Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

Well I learned a few things this year at Christmas. Most important- Santa is very big in the life of a 4 year old and the biggest best present- the one she asked Santa for is supposed to come from him!! So Chloe has been asking for Buzz Lightyear since her before her birthday in October. She asked the 2 or 3 Santa's she saw for it and anyone else that would ask her what she wanted. So my sister Michelle actually got it for her. She got to open it 2 days before Chrismas and was a little scared by all his sounds but got used to it. I thought this is great she'll just be happy to get more presents from us and from Santa. Well Christmas Eve we asked her what she wanted for Christmas from Santa and she says nothing I already got Buzz. Then she says "Oh I can throw this one away so Santa can bring me Buzz." I tried to explain that sometimes Santa doesn't bring exactly what we want. She opened the Toy Story sounds cartridge to go with her new View Finder and was pretty excited. And the night before she opened up a new Care Bear from Uncle Mike and Aunt Valerie so all in all it ended up working out. (but I will take note what she asks Santa for next year!!)

And Caleb well a boy can never get too many cars for Christmas. And Caleb well, he just can't get enough Speed Racer, Snake Oiler or Racer X cars for Christmas. He spent present opening time hurriedly opening a present and then asking where the next one was. Then when we were all done he would have a complete meltdown that there weren't any presents left to open, and that he would just have to be content with playing with his cars!! He would put 2 Speed Racers and 2 Racer X cars in each hand and walk around the house. Oh he did get a really cool ramp/race track. It lets him race 4 cars at a time and push down the lever by himself. He had lots of fun with it and I think Chris and his brother David did too. (oh and Baby Dog liked watching.)

On Christmas Day we had lots of fun at Grandma Patti's and Papa Mark's house. Caleb got to ride on the 4-wheeler for hours with Chris and David. Then they decided to get serious and put on their helmets, it was time to do some sled pulling with the 4-wheeler. David and Chris took turns pulling each other. The person on the sled would get going as fast or faster than the 4-wheeler while being pulled down the long driveway. Each of the kids took a couple of turns as well (with me yelling for the driver to go slower, slower, slower, even though the kids had huge grins on their faces!!!) Oh and I had lots of fun sledding from the shop garage down into the lower driveway. We figured that I didn't ever take the same path down, as the driveway slope made it almost impossible to go straight. All in all Christmas was fun. We were very happy to get out of the house and be around other people. Me and the kids had only been out of our neighborhood once in the 2 weeks we had snow!!

We hope you enjoy our pictures and that you all have a Very Happy and Safe New Year.

(Oh and what a New Year's Eve present the Beavers win!!! 3-0)

Catching up- Feeding the Ducks and Making Christmas Cookies.

So here are the pictures I promised you of the pond near our house with the 30-40 ducks. The first day Chloe and I walked to the pond in the snow we only had like 6 inches of snow so the ducks were coming up on the path to get food. When Chris and I went with both of the kids it was after we had 15-16inches of snow so the ducks were not coming up onto the path for the food. We had a mix of crackers and birdseed to feed them. I think they enjoyed it.

Also as you can tell by the kids it was very cold outside. During the snowstorm it was in the 20's.






After our long walk to the pond the kiddos and I made sugar cookies. Chloe helped me roll out the dough and use cookie cutters to make, Christmas Trees, Angels, bells, moons, and stars. Then later in the day when they were cool Caleb and Chloe helped me to frost them. I am so glad I had the forethought to give each of the kids their own plate and knife for frosting. They both did really well for about the first 5 minutes of frosting. Then we used sprinkles to add on top, next thing I look over and Caleb is licking all of the sprinkles off of his cookie and asking me for more frosting and sprinkles. I let him use the sprinkles, then look over and see him doing a nice big lick of his plastic knife. Well that was the end of Caleb helping us with the cookies. I put a big dollop of 2 colors of frosting on his plate and Chloe and I moved away from him. He got to decorate 3 cookies for himself.
Chloe liked mixing the colors on the cookies. Many were pink and green or pink and blue. Santa loved the creativity.

Oh and when we were done with the cookies both kids got a bath. Caleb was wearing about 1/2 of his frosting on his face and shirt and Chloe got into the licking thing towards the end too. I can't blame them it was yummmy!!

More Snow Day pictures.

I wish I could have gotten more of Chloe on Wednesday but I just didn't have enough arms. Chloe, Caleb and I walked up the hill two houses over from us. At the end of the hill there is a cul-de-sac to the left and one to the right. So lots of kids were out. Most were at the house right at the top of the hill. They had smashed down the snow to make for easy sledding, as well as piling a bunch of snow in the middle of the driveway for a hill. So one of the kids let us borrow their sled. I pulled Chloe and Caleb up and they went down maybe 2 times. Then Caleb was done. He just wanted to chase their dog around. But Chloe she loves adventure, she's definitely braver than I. I pulled Chloe to the top of the driveway and turned her around and pushed her down the hill. She went the length of the driveway and would end up on the other side of the street. (the dad at the house was at the edge of the driveway watching for cars) Then once she would stop she would say I want to do it again. So I only have one picture of her because I couldn't push her down the driveway and take a picture.

