What Washington is Good For (part 2)

Despite the fact that I was pretty miserable on Saturday, I woke up feeling great on Sunday. Turns out it was  a 24-hour type of thing. (Which we got to witness as each family member got it in turn. Lovely...see how I mentioned the slight bumps of the trip. Bringing illness is never fun.)

I went to church and was able to show my family off. I usually travel alone to visit my family since it is so expensive to fly, so often I attend church solo. It was nice to have proof that I indeed have a husband and children. (I think some people were starting to wonder.)

Sunday was pretty low-key. Ivory didn't seem to do too much.

November 18^th 2012

I woke up got into the bath and washed my whole body and it had ALOT of bubbels!!!!!! I ate Blueberry muffin tops for Breakfast. I tried to atak Tim my cousin and uncel at the same time. How? Tim likes to viset USA alot even thogh he only plays on his I-pad. I stared to play Piano then I played Uncle wiggliy then played Piano for tim. The I started coloring. I colored Owls and half a leprechaun picture. I played piano songs petending to play but not.

My parent's house has so much stuff in it. Here are a few of the things that kept us busy:

The Bath—I don't have a picture of this but my parents have a huge tub with bubble jets. The kids loved it and you can put all five in at once. Oddly, I don't think they use it very often, but the tub gets plenty of use when we visit.

Stories—My mom writes fairy stories for the girls. They are so fabulous!! Each of the girls has their own fairy in the story and they have adventures and mishaps. My mom started out by writing one story for Robyn's birthday a few years ago, but she has since written almost a dozen more. The kids hadn't heard the first stories for a while so she started at the beginning and read them all to the kids again, adding a new one at the end. So almost every day, you would find the kids piled on her bed listening to a fairy story.

Games—There is a large rec room in my parents house and one wall is filled with games. I think we played games every day we were there. They really have some great ones.

The Synthesizer—The girls brought their piano books because they had a recital coming up right after the break. They fell in love with the Synthesizer and all the different sounds it could make. It was rare to find it turned off. My mother said she had no idea it would be so popular.

Books—Most of the kids books are packed up, but Ivory found a stack of Choose Your Own Adventures. I remembered so many of them from when I was a kid. We had a lot of fun reading them, and Grandma allowed Ivory to take some home with her.

Crafts—I brought along some craft things so that we could visit Karen and distract the kids from touching everything in her house. Sadly, two children were not feeling the best on the day we were supposed to visit her, so she came our way instead. But we still got to do the crafts and see her. I'll call that a win/win.

Friends—Karen was really the only person we visited. She was brave enough to come over despite the stomach bug. It was so fabulous to see her, and I am just sad that we didn't get to see others on this trip. But that is how it rolls sometimes.

Rain—Wait, have I mentioned that it rained the whole time?? I know...broken record. It wasn't so bad except that we didn't really go anywhere the whole time. And Moxy couldn't figure out why it was always wet outside. There are more pine needles than grass in my parents' front yard, so usually Moxy had to be walked somewhere. Tyler took most of those wet dog walks, but I took her out every once in a while.

A huge THANKS to Tyler for taking all these pictures. I think I was in vacation mode, because I didn't pick up the camera much. But I am glad he documented all the fun activities we did. In fact, this fabulously hot picture of him wasn't even taken by me. Karen has the same type of camera, so she was checking out our new lenses. You may all take a moment to check out Tyler.

There was also a dollhouse that the girls really loved organizing and reorganizing. There are no dolls, but all the miniature furniture in the rooms is pretty cool.

November 19^th 2012

Got into the bat again of course because we have to take a bath evrey day now. We watched brave. Brave was not akting like a princess. She like to shoot airows. We ate snake witch was yougort bites strawberrys and grapes. Me and Robyn got in a fight.

Monday night is when both June and Robyn got sick. Poor little ducks. But we managed to have our FHE Thankful Turkey tradition before all the puking began.

We always make our Thankful Turkey the Monday before Thanksgiving, and since we were in Washington, we had lots of people to share our turkey with. No one had a very large feather, but I love that my whole family got to help. The Turkey design was chosen by Ivory this year and she did a fantastic job coloring him.

I think that is all for now. Brave was very cute. None of the girls had seen it, so that was fun to watch.


To be continued in....Look, I Used the Camera One Day (part 3)

The Big Trip to Washington (part 1)

We went to Washington to see my family for Thanksgiving. This is a first for us. Since there aren't that many days off of school, we usually just jump up to Idaho, but we had already planned extra time away and kids missing school, so we thought it would be worth the longer drive. And it totally was, minus some bumps along the way.

Ivory was very dutiful and kept a travel log along the way. (She called it her blog—and you couldn't convince her it was anything else.) I am going to include her entries and then add a little of my own commentary.

November 16^th 2012

I asked are we there yet two times not! in a row. My dad said we could have dinner at five-o-clock. I asked what we would have for dinner. My mom answered that. She said that we would have gogorts, uncrustables, and chips.
Colored half of a coloring page in my 2012 today Nov

The first leg of our journey was not all that exciting. The kids got out of school and we left right away and drove up into Oregon, stopping in Baker City. We did have dinner in the car, which was the very first time we have allowed people to eat in the car since we got it a year ago. I'm proud that we held off that long.

