 10 years old:

1.  Food:  Coconut Shrimp
2.  Book:  Dork Diaries, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Harry Potter
3.  Subject in School:  Art
4.  Sport:  Softball
5.  Outfit:  leggings with polka dot skirt, black shirt, boots & zebra striped jacket
6.  Movie:  Monte Carlo
7.  Color:  Baby blue or Mint green
8.  Electronic:  iPod Touch
9.  Hobby:  text her friends, read, play on the computer or her iPod, practice softball
10.  TV show:  Wizards of Waverly Place & Good Luck Charlie

Happy Birthday Kendal!

October

Life has been busy and I am obviously way behind when it comes to blogging about all the fun we had in October!  

Jason upgraded our Cardinal's seats this year, and they are really good.  I've only made it to two games with him so far, but they are definitely much more enjoyable because we can actually see the field!

We went to Vegas to see Jimmy Buffett and to celebrate my friend Susie's 40th birthday.  We also got to witness the largest margarita being made at Margaritaville.  

Jason was in awe.

Speaking of Susie, she threw a fabulous 40th birthday party at Toby Keith's the weekend after our Vegas trip.  My sweet friends Latrenda and Michelle, along with our girls, decorated cupcakes for the big party.  

(I'm a wannabe cake decorator.  When I retire from teaching, you will find me at the Safeway bakery decorating cupcakes)

 Halloween was a little strange this year without Kaylie's annual party.  We ended up leaving a bowl of candy on our porch and went to a party instead.  Kendal dressed up as Hermione from Harry Potter.  This picture is of her with some of the girls from her softball team.

Kaylie celebrated in Portland with friends and her boyfriend Ted.  She dressed as Miss Frizzle from The Magic School Bus, and Ted as Allen from The Hangover.  

.................................

November will not fail me in the busy department. 

We've got a 10th birthday, 11th Anniversary, Thanksgiving to host, and a daughter who gets to come home from college for a few days to smother.

I'm looking forward to every second of it.

Portland

Last month Kaylie left for college and it's taken me almost a month to post about it because up until recently, I couldn't do it without crying.

I miss her a lot.  Our house isn't the same around here without her Glee parties, Harry Potter talk, and messy bathroom.  I know that I am still her mom, but I also know that she is thriving on her own without me {which is really hard to swallow}.

Jason and I flew with her to Portland to drop her off.  We spent the first two days moving her in, attending parent classes, and facing the fact that we wouldn't be seeing her for 3 months.  

Here's where she will be spending the next four years:

Her dorm:

The first 2 nights we left Kaylie at her dorm and headed to nearby Lake Oswego {where we stayed} to hang out.  

I want to live there someday {when we can afford a 15 million dollar home on the lake!}

After a family picnic and a tearful goodbye, we headed to Seaside and Cannon Beach.

Cannon Beach is gorgeous.  Unfortunately it was a little foggy that day, but it was still beautiful.  Seaside is a family vacation spot.  We will definitely be back with the girls soon.

Jason really wanted to drive up to Astoria to see Mikey's house from the Goonies.  Someone lives there now, but they allow people to come up close and take pictures.  

Jason was thrilled!

This was taken on the drive to Astoria.  Everything is so green and beautiful!

The day we had to leave, Jason and I took a wrong turn and ended up at the beautiful Rose Gardens in Portland.  There are 8,000 roses and it smells heavenly.

{even the bathroom was beautiful!}

Before heading home, we spent the afternoon downtown by the river and then ate lunch at 

The Screen Door.

Although we miss Kaylie like crazy, we love hearing about her adventures and experiences on her blog. 
She is having the time of her life and we can't wait to go back and visit!

San Diego & A Birthday

We spent the 4th of July in San Diego.  It was spectacular.

We visited the San Diego Zoo and had a blast.

We hung out by the pool while these 3 read Harry Potter during the day, and roasted marshmallows at night.

The views of the water and downtown were amazing. 

Two days after we returned, I celebrated my 35th birthday!

Jason had to work on my actual birthday, so we went to The Keg for dinner, then I came home to this:

Jason knows how much I love The TomKat Studio cupcake toppers and didn't realize it would take 3-5 days to order them, so he made his own!  He is so thoughtful and sweet.  He also got me a new watch that I have been wanting.  

He's the best!

On my actual birthday, a group of friends and I got together to take a cooking class.  It was a blast, although we did a lot more talking than cooking!

I have really great friends.  I am one blessed 35 yr. old!