The next pictures are from Chloe and my outing today. Caleb decided he did not want to go out in the snow. (I think if it wasn't blowing so much he would have been ok, but today it was snowing non-stop and blowing every which way)
First I pulled Chloe up the hill by our house in the large cooler that we have. With so much snow on the ground I had to pull her all the way down the hill- she didn't slide well. We went up the hill and down the hill 3 times. Then we decided to go for a walk. We walked to a park near our house (about 2 blocks away) Chloe loved running in the snow and plopping down wherever she wanted to make a snow angel. She also made mitten prints in the snow. Then we walked to the pond near the path to see if the ducks were still there. Amazingly enough all 30-40 ducks were still all there. They were all up on the sidewalk eating some bird food. I went to take a picture but my battery was dead. So I will try again another day.

Oh and tonight at 6:15pm I went outside to look at the snow and measure. We have 7-8inches of snow depending on where I measured. And they are saying it is supposed to snow non-stop until about midnight.
Hope you enjoy the pictures and that you all are being safe out there.

She was still really liking going down the hill, but the snow was blowing right in her face so she would look to the side, then back and try to eat the snow as it hit her face.

Merry Christmas

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Snow!!!

So it actually snowed in Beaverton. We got 4-5 inches of snow yesterday. It is only 25 degrees for the high today. I love looking at the snow but man with the cold it is really different. The snow is too dry to make a snowman or even snowballs. Last night Chloe and Chris actually took water outside to add to the snow to try to make the base for a snowman. They got one big ball for the bottom done and I think will work on another later today.

Oh the nice thing about the snow-- we are actually meeting some of the neighbors and their kids. Yesterday we played with our neighbors across the street. They are the ones with the body board/sleds. They have 2 girls that one is a year older than Chloe, and one is a year younger-- so they were having lots of fun together. Their brother was out playing too- while the oldest brother and dad went up to the mountains to snowboard. (you could almost do that here!!)

Check back later this week, we may have more pictures. They are saying that we could get another 2-6 inches on the valley floor Wednesday. So pray we don't go insane from being cooped up together all week!!

Bob the Builder

Bob the Builder is in town at the Children's Musuem. We have actually been to it a few times, but I kept forgetting my camera. So I finally got some pictures the last time, and there weren't too many kids there so you can actually find Chloe and Caleb in the pictures.

Chloe's favorite thing was building walls in one of the areas. They have long pieces that you fit into holders on each side. She built up a whole wall all by herself. And of course she takes after Grandma Patti and loves gardening. They have 2 areas to "plant" things. It's a fake mound of dirt with holes in it. You stick flowers in one and potatoes and carrots in the other.

Caleb's favorite thing to do in Bob the Builder was to run from one machine to another pushing the buttons to see what they said. If you know Bob the Builder you know one says "Rock and Roll", and the others say a certain phrase too (my brain is not working at the moment so I can't think of what the other's say- but I can sing you the song.....Bob the Builder can we fix it, Bob the Builder Yes We Can. --maybe that's where Barack got it from??)


Oh and this day at the exhibit Caleb was really into the balls. On one side you push the balls down into a tube that has air flowing in it, it goes to the other side and comes out a faucet type thing. Once the bucket gets full someone goes and gets it and dumps all the balls back on to the one side with the tube. This was Caleb's favorite. When someone would dump the balls it was like he was playing in a ball pit or something. He would move his arms back and forth and then try to grab as many as he could-- all the while having the biggest smile on his face. I love his smiles!!

Don't know how I could have forgotten this--- The kids decided to be rock stars on the stage too. Chloe put on a slinky tank top over the top of her clothes and started belting out some tune she made up. She's totally a rock star. She was moving the microphone and it's base all over the stage while she sang, and didn't act one bit shy as more people came into the room. Caleb tried out the singing thing once, but I think he is a behind the scenes kind of guy. He liked playing with the sound effects. Especially the guitar sound. That and the banana peel/slipping were played quite a few times while Chloe sang Wheel's on The Bus.

What a bummer Civil War!!

So I have some recent pictures but can't find the camera to download them. (It's probably still in Chris's pocket from the game)

So I thought I would just write about the sad sad game that was Civil War. Well Chris and I were able to attend the game childless. Yippeee. (thanks Grandma Patti and Papa Mark) So we got down early and enjoy walking across campus alone, and not carrying a huge diaper bag with extra snacks, diapers and clothes for during the game. My parents were there along with my sister Michelle and her boyfriend, my aunt and her friend and a bunch of Chris and my friends from college. We were all happy and eagerly waiting the start of the game. Hoping for a Beaver victory that would have led us to the Rose Bowl.

But instead our defense was just out coached. I felt bad for our offense they would go out on the field and play pretty well, even scoring on some of the drives. Then the defense would go out there and the Ducks would change every play after they saw the defense lined up. I hope there isn't a bye week before Civil War next year. Or if there is, let it be for the Beavers!!!

