Cheap Christmas

Do you want to impress with a big present but not spend much money? How about no money? (This method does require a credit card, but don't worry you won't end up spending a cent) First of all you need to be a good detective...find out what an out of town relative is buying for your hubby (In my case it was an electric razor--but I didn't have to do the detective work, it was purely coincidence). After you know what expensive gift your out of town relative is sending your hubby, buy him the exact same thing (this is where the credit card comes in). Make sure he opens your gift first. He'll be so happy you were so thoughtful. When the duplicate is opened (the one from the relative) act very surprised. Its ok, you say, I'll return the one I bought since we don't know where our relative bought this gift and it would be too much trouble to mail it back. Is there anything else you want from (the store you bought it from) It helps if this store is not an interesting store...in my case it was Hi-School Pharmacy...this technique would not have worked as well if the gift was from REI. Hubby will say "No" and you get your money back and he still has the gift....brilliant!!!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas has come and gone and I haven't posted since early November. tsk tsk.  Here are a few highlights of the past several weeks.

It snowed! (barely)

We got new wood floors and adopted a stray dog.


Our Gingerbread house decorating party with lots of cousins, candy and creativity!


Merry Christmas!

My little boy...

Last Saturday we were cleaning house. Ethan was having a hard time doing what he was asked to do. He was too tired, stomach ached...etc. all the usual get out of job complaints. Finally I took him by the hand and we emptied trash cans and cleaned the kitty litter box together. As I was instructing him on how to put a plastic trash bag liner in the can he sweetly asked, "Do I have to learn how to do this in case I never get married?" No, no my dear, you have to learn how to do this so you can be a responsible adult, clean up after yourself, not live in a pig pen and help your future wife...

The Haunted House by Marah Christenson

I can see a house on the hill.
A door creaks. An owl hoots.
I hear wings flutter. It might be bats.
I can almost feel the creepiness and the silence
around me.

I walk closer.

I walk so close that I have to stop.
I can go no further.
I look up, scared.

The house is covered in spider webs!
The house needs serious cleaning. (I think.)

Creak.

I look around.
I see the door, its scary knocker.
It opens. A little.
Something grips the door. And I scream,
"HAUNTED HOUSE!"

Drumroll please...My orange kitchen!

I finally got the clutter off my countertops so that I could have Mike take photos of the kitchen. What do you think of the color?

They just grow up too fast

They say time flies when you are having fun. Well it flies when you are tired, busy, and moving, too. In the past three months my newborn has turned into an adorable 3 month old. And yes I have had fun with her but it just goes by too fast.

Happy Birthday Abigail!

Abby is three years old! She loves dancing, reading stories, making silly faces, eating butter, frosting and sugar in any form, kissing Amelia's cheeks, and anything that is the color pink. Here are a few snapshots of her big day.

Helping make her "Horsey Cake" (that means adding a few ingredients, and more importantly being the taste tester :)


This is her "Horsey Cake" In case you can't tell it is a green flowered pasture with horses in it.


New clothes...so cute!

Something New in the Neighborhood

New thing #1: Moving to Oregon
Since I last posted we have packed our belongings in a big yellow truck and moved to Oregon. We are still in the middle of unpacking and making our new house "ours" but so far everyone is happy with the move.
Here is a photo of our front room. ( More photos of the house to follow soon.)


New thing #2: Amelia is 2 months old
I have had several requests for photos of Amelia. She is growing so much. She loves to eat and sleep and inbetween those two favorite activities she gets lots of attention from adoring siblings...and parents too.


New thing #3: I canned grape juice!
My cousin Lisa and I canned 59 quarts of grape juice. Here are some of the grapes...yummy!


New thing #4: Toothless grins!

September 11th

On my Dad's birthday I thought I would list some reasons I love my Dad.
1. He loves scuba diving
2. He is a hard worker and self motivator
3. He teaches himself how to do things
4. He can do anything with one hand
5. He is a wonderful story teller
6. He loves backbacking
7. He taught me how to drive
8. He let me go to UC Berkeley
9. He has great powers of concentration...just try to get his attention when he is thinking. :)
10. He loves my children
11. He loves my mom

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!

Comparison Test

People are always asking me who Amelia looks like. Unfortunately I don't have digital photos of all my kids as newborns so here is a comparison of Abigail and Amelia.




Can you tell a difference?

My new baby sisser...

Amelia Jane

On Saturday, July 14th our Amelia Jane was born. Here are a few pictures of our little angel.

We're Goin' to Jackson, WY

Last month we all piled in the stage and headed to Jackson, WY:

We saw real live buffalo,

and made friends with a cute little chipmunk.

We saw geysers, steam vents, mudpots galore,

and we did lots of hiking.

Thanks Kat and Ben for letting us stay with you...we had a great time!

Bride with Attitude

My mom was cleaning out closets and gave me my wedding dress to take home to my closet. Abby found the veil and this is what happened...







We'll have to save these to display at her wedding someday.

My Turn!

This is me

A) Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. Receptionist/Odd job doer at FES
2. Security Monitor at Stern Hall, UCBerkeley
3. Babysitter
4. Apartment Manager

B) Four movies I could watch over and over:
1. Enchanted April
2. Pride and Prejudice (any version)
3. Anne of Green Gables
4. What's Up Doc?

C) Four places I have lived:
1. Newbury Park, CA
2. Berkeley, CA
3. El Sobrante, CA
4. Fremont, CA

D) Four television shows I watch: (disclaimer: we don't have cable or an antennea so I used to watch...)
1. Seinfeld
2. A Baby Story
3. Zaboomafoo (this is when Marah was little, although the Kratt brothers were pretty cute...:)
4. ???

E) Four places I have gone on vacation:
1. Spain
2. Hawaii
3. Puerto Morelos, Mexico
4. Upstate NY

F) Four websites I visit almost daily:
1. Blogger
2. Church website
3. Google search
4. craigslist

G) Four of my favorite foods:
1. ice cream: Grandma Smith's homemade vanilla, pistachio, pecan praline, Haagen Daaz chocolate peanutbutter, are some of my faves
2. Pho (Vietnamese soup)
3. Boti Wrap (cubed lamb wrapped in Indian naan bread with a delicious onion and cilantro sauce) Sadly the restaurant where I used to get these has closed. :(
4. anything with pineapple (Hawaiian pizza, African Peanut Pineapple stew, pineapple upside down cake, etc.)

H) Four places I'd rather be right now:
1. the beach
2. hiking somewhere beautiful
3. Oregon...picking blackberries, yum, yum
4. visiting my Mom and Dad

I) Four people I tag:
1. MaryAnn McFarland
2. Megan Wilson
3. Kristi Smith
4. Carolyn Matthews

Happy Easter

Here are our adorable children in their Easter best. Judging by her smile, I think Abby has had enough candy!

Abby is Free

When Abby fell and broke her leg she went through many emotions. Pain...

anger...

frustration...

and disbelief that she had to keep that thing on her leg for 5 weeks.

But now her leg is all better and this is how she feels...

In fact she feels like a new woman, like Super Abby!

Sunol Wilderness

Sunday was a beautiful spring day and we decided to spend the afternoon enjoying nature. We went to the Sunol Wilderness area. It's hard to believe we're only 20 minutes from our house when we are there. It feels like we're way out in the country.
Here are some photos of our adventures.