A Full Week... And a Full Stomach

It's been a packed week!  Tuesday night was our Relief Society Taste of Home.  It was Harvest themed and the food was DELICIOUS.  I can't wait to use some of the recipes.  I felt a little guilty going to it because I had just gotten home at almost midnight the night before after being gone on my girls trip, and Todd was, AGAIN, alone with the kids entertaining them after work and putting them to bed himself.  But I was in charge of it and needed to be there.

Wednesday I came down with the 24 hour flu.  I felt HORRIBLE about that because Todd was definitely not getting any relief from my being gone on my trip with me in bed all day and night.  By Thursday I was at least not nauseous but was still VERY tired and weak. 

Friday I felt much better.  I went to Boise to pick out what rock we'd use on our house.  It's almost completely sided and will very soon be ready for rock.  (The insulation went in Friday and it will get exterior paint and sheet rock next week!)  This past Spring I went to the big masonry center in Boise to pick out tile and rock to make a budget for our builder and the bank.  They have the largest display in Boise.  I wore my typical flip flops, t-shirt, and capris with a hat and noticed they were very difficult to get any help from there.  They ignored me most of the time and when they did talk to me it was because I approached them and they mostly complained that I didn't have an apt. and that they get frustrated with how many people wander in to look but don't ever actually intend to buy anything.  So I never really did narrow down exactly which rock.

This time I did an experiment and dressed up fancy with heels and all.  I did my hair nicer than normal and plastered on the make up.  It was definitely a different experience.  I still had no apt. but they instantly came up to me and helped me.  They brought me a whole slew of samples catering to my every request.  It's safe to say I'm annoyed.  I chose a rock from a different store because I really did like it better.  But it probably felt better than it should have to know the Masonry Center wasn't getting my business.  Country bunpkins buy rock too...

Friday evening I whipped up some rolls for the Ward Harvest Dinner at the church.  That was a lot of fun. The kids had a blast in all the kid activities the primary put together.  And it was, of course, more tasty FOOD.  I always eat way too much when food is served buffet style.

Saturday (today) we cleaned the church in the morning, Brielle had a soccer game in the late morning- her second game.  Both games were blow outs and not in our favor.  But she's enjoying herself.  I made Avocado Bow Tie pasta salad for a BBQ and took it to Weiser where we went for my friend, Lori's BBQ.  She had invited her Fruitland friends to get together for the afternoon.  It was a blast to be with her and her daughter and husband.  Her daughter was the winner of the West Idaho Pageant earlier this summer.  Again, more delicious FOOD today.  I left SO full and wondering how I was ever going to fit in dessert with Amber tonight after the Relief Society broadcast.

So we got home, I threw on a dress, and Amber and Talia picked me up to take me to the General Relief Society broadcast at the Ontario Stake Center chapel.  It was a wonderful conference.  I loved President Monson's talk.  What a wonderful prophet.  I'm so very grateful for a prophet in our day. 

After that we went to Brewsky's for cheesecake which I suddenly could not say no to and I am now 10 pounds heavier than I was a week ago before I left on my girls trip.  OK not really, but I FEEL like I am.  I can't touch my toes- not because I'm not flexible but because my stomach is SO SO FULL!  Too much good food this week and especially today!  Time to eat those calories in a bit more moderation.

Here's a picture I snapped of Brielle putting every hair bow and head band she owns on Ashton's head.  Love it when they giggle and have a good time.  Even if it is a little... whatever.

This is Lori and her daughter Liz.  Such a fun BBQ at her house today.  The rest of the pictures are also from today's BBQ at her house.

 

Melissa and Rachel chilling in the kitchen.

John and Todd waiting for a blessing on the food.

 

Gunnie sack races!  Brielle's on the end on the left.

Ashton on Weston's back.

Lainey stealing Brielle's chocolate cake while she races in the gunnie sack race.  You snooze, you lose!

Big mistake to make a bunch of dad's gunnie sack race together with all their sons watching.  Ashton had to do it with Todd too.

WAY too much testosterone.

They all landed in a heaping pile and Todd rolled his ankle. 

Moms (and Liz) doing the gunnie sack race.

What a fantastic weekend!  I would say week, but I was a  big baby when I was sick.  I don't get sick often so maybe that's why when I did I thought I was going to die and every bone in my body felt broken from the fever.  I thought about blogging all about it when my family got tired of hearing it, but spared any reader the extensive whining.  Alright I'm really not that big a whiner.  Just a baby not wanting to get out of bed.  Now I just need to clean up the after math.  The kids destroyed the house while I was in bed for two days.  And I've been gone too much since then to do much about it just yet.  It'll take a while, which is why I'm blogging before I clean and not after!

Girls Getaway

This past weekend was my Girls Getaway with the friends I've had since childhood.  We were missing Cortney who is 8 months pregnant and had to sit this one out.  Unlike Todd on his Guys Golf Getaway, I had my camera and of course went snap happy.  Here are the memories!

We arrived Saturday night and talked at Stephanie's house in Hillsboro until very late- her husband, Mark was a sweetheart and treated us to Tillimook Mud Slide ice cream, but went to bed about the time we started talking about bras.  We stayed the night there and left the next day for the coast.

But first, Sara and I went for a morning jog. 

 We stopped to get pedicures!

We drove the long route through Lincoln City to go to the Lincoln City Outlet Mall.  WOW.  They had an outlet store for EVERYTHING!  Gap, Old Navy, Eddie Bauer, Maurices (didn't know they had an outlet store), Nike, Columbia, Children's Place, on and on.  We spent most of the day there and found some great buys. 

Then we drove the rest of the way to our final destination-

the beautiful Cannon Beach. 