On the bright side of things, the Beavers are still headed to a Bowl Game. I guess it's our turn next year to win at Autzen!!

From our mouths and now their's!!

As a mom I always wonder if the kids ever really hear me when I am talking to them or just totally oblivious. Well lately I keep finding out how much they were listening and sometimes they listened even when I thought they weren't.

My favorites:
Chloe starts to head up the stairs and says "I will be back in 5 minutes and then I will check on you"

Caleb "Geez Louise" (when they are being silly or not behaving I try to make it silly like in the car when there are crazy drivers on the road I say "Geez Louise there are some crazy drivers today) so now Caleb just says it all the time.

Oh this morning Chloe was rocking in a chair and Caleb was walking around and around the lamp behind it, I went to the other room for just a second, heard a loud bang and ran back in. Chloe looks up and says "Shit". It's all I can do to not laugh. Then I say Chloe that word is not ok for you to say. "Ok mom, sorry"

The ones I have said a million times that I am now Happy to hear coming out of their mouths : "I'm using it right now, you can have it when I am done" or "can I have a turn"

I know there are more but is the end of a long day and I can't remember them right now. (Today was Veteran's day- which means NO SCHOOL DAY- the kids and I were going to go on a nice trip to the Children's Museum to see Bob the Builder. Everyone else in Portland was there too. I think it was one of our shortest stays, maybe an hour. It was hard keeping track of 2 kids going in different directions with all the other kids and their parents their too. So we will be venturing out to check out Bob the Builder again in the next week or so.

Trick or Treat

This was a fun year Trick or Treating with the kids. They were really into the candy--especially Caleb!! Some friends of ours (Tim & Chrystal) came over with their daughters Allison and Molly to go Trick or Treating with us. The kids would all run up to the door and be yelling Trick or Treat before they even knocked. Then they would all do these little knocks and yell Trick or Treat.

So as we went to more houses their baskets were almost overflowing with candy. Chloe gave hers up with pleasure to Grandma Patti. Chloe said it was too heavy and she would only hold it to go up to houses and get more candy then she would hand it back to Grandma Patti. Caleb on the other hand--- I offered to hold his basket and he would say no, no, no, I carry myself. And if you tried to remove any of the candy to make the basket lighter he just about threw himself down on the ground. So I got lucky-- he dropped his basket one time and when he wasn't looking I grabbed 2 big handfuls and shoved them in my pockets to lighten his load. When we got back to our house I was able to unload the candy directly into our bowl for trick or treaters.

We went out early enough we were even able to make a visit over to Papa Klus & Grandma Klus's house. (great grandparents) So they got to see the kids in their costumes, and the kids got more candy. I think we're gonna take some of it as snacks to the Beaver game tomorrow night.

That's all for now. And I think I am all caught up on pictures. Below- Caleb, Molly, Allison and Chloe in their costumes. Caleb is a train Engineer or conductor and Chloe is of course BUZZ LIGHTYEAR!!

Our family trip to the Pumpkin Patch

So this year we decided to try a new pumpkin patch. Oregon Heritage Farms. We had passed by it a few weeks back and it looked neat. Well it was great. They had a apple shaped bounce house, a kid maze, a "spooky" kid maze (short and under a tarp so it was dark) where they got to use flashlights. And they had fresh apple cider in kiddie cups, yum. We went on Chloe's birthday and the kids went through the "spooky" maze like 20 times. I think it was geared more toward the little kids.

Chloe in the bounce house.

Chloe and Caleb in the bounce house.

Chloe and Caleb coming out of the "spooky" maze.

The Bartlett's

Our Trip Pictures.

If I get pictures from Chris's brother David of the trip I will try to post them because he took lots. But my camera battery died on the 2nd day of our trip. I did want to say that the trip was better than we had expected. Chris and I have gone on some trips with the kids where they just whine and don't listen and it's just horrible, so we decided to expect the worst for this trip. But the kids were great!! They were good on the airplane rides and at the airports. And for the most part they enjoyed the trip as much as we did- getting to go ride in and Aerial Tram at night (I am afraid of heights so this was great cuz I could see the beautiful city lights but not really how far down it was!!!) We also got to go swimming at least half of the days. Oh and they had a really cool kiddie pool that was only 1 foot deep. So as you can imagine that is where Chloe spent most of her time. Crab walking on her tummy and back and splashing and playing with other kids. Caleb on the other hand pretty much only wanted to go down the slide with daddy.

We also got to visit Patti's uncle Francie. We met up with him at a airfield and got to see a plane that he and his friends had been building for the last 8 years. It wasn't ready to fly just yet, but we got to see other planes practicing their landing and take offs. The kids loved it.

Oh and Chris and I had a date night!!! It's been a while. We went to a movie and then dinner. We need to do that more often. At least once a month would be nice!!

Oh and the place with the animals is the Living Desert. It was really neat. We got to see a baby Giraffe with Ostrichs, Camels, pet goats and sheep, and see all kinds of neat "cats". Small and large.


This is a family of Raccoons that hangs out around all of the garbage cans at the Aerial Tram. They got really close, maybe just a couple feet away.