Busy Thanksgiving weekend

Pics posted soon I promise!

What a crazy weekend. Thanksgiving was nice. It was just the four of us. A wonderful smoked turkey from Stan's BBQ in Issaquah, and standard turkey day fare. Lots of mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie mainly! We don't usually say a "blessing" before eating; but the boys had seen it done in the movie "Christmas Vacation". So, Garrett wanted to try - "God, thank you for all of our wonderful food, not just this one but all of them, and thank you for our loving family. And, thank you for you God. Amen." Cutest thing ever! So sweet.

I went shopping VERY early...3:30 AM...on Black Friday. Totally struck out at ToysRUS (waste of time). Woke up early just to get there before 4:00 am. Not only were they out of the Ipod Touch I was looking for, the boys are out of toy-age and there wasn't anything else there that I wanted. After all that, I left empty handed. Did pretty well at Target, Fred Meyer, Michaels, Office Depot and Bed, Bath and Beyond. I'll hopefully pick up anything else we need online!

When I got home we packed up and went to the Christmas Tree farm. We only had to look for about 30 minutes or so to find our tree. It was a bit "smallish" for my taste (see last year's post!), but it's very pretty. Both boys loved it so it was definitely THE ONE! Santa was there so the boys got to visit with him and mom got pictures. Nathan didn't really want to...but he did it for me, and for Garrett who didn't want to go alone. Garrett asked for "999 zillion dollars, but if you can't do that, then a motor scooter." Nathan said "Anything is fine, you can make it surprise." We brought our new tree home and started hanging lights and Christmas decorations. If I had my way our house would be COVERED in white lights just like the Griswolds in Christmas Vacation. Quinn got us pretty close. :)

On Saturday we headed out early for the B8 High School Football State Semifinals in Kennewick. Cusick HS, where Quinn went to school, was playing. His friend Roy's little brother Sonny is their headcoach, and our nephew Aaron is on the team (although he is sidelined with an ACL injury). It was a heartbreaker of a game. We played well but had a few costly turnovers, the other team was very good, and then the killer was a VERY bad call in the third quarter when we had finally brought the score to within two. The official negated a touchdown and took the ball all the way back to midfield. Totally turned the game around. VERY sad. They been so close now the last two years. We were looking forward to having a house full of friends and family next weekend and watching Cusick win the State Championship at the Tacoma Dome - maybe next year! :)

Sunday was very relaxing. We got nearly all of the holiday decorations up before Nathan had to go to basketball practice. Afterward we watched Polar Express, drank hot cocoa and put decorations on the Christmas tree. A WONDERFUL end to a great holiday weekend.

It is what it is...

Had to post this picture. It's my favorite from a recent backyard photo shoot Aren't they sweet (and handsome!).

I would love to update our blog every week. I REALLY, REALLY want to update every week. BUT...I don't. The farther I get in between posts, the harder it is to sit down and write. It's like I get so far behind that the thought of doing it is too daunting. But, here I am. Hopefully this will be the first of many in the next few weeks. Pretty silly to set this type of goal during the holidays though! :)

UPDATES (in no particular order)...





My 40th birthday! UGH! I don't really feel any different. :) Quinn and the boys took me to The Crabpot in Kirkland for dinner on my birthday; and then threw me a great party at home with lots of good food and family that weekend. We lucked out with weather and had a great time. Quinn also took a day off of work and helped me completely redecorate my scrapbooking room - new paint, new furniture, new layout. I LOVE IT!!! Best present ever. It makes me so happy. I really love him!Will post picture of the new room soon.





We spent our first solo week at Peterson's Waterfront in Chelan. We go every year with the Grigg side of the family (about 30 of us) in July. But, we bought a second week in a ground floor unit at the end of August for just us. It was AMAZING!! Grandma Lorrie spent the first 4 days there with us. Then Nater and I drove back on Tuesday so he could attend his middle school orientation (still CANNOT believe he is in middle school - more about that in a minute). We brought his friend Jack back with us. It was really fun for Nathan and Garrett to have a friend on vacation with us. Lots of relaxing, swimming, eating and playing. We rented a boat and took the boys inner-tubing, skiing, wakeboarding and kneeboarding. We also rented a floating trampoline. And, of course we went to Slidewaters.



Both boys played soccer. Garrett's team was the Purple Strikers. Garrett did great for his first year of outdoor soccer. He didn't know any of the other kids on the team but made friends quickly. He had so much fun every game and was really good. He has a really, really strong kick. He was also a really good goalie but didn't like getting scored on so he tried to avoid that position when he could.