We rented a beach house.

Got a fire going.

Moved Steph's bed upstairs so she could sleep near the other beds.

And got a movie going on a spiffy big TV.  

 (That's a must for us- as many chick flicks as we watch on our trips!) 

The next day Sara and I jogged on the beach.  I LOVE the fresh air on the coast!

We spent the day in town shopping the little shops, looking for souvenirs for our kids. 

We had lunch at a local sea food restaurant.  They made a delicious clam chowder.

We drove a few minutes North to Seaside to get the best salt water taffy ever.  We fell in love with it when we found it two years prior on our first annual getaway.

 We ended up that evening at a local play house watching the musical, "Clue".  It was based on the board game and no two shows are exactly alike because the audience draws the murderer/weapon/room cards at the beginning and the show is based on those.  It was cute and fun to see.

That evening I hiked down into the mud below the deck to get around our beach house trying to find an open door.  I ultimately tried to get a ladder up to the only open window in the house.  I had left the key in the house and we were locked out!  Before I bobbed on top of a very rickety ladder to climb through a small upstairs window, Stephanie had been able to find the contact number for and get ahold of the owner who told us the lock box number for the spare key.  (Phew)  I had even scaled up to the balcony to try the balcony door!  It was an adventure!

 

We watched another movie that night and made lots of naughty junk food.

The next day we attended the Seaside Ward.  We love that ward.

We spent Sunday walking the beach and watching several more chick flicks.

   

Thinking of my sweetheart back home.

I miss him too much when I'm gone!

Thinking of Cortney back home, almost ready to have another girl!

We missed you, Cortney!

Steph didn't need a pillow, she's already almost 5 months preggers.

Monday we waked the pier and gazed at the beach one last time.

I LOVE the homes in these coastal towns.  So cute!

Heading back to Portland.

In Portland, we had quite a bit of time to kill between when we needed to check out of the beach house and when Sara and I's flights were.  We had lunch at Olive Garden, shopped at my new favorite second hand store- Plato's Closet.  VERY fun store.  And then sat back at a Starbucks to use their wifi.  We started a blog for Sara and everyone took the Hartman Color Code Personality Test online. 

Steph is a Red-White.

Sara is a Yellow-Blue

I'm a White-Yellow

Now we need to know what Cortney is.

One last stop for Cinnamon Rolls at Ikea and then we were all home sweet home.  It was such a fun relaxing time.  I always miss my sweetie too much to be gone even one more day.  But it was a perfect 4 days with good friends.

Thank you, Todd for holding down the fort.  Brielle got the flu while I was gone.  Todd had a lot to juggle and managed to do several projects around the house, cleaned it all up nice, had flowers waiting for me at home, and had my favorite Orange Julius waiting for me in the car when he picked me up from the airport.  How'd he know I had been craving one all day!?  I love you so much, Todd.  I'm one lucky woman.

Guys Golf Getaway

Two weekends ago Todd joined his brothers Kris, Adam, and Billy for a Guys Golf Weekend in McCall.  Billy snapped this one of Todd trying (and succeeding) to save his ball from dispair.   

They played x-box and golfed and watched movies for 3 days straight.  They had a great time!  I forgot to send the camera with Todd so this is his only picture.  But it's a great one.  Thanks, Billy!


Todd's mom invited her daughter-in-laws on a girls shopping trip one of the days Todd was gone.  I got a babysitter and had a great day with them in Boise.

Lovely Little Artist

Brielle has such a beautiful imagination.  I love this girlie's art work.  Her homework said to draw a group of something- people/flowers/whatever for a math activity.   I was thinking pencil, 5 of the same flower, simple, fast... "get-er-done."  When she showed me this, I just didn't want to stop staring at it.  It was just so pretty and fun!  Whatever she creates, she makes it beautiful.  I love that about her.

I want those flowers in my front yard!

I'll take the butterflies too.

Windows

I took these pictures yesterday, but already there are quite a few more things finished in the house.  The kitchen arches are done.  Tons more electrical.  Just a ton happens now every day with framers, plumbers, electricians, h-vac, and misclelanious workers there.

But a big thing was that the windows went in yesterday!  It's definitely warmer in there now.  I really like LOVE the windows!  I tend to REALLY take my time on most of the decisions on the house.  But most of the windows were a quick decision. So I worried I'd end up regretting some of them without having slept on it a bunch of nights. I'm happy to say I love them all!

Lainey noticing the office window.

I went with thicker grids than vinyl windows usually have.  I've never seen a house with them (that I'm aware of- I think they're somewhat new on the market, but I've only been paying attention to that on homes recently) so I was really nervous to go with these.  I love my wood windows in the home we're in, but we weren't willing to pay the extra cost to have them in the new home.  The thicker vinyl grids can kind of give the illusion of being wood windows- unless you're up close examining them.  I'm very happy with how they turned out!

The master's sitting room windows.

The living room windows.

The dining room windows (my favorite).

I hope I don't find my appetite tripling from how much I love being in this room! When it's done it will be architectually and cosmetically dressed up more than any other room. It'll make me want to invite people over for dinner a lot more, being able to fit all our guests in there. Right now in our current house, if we have just one family of 6 over, we have some people at the table, some at the counter on stools, and some at a small plastic kids picnic table in the walk way just to seat everybody! And then the food doesn't fit on the table with us all there so we have it strewn across the kitchen counters for everyone to file along dishing up and getting up several times throughout the meal to get more. I know our friends don't care and nobody is that hard to please. It's not a big deal. But I can't wait for a more functional room.

The back view of the house with all its windows installed.  Let the southern sun shine!

There's really nothing special about the rest of the windows.  So I didn't bother photographing them.