DIY Growth Chart

I made a growth chart (finally!) for our family.  It has been in my head for well over a year, and I finally settled on an idea I liked, and purchased the few items I would need.  I liked it so much, that I also made one for a friend's baby shower and one for my sister for Christmas!  It looks great in the kids' room, and it's fun comparing their heights at various ages...I have a strong suspicion our little man isn't going to be the "little one" in the family forever. :)

Painting the wood decals.  It took a long time, but it was really simple.  I also painted the wooden letters for the title.

A sun, flower and dragonfly.

I traced the numbers with a stencil, and I drew all of the tick lines onto a piece of MDF board, which we spray painted white ahead of time (I know, these are all in random order..that's not the point! :)) I applied all of the wooden letters and decals with wood glue, and viola!

We ended up going back and cutting off a chunk of the top of this one, because let's be honest, our kids aren't going to be 6'7"!  I think it turned out great, and I'm really proud of this project!

Daddy loves his kids!

I am so blessed.  They make it all worth it.

Silly Fun!

Time to plow through several months of random, priceless pictures!  Here's the first batch.  Maddie and Geoffrey thought this was the most fun!

  Aww.  Siblings are the greatest!

A hot day at the stadium

On September 22, we went to the Oregon State vs. UCLA football game, held at the Rose Bowl!  It was a memory, that's for sure!  The best part was that OSU won!  The worst part was that the temperatures were hovering just under 100 degrees.  But what do you do when you bought tickets months ago and one of the teams is a family favorite?  You go, and make the best of it!

Going to a game at the Rose Bowl was on Brant's bucket list - check!

I couldn't be more happy that we were at a BEAVER football game! :)

Rosy cheeks, and the game hadn't even started yet...and so began a long 3 hours.

This picture was also taken before the game began.  Poor Geoffrey actually got heat exhaustion just 30 minutes into the game.  We got him cooled off as best we could, and then he napped for a majority of the second half.  Lucky me...he was asleep in my arms = crazy hot!  (For those questioning our parenting decisions...we were not able to actually leave the game because we were dropped off, and the friend with our car was in a meeting during the game, making him unavailable.  We made it and Geoffrey survived.)

"Go Beavers!!"

Maddie really had a lot of fun, and still talks about it whenever we see football or drive by the Rose Bowl.

What a trooper!

We won!

Fun day - now let's get out of this heat!!

For the record...

I'm having a complete block with blogger and my photo storage on my computer, in which I am unable to post any new blog posts with pictures.  I noticed this problem at the start of December, but with the holidays and traveling, had zero time to address it.  Now it is a new year and I'm even FURTHER behind on my blog posts.  But so much of what I blog about is with pictures.  So hang tight - I hope to be back soon!  I just have to figure out why I can't post anymore pictures on here, and fix it!!

Space Shuttle Endeavor

The kids and I witnessed an incredible moment of history last month.  We watched the Space Shuttle Endeavor fly over our heads on its journey to LAX.  We pulled over into a grocery store parking lot just in time to jump out of the car and get a few shots.  It was difficult to get pictures in the bright sunlight, while holding a 3 year old, and while simply trying to take it all in just by watching it.  I can say it was an incredible, incredible thing to be a part of.  The crowd cheered as the shuttle flew right over our heads, and Maddie was really excited! :)  I only wish I could have taken pictures of her face, along with the masses of people we were standing with.  A moment I will never forget.

Family visit in September!

I'm another month and a half behind on my blog.  Shocking, isn't it?  We'll just jump right in!

In mid-September, my mom, sister and kids came down for an extended weekend visit.  They arrived in the middle of our never-ending heat wave - the temps were hovering between 99-105 throughout the weekend, fun, eh?  Well, we made it fun!!

For one of our excursions together, we went bowling at 300 Pasadena.  It was a fun time, and a great way to beat the awful heat outside.  Here are a few highlights from the lanes!

Seriously, our best attempt at getting a group shot before the game.

Two cute blondies, just along for the ride.

Maddie is telling me about the bowling balls...I guess.

Sweet Benjamin.

Someone desperately wanted to play too.

My guys.

The other main excursion of our weekend, was a park-hopping trip over to California Adventure and Disneyland, which was great fun!  We experienced the newly renovated park, along with the highly anticipated Cars Land (Brant and I had been before, but my family had not), and we also enjoyed the fall/Halloween decor around the parks.  We all agreed it was a great day!

Sarah and her kids at Cars Land!

Love all of them.

Nothing like sister love.

Brant's first time on The Tower of Terror...

Not his most favorite ride.

Halloween Time at Disneyland

Grandma Kris and her grandkids!

Taking off on the Radiator Springs Racers!

Wohoo!  It really is a great ride!

Aren't they sweet?

Another little sweetie.