Pumpkin Patch

On the hayride

Baylee is the best big sister!

Crazy Jake!

Every year we love going to the pumpkin patch as a family. This is year we went to Lee Farms and loved their homemade doughnuts and apple cider, the hay ride, the hay maze and slides. We missed you this year Bigler Family (this is the first year we have been in Oregon that we did not go with your family, maybe next year).

Fall in Oregon

When you pull into our subdivision you drive on a road called Sunset that is lined with trees. For those that have been here, you know what I am talking about. This is my favorite time of year here because Sunset is covered with red, orange and yellow trees. Every year I have wanted to take pictures of the kids and this year I finally did it. We are so grateful to live in a place where we are surrounded with beauty. We tried to get a good picture where all 3 kids were looking happy and smiling but had a real difficult time. These pictures show their true personalities.

Meikles came to visit!

Jake and Lukey!
Caleb and Baylee were not thrilled we were taking their picture.
Baylee and Caleb act just like brother and sister, they wrestled all weekend. Baylee can hold her own.

Jess, Katie and their boys came for a long weekend the first of October. Jess and Travis were supposed to play in a softball tournament but it got rained out. (It is Portland.) We still had a great weekend, we always have fun with the Meikles. Katie and I took all the kids to the OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry) on Friday, we took my kids out of school which they thought was pretty fun! The adults went on a date, watched college football, Jess and Travis spent a lot of time in Trav's office discussing fantasy football, we all went to our kids' soccer games, celebrated Caleb, Baylee and Sydney's birthdays and had a great time! It was fun to see Katie's cute belly and we can not wait to meet their new little guy! Thanks for visiting us Meikles!

Fun Run 2008

Baylee and Avery
Baylee running like a champ.
Jake and his buddies at the starting line.One determined little boy.
Jake and Spencer enjoying popsicles after their race. Jake's face is so RED!
His class giving the other students five has they run by.

Baylee and Jake's school do a big fund raiser every year where they receive pledges and the kids run for 25 minutes straight. They run lap after lap after lap. Everyone looks forward to the Fun Run and it makes a lot of money for the school, around $30k. Baylee ran 15 laps this year and Jake ran 15 laps as well. Baylee was not very happy about her little brother who is in kindergarten running as many laps as she did. Jake never stopped for a water break or to take a walk break, he was a very determined little boy. Notice how red his face is. It is a big event with great music and all of the parents come to cheer the kids on.

My long lost friend...

In another post I wrote how I ran into my best friend from my childhood at a triathlon we were doing. We noticed each other in a pre race meeting and when our eyes met, we freaked out! I have not seen Jenny for about 11-12 years. She moved here to Portland a year ago. We had no idea where each other lived, we had lost contact. Last night we finally went out to dinner, just the 2 of us and had the best time. We caught each other up on life and talked about the good old days when we were kids. We went to a sushi restaurant, and sat and talked for over 3 hours. We have been best friends since we were 2, (we lived on the same street) and I moved away from Denver when I was 14. It was so fun to see her and rekindle our friendship. We are planning on getting together often so we never lose contact again.

I think I have turned into a soccer mom...

I do not know what Baylee is laughing at, she is funny!
See the determination in his face.

Jake and Baylee are both playing soccer this fall which keeps us busy. I am busy running the kids to practice, washing their stinky uniforms, trying to keep track of their cleats, shin guards and balls, and always making sure they have their water bottles filled. It brings back a lot of memories when I was a kid. Jake counts the days until the next practice and the next game. He is an aggressive little player. At one of his first games, his friend, Ty, was on the other team and they were talking trash to each other. After Jake had scored a goal, he walked up to Ty, chest to chest and said, "Who's the boss now?" I know he does not get that from me, he must get it from Travis. Baylee loves soccer also and has improved a ton from last year. We are still trying to get her to be a little more aggressive during the games, last week we said we would pay her for every goal she made. Money always works with Baylee and she ended up scoring 3. Travis thought we needed to be fair with Jake and do the same thing, I was nervous because the week before he had scored 6 goals, luckily for us he only scored 3. It is fun and we are loving every minute of it! I also am still playing on an indoor women's soccer team. Every time I leave for a game Travis tells me I better not get hurt. I can be a little competitive and pushy.

Back in School!!!

We are all so happy to be back in school with a regular schedule. The summer was great but towards the end I was getting tired of the kids saying every morning, "What are we going to do today? Who can we play with today?" The kids go to a great school that is only a few blocks away and they are loving every minute of it so far, but it is only September. Baylee is in 2nd and Jake is in kindergarten. Jake is so happy to finally be at the same school as his older sister. Sydney really misses Baylee and Jake but she has a playgroup with 5 other girls 2 days a week and we go to story time at the library one day. We also go to Kid's Gym twice a week, so she has a busy schedule herself. Next year she will be in preschool.

Baylee and her friend, Avery

Jake with his buddies, Jackson and Spencer. In his kindergarten class there are 16 boys and 7 girls. Poor teacher. Five of his buddies are in his class, he loves it!