Quinn co-coached Nathan's team, the Snoqualmie Devils, with Winston. Nathan had a great soccer season. He is getting so good. He really wanted to play forward but was so good and valuable in the mid-field that he and his friend Casey spent most of their time there. Nathan was our corner kick king and even scored on a corner kick during our last game. This year the team participated in the President's Cup tournament. We hadn't done that before. It was SO fun. We made it past the first two rounds but lost a heartbreaker in the quarter finals. In that last game we were definitely the better team on the field but couldn't get the ball in. Unfortunately, the other team scored during the final minute of the game. It was really the only time they got close to our goal and they snuck it in. We had a great group of boys and families on the team this year and it was by far the most fun I've had on the sidelines. Can't wait for Spring soccer!



Nathan played flag football this fall too. He wasn't going to but this was the last time Winston was going to coach and he really wanted Nater on his team. Quinn helped him coach. The team, the Rick Marshalls, won all but one regular season game. Most by mercy rule. They won the first of two championship games pretty handily but were down by 12 at half in the final game. Winston and Quinn moved Nathan to rusher on defense (in addition to full-time offense) and he was amazing. It was the turning point in the game. The other team's main receiver was at least a foot taller than all the other kids. But, with Nate putting pressure on the QB, the poor kid couldn't get the ball off. It was awesome!



FIRST GRADE AND MIDDLE SCHOOL!!! Garrett started his first full year at CVES in Ms. Kappen's first grade class. He was SO excited. He still feels like he should be in second grade (we kept him in Kindergarten for two years since he's a late summer baby!). But he's adjusting well, he's crazy smart and is reading SO good. His favorite book right now is Diary of a Wimpy Kid. It's the first book that he reads voluntarily, not because he has to for "reading minutes"!

Nathan started middle school this year. What a HUGE change. Eight classes a day, all with different teachers. He chose band as his elective and is sticking with the saxophone. He's getting really good. Nathan gets to take the bus to school with a bunch of his buddies but he has to leave the house at 6:45 am. That was a HUGE change for him. He just got his first trimester report card and got straight A's!!!!! :)

I'm sure I've missed tons that's happened since July; but now for more recent stuff...



Halloween - Garrett dressed up as a zombie punk rocker, with full-on face make-up and everything. Scary, but really cute! He went trick-or-treating with Owie and Stuart and then handed out candy at Grandma Lorrie's house. Nathan dressed up in a Scream bleeding mask with one of his black robes from a past year. This was the first year he got to go trick-or-treating without adult supervision. He went with three of his buddies and then went to a sleepover at his friend Jack's house. Quinn stayed home to hand out candy (and watch the USC vs. Oregon game!). And, the night before Halloween Quinn and I went to a charity costume party at the TPC club dressed as Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne. Great friends, great cause, and lot of fun!! Plus, I think our costumes were pretty cool too!





Cool pics from a recent trip to the bike park. Nathan signed up for a mountain bike club through his middle school this fall. It was put together by the same group that ran his Compass Adventure Camp this summer. He is becoming a crazy good bike rider.

This time of year always goes so fast...

Spring break....graduation....summer camp....Lake Chelan...

I swear mid-May to July just flies every year. It happens the same way every time. Then once we get into summer time our schedules get crazy busy, every weekend full. Either camping, travelling or playing. We've already been to Lake Wenatchee and we're heading out to Lake Chelan on Friday.

Since my last post things have been crazy - but here are the highlights...

Quinn chaperoned a field trip to Mount Saint Helens with Nathan's 5th grade class. He had a great time hanging out with Nathan and his friends; but HATED the 2.5 hour school bus ride (both ways!).

Nathan graduated from 5th grade. He'll be heading to middle school next year. Seems strange to me. He seems so young to be making that move. When I was his age, middle school didn't start until 7th grade. Luckily, he's really excited about it all. The kids get to choose one elective and he chose band. He plays a wicked saxophone!

Garrett graduated from Kindergarten. He is beyond ready to hit 1st grade. Because he is a July birthday, we had him do Kindergarten twice. He's going to sail through with flying colors!

Garrett and Nathan are spending the days this summer at Camp Terry. It is a wonderful outdoor YMCA camp in Preston on the Snoqualmie River. This is Nathan's 4th year at this camp and Garrett's first. He was a little nervous; but it helped that his big brother and buddy Ben were both there. They are both having a blast!