Tyler made the girls some bomb-diggity activity books. They had some 48 odd pages full of activities from coloring to Sudoku to Battleship. They kept the girls busy off and on for the entire trip. (WAY TO GO DAD!!!) We made good time. Everyone fell asleep in the car eventually. And although they all woke up when we reached the Motel, they were easily quieted down. Well, I should say, the ones I had went to sleep well. We have reached a point where we take up two rooms. (With two queen beds in each.) I slept with Pearl (who was very good) and Ivory got her own bed, while Tyler took the other three. Our rooms weren't joined, but that didn't really matter.

Pearl was having some crazy diarrhea, so I got up at 4 in the morning to change a really nasty diaper, but we went back to sleep until 6. (Somehow I got the early risers. I had everyone dressed and packed and when we went to Tyler's room...they hadn't even gotten up yet. Pbbt.) But I am getting ahead of Ivory's blog. Let's go back and see what her thoughts were...

November 17^th 2012

Last night I slept in a inn because it takes Sixteen hours to drive to washington. Once I came into the car I sarted coloring. Daisy my sister allmost lost her blanket and her dog Straberry. My dad heped a difrent faimly. I ate breakfast in Baker City at a restront. At the inn there was a little river. Once we woke up my mom did not feel good at all. We went to the store and bought medicine for mom to feel better.
My mom says I might loose my tooth in washington because it is wiggely. (She hasn't lost it yet.)

Tyler did help jump a family's car. And we also left Daisy's stuff at the Inn, but luckily we hadn't even left town when they called. (Very prompt cleaning they have there.) And sadly, Ivory was also accurate in saying that I was sick. Boy was I ever. I am thinking that it is only by serious mind control and lots of sleeping in the car that I managed not to throw up. Poor Tyler drove the entire next day. I ate....practically nothing. And I made good use of every bathroom stop. (If you know what I mean.) Delightful.

Oh, and here is one of the pictures we took in Baker City. Nice little town, if you ask me.

I don't remember much of the morning drive. We found Deadman Pass again, but I don't think I was awake.

Tyler took lots of pictures while he drove. And I don't blame him...the scenery was cloudy but lovely.

November 17^th 2012

I Learned the articles of faith while we were in the car...We believe in god the Eternal father an in his son Jesus Christ and in the holy Ghost. We believe that men will be punbished for their own sins and not for Adam's transgression. (When Ivory reads this aloud, she sings the articles of Faith. Very cute.) We drove by a thing that looked like a forest! We ate lunch at MarketDeli. I really want to see Grandma anty tim Grampa! We drove by a river that had washington on the other side. When we ate lunch dad had a huge!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! handburrger. I ate a big hotdog.

We stopped near the John Day Dam for lunch. Tyler had the Dam burger and laughed about it for quite a while. It was a bit overcast but the kids explored a bit and let Moxy run around. (Yes, the dog came with us and she was pretty good for the trip. I think she disliked the fact that it rained almost the entire time we were in WA, but she managed.)

The town we were in was called Rufus. Kind of podunk. It was not encouraging when Tyler told me some biker guy said that the town spelled backwards was Sufur. (Suffer.)

But we moved on. Back to Ivory...

My mom says that I might get glasses!!!!!!!! cute. bad! (Spoiler alert: Ivory is destined for glasses. She failed a school eye exam today. Now we just need to get her in to an eye doctor.)

Daisy you hard her befor well she threup in the store! Me and Robyn started to feel like we were going to trowup. Uhg. We saw Sacagawea and her baby and dog. We are in washington!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We saw tons of trains. Grandma's!!! We ate chilly for dinner ensept the beans made my throwt hurt and burn. It rained sooo much. It took two I mean two days! We had egg-nog with dinner. We watched Kid history that is funny.

Yeah, so tender mercy. We are driving and Ivory says she need to go potty, and I swear we had only been on the road half an hour since our last stop. (Grrrr.) But, when you gotta go, you gotta go, and I, of all people, understood that. So, we pulled over yet again. I stayed in the car with Pearl and shortly after, Tyler comes back to tell me that Daisy just painted the store in vomit. (THANK YOU IVORY FOR MAKING US STOP!! SO GLAD THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN IN THE CAR.) Apparently Daisy was carrying some of the same sicky bug as me.

So, Daisy sat in my lap for the last two hours of driving and only threw up once more.

But wait, let's go back and talk about Sacagawea. Tyler had this great idea to find something interesting along the road to break up the monotony. He had a whole list of roadside attractions that we could stop to see. I was NOT interested. In my mind, that meant just another delay on an already really long trip. And add in the fact that I wasn't feeling well. I tried all sorts of things to dissuade him, but he was not to be deterred. And it probably was a good thing, because it was really fun to go see the sight, and the kids were amused and educated at the same time.