We went camping at Lake Wenatchee. It was wonderful. Great weather, not too many mosquitoes. A freak no-rain thunderstorm kept us from fishing Saturday afternoon, but we had sun all day on Sunday. The boys both caught two, I caught one and daddy got skunked (he took it pretty well though since we all had fun).

On the Fourth of July we spent most of the day at Richmond Beach with Jeff, Ging, Owen, Stuart, Grandma Lorrie and Jeff's parents. The weather was great, food was awesome and other than Stuart accidently throwing a huge shovel full of sand right in Garrett's eyes (SO scary - I thought for sure we were going to spend the afternoon at the ER with all the people out there that had already blown off limbs and digits with fireworks!), but Garrett was SO SO SO brave. We had to pour water in his eyes for over half and hour just to get it all out. He went right back to playing the sand and water! Nathan spent the entire afternoon skimboarding. He's amazing. He did great. Especially since Richmond Beach is pretty rocky and not really made for skimboarding.

This weekend was pretty laid back. We went to a birthday party at the splash park in Redmond for our friends Terry and Winston's two boys, Spencer and Cooper. It was 91 degrees out and we stayed outside all day. Today has been off and on rainy and overcast. We've spent the day cleaning, doing laundry and getting ready to vacation next week.

We're heading out for Chelan on Friday. I'll have LOTS of pictures to post when I get back (last year I took over 700!).

Here are some pics of the last few weeks...

CAMPING AT LAKE WENATCHEE

Q cooking dinner. Camping food is my FAVORITE!


Nater and Garrett roasting hot dogs

Me and the boys

Quinn and his PBR!

GARRETT'S KINDERGARTEN GRADUATION

So sweet...getting way too big!

Garrett getting his diploma

Garrett and Nater!

Garrett and his buddy Ben

Me and Bubba

4TH OF JULY AT RICHMOND BEACH

Owie trying to skimboard like his cousin Nathan.

Sweet Stuey!

Garrett collecting shells - he picked up EVERY one he could find - including the dead crab parts.

Nathan spent the entire afternoon skimboarding - he was awesome!





Uncle Jeff and Auntie Ging

Stu and Garrett ate almost an entire bowl of strawberries and watermelon - a huge bowl!

Memorial Day weekend and the end of sports season...

We had a very busy Memorial Day weekend. We headed out Friday morning at nine for Glenwood (yes, we pulled the kids out of school - Garrett was very excited that he was getting to "skip" school.) Cousin Brooke came with us too. I think spending time with her was the boys' favorite part of the whole trip. We got to the hotel around 1:00 pm and then headed over to the Glenwood cemetery to plant flowers and wait for Sonya and her family to arrive. The cemetery there is always so beautiful and peaceful. We spent an hour or so there and then headed back with John, Sonya and the kids for pizza dinner. The next day was beautiful and we headed out the cemetery again (after an awesome breakfast at the cafe at the Shady Tree Inn). I couldn't believe it but ALL of Quinn's brothers and sisters made it. They haven't all been together in one place at one time in over 5 years! It was great. We spent a few hours together and then had to head out.



When we got home we headed out to a few local spots to take senior pictures for Brooke. They turned out beautifully.


This week was also the end of soccer and baseball for the boys. They both had great seasons. Nathan played with older kids, on a bigger team and a much larger field. The loved getting to play forward but his sweet spot is midfield. He did great and had so much fun with the new team. Garrett played his first year of coach pitch baseball and loved it. He wasn't a big fan of the T. He is a slugger. He makes contact on the first or second pitch every time. Today he sent one way over the second baseman's head far into the outfield. His favorite position to play is third base. He loves when he gets to throw the ball all the way to first. Part of me is sad that spring sports are over but I'm SO happy that our weekends are free now for camping!!! We're heading to Fish Lake the weekend of the 12th, and back to Glenwood for fishing on Father's Day weekend.



And...we FINALLY got the new sport court in!!! YAY!!!! It turned out even better than we expected. We still need to get the fence put up and some fill dirt and bark work done around the borders of the court but it is awesome. The boys love it. Yesterday and today they spent the entire afternoon going back and forth between basketball and the water slide. What a GREAT weekend.


Nathan also had a solo in the 5th grade concert this week - "Oh Susanna"! He did GREAT! He wasn't nervous and belted it out perfectly and in tune!