There were plenty to choose from, but we opted to go see a statue of Sacagawea along the Columbia river. It was raining at the time, so we mostly viewed from the car, but Tyler and I got out briefly to read the plaques and take some pictures. She's pretty cool huh?

And with her little papoose. (Love how the baby is holding her finger.) Her baby boy traveled with her all along her journey and helped keep Indian tribes friendly to their cause. And the dog (can't remember his name) was also a good hunter and protector. I guess he took on a grizzly in the river once.

Road side attraction: Check.

It did rain a LOT. The whole trip, as I mentioned. But it was great to get to my parent's home and have some dinner. And although I didn't really eat anything and went to bed with a fever, I was happy to be there.

(To be continued in What Washington is Good For (part 2))

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow

No really...we need more snow. It dumped on us a few weekends back, but now we are back to dry. Last winter was a joke, precipitation wise. So, we really need the moisture this year to make up for it. I had heard that there would be more snow, but I haven't seen any sign of it.

But going back to that one snowy weekend, it was fun to let the kids go out and romp. Of course, it is always a huge process getting everyone ready to go.

But if you are dressed right, then you can do silly things like lie down in the snow and wave your arms and legs back and forth. (Who doesn't like doing that?)

We sent everyone out at once, so all the wiggles could escape.

We have winter gear that passes from one child to the next, but you can notice that we haven't acquired snow pants in June's size yet. Her next choice of snow pants is interesting, and probably pretty cold.

Daisy spent a lot of time cleaning off the bench, so she could sit there and look cute. (Mission accomplished.)

Robyn dutifully made a snowman, and I am thinking that she takes after her mother in this department. And in case you're wondering, I have YET to build a decent snowman. (Don't hold your breath). I lightly outlined the snowman in photoshop so you can see him.

I like how some of the kids chose to warm up. If you can get your feet warm, most likely, the rest of your body will follow.

Tyler took all those pictures. I tend to hide inside and watch the snow. But not this year. I was smart enough to plan to run a race on the storm weekend. Here I am stretching and getting ready to run the Draper Crazy Course.

It was really cold. And whereas, in those pictures, it looks pretty clear and nice....where I actually ran the race, it snowed the entire time. There was a mile stretch where the snow was blowing directly into my face. The flakes were piling up on my eyelashes. The course was a bit longer than a 5K. It was charted to be 3.3 miles and it went over all sorts of terrain: large fields, railroad tracks, muddy hills, forested trails. It was really fun to run, even with all the snow.

My feet were soaked by the end. My time was 35:30 which was about a 10:45 pace. I feel pretty good about that considering the weather. McKenzie was there running with me. I have to admit, it is nice to have company when you are freezing.

But since that weekend, no snow around here. Let's hope we have a white Christmas coming.

Jett Family

Another family I got to photograph recently was the Jett's. They are the sweetest family. And they have increased by one since our last shoot.

Their new baby girl was born quite early, but she is doing fabulous and is quite darling. Her newness necessitated an indoor shoot, but I think they turned out well. Enjoy.

Geddes Family

I have backed way off any photography ambitions this year. I am just too busy to really focus on it. But I have had a chance to do a few photo shoots here and there. I love each of them and I learn something each time.

I took photos for a cute one-year old, Maisy. I learned that I need a little more space to step back and get a better background effect, but sometimes you work with what you have. I still loved so many of them. Here are a few of my favorites:

Then I went out the next day and got pictures of her whole family. I love this family. And their older daughter had the most expressive face. It was a fun shoot:

Oddly, every time I go out and take pictures of other families, I am reminded that I need to get our family pictures taken. I just need to clone myself...then I can take my own pictures.

The Fabulous Lost Mustache Shoot

Well hello there...where have you been?? Wait, it is ME who has been gone. Okay, I admit. I took a siesta. I did all sorts of fun things and some...not so fun things. And I am back. But I have not had any time to get ready to tell you about all my adventures. Instead, I have been putting up the Christmas tree, unpacking, and trying to get back into the swing of normal life. But I don't want to leave you in the cold any longer. After all, I am well aware of my blogging drought. (I told you there was no chance I would blog every day this month, but this is almost the opposite extreme.)

So I need to give you something fabulous to look at while I organize my thoughts and photos. And I have just the thing. Back when I took Ivory's pictures (way back when) we also put on mustaches and did a little photo shoot. I loved the pictures oh so much and I immediately took one and put in on as my header. (This is where you go visit my actual blog if you have not seen the green mustache header. And shame on you for using Google reader so much if you haven't seen it because that header is quite old now.) BUT, I got so excited about making the header, that I never put on the REST of the pictures. And there are some great ones. I am actually a little surprised at myself.

But they are the perfect thing for this blogging interlude. So sit back, get in the Irish spirit and enjoy some stachy photos. (I should apologize now. Pearl was sleeping, so she is not featured. This was back in the blessed day when she still took naps.)

That last one there reminds me of Oscar the Grouch. We sure had a lot of fun. I bet you can tell. And I hopefully will get some other posts on here soon. After all, we Cazier's are always up to something.