Snowed In, (well for Bellingham Standards anyway!)

I was at work on Monday and Tuesday and we've been getting the forecast that we'll get a bit of snow. Not sure what they meant by that, but now I know.

I am glad that I drove across town to the grocery store on Monday and Tuesday after work, (making me late to pick up Grace at Daycare on Tuesday!). I picked up the essentials and a movie to get us through the "snow storm" that was for told.

Well today it's Friday and I haven't left the house since Tuesday, except for a stroll out our backyard to make snow angels with Grace. I am getting cabin fever and have a ton of things to do before our big family Christmas. I have not bought a thing for Christmas dinner and am still sending out more X-mas cards as I type. Bob, our wonderful mailman, has been an angel, taking my envelopes and packages without complaints. I need to get him something nice for X-mas, do you think he'd like a massage? Our mailbox has been knocked off it's post by the snowplow, and since they are still plowing like mad we've deemed it futile to put it back up anytime soon.

Anyway, so my hubby is in a crabby mood cause there is sooooo much to do and so little time. Employees that are unprepared for the weather, customers that are whiny and don't want to pay, computers that work too slow, phones that don't work at all or drop calls, 50,000 voice mails to check, bills to pay, gifts to buy, etc, etc, etc. I'm sure you have your own story...

I'm off to finish wrapping presents (given that the big brown UPS truck can make it here today as promise!), writing the last of my Christmas cards and planning our dinner. I'm sure there's more on the list, but for now that seems daunting enough...

All right, all right...

I know it's been forever. Believe me, I've had every intention of blogging more, but life just kind of got in the way. I even took several random photos just to post on the blog but I just didn't get around to it.

Anyway, I guess I'll just post them now...here we go.

In the past month we've made some snowman pancakes, gone for fast food at Burger King and crowned Queen Grace, washed Ben's Truck, finished out Grace's Soccer season, had Oma & Opa down for a quick visit and much, much more.

We spent Thanksgiving in Winthrop with the In-laws. We had boys going to shoot at the gunrange, cousins playing guns with legos, Mom's relaxing wiht a good book or playing a computer game, spirited games of cards; Grandpas, Uncles and Nephews competing in a heated game of Ping Pong, and much more. I played around with my camera settings and caught this cool shot of Adam. Doesn't it look like the invisible man playing? I love this shot.

The rest of the photos taken at Thanksgiving were mainly for the Gratitude Album I put together from last year's Treasury kit. I tried to get everyone to fill out their "what are you grateful for" page. With mixed results.

For dinner this year we decided to try something different and we headed out to Sun Mountain Lodge. In theory it was a great idea, no cooking, no dishes, no leftovers to store away, and so on. But then we got to thinking and I think Thanksgiving is still best at home. It would have been fabulous to have leftover stuffing, cranberry sauce and such. Although, my dear Mother-In-Law did bake a turkey breast for sandwiches, bless her heart and slaved away baking some awesome pumpkin pies. Since it was Adam's 16th birthday on the 17th and he always asks for his favorite, we sang "Happy Birthday" and ate Pumpkin Pie. It was a lot of fun. Now it's back to reality and looming Christmas deadlines....

Look what I did today!

As my parents are over for a quick weekend visit we spent some time at home. During the Seahawks - Dolphins Football game I set up me little craft table in the living room. But today, unlike my usual scrapbook stuff, I pulled out and dusted off my long neglected sewing machine. There was a time, long, long ago, before I scrapbooked, when this little baby got a workout every week. Believe it or not, I used to sew anything and everything from boxer shorts, to sundresses, overalls and Halloween costumes. But since I got addicted to scrapbooking it's been a long time since I've used my machine for something other than sewing on a layout.

So a while ago I took Grace to Jo-Ann's fabric store and she helped me pick out some fun fabric, thread and color coordinated buttons. It was funny, since we happened to run into Elizabeth with her two boys, Jackson & Thomas, who were shopping for Halloween costume fixin's.

Well to make a long story short, I spent a couple of hours with my sewing machine and after fiddling with the settings and the bobbin housing falling apart in mid seam, I created this:

What do you think? Do I still "got it"?

Belated Update on our Pumpkin Patch Visit...

OK, here it goes. I am a BAD blogger, I am a BAD blogger, I am a BAD blogger. I promise to punish myself more later, (wait I have about 6 loads of laundry waiting for me, that should be sufficient punishment, don't you think?)

After our unsuccessful attempt to visit Stoney Ridge last time we finally got our turn. Thinking that crowds should be significantly less on a weekday versus a Saturday we headed there on Friday morning. What a surprise when we pulled up only to fight our way through at least a half a dozen school buses, some Mom's groups and other organized people that were at the Patch on a weekday. What were they thinking?

The weather was perfect, not too sunny, not too bright, just right for taking pictures.

Grace had a fun time petting and feeding the animals. Even though it was pretty crowded she had one of the kids working the pens take out a bunny to let her pet it. Unfortunately Daddy was a little slow on the trigger so we didn't get a picture of that.

Evidently the talk we had before heading out took root. Because at every junction where there was a photo op Grace would willingly stand and pose for us. Whether it was by a display of baby pumpkins, out in the pumpkin patch, at a silly cutout where you put your face through, the pumpkin tree, truck or the bicycle, she was ready willing and able. So we have quite a few photos that turned out nice this year. What a change from trying to escape and flee the scene when she was smaller.

When we hit the patch she headed straight for the field of tiny pumpkins that the farm had prepped for the school kids visits. No messing around with the vines and having to tromp through he muddy field. Miss Grace knew exactly which pumpkin she wanted and headed straight for it...this one was it!

We even took time to stop in for some cider donuts, an apple pull-apart, apple cider, coffee, chocolate milk, Apple & Pumpkin Pie with Ice-cream and whipped cream. YUMMY!

I think we may have to check them out at Christmas time for a tree. Their flyer advertises a live nativity scene including "Moses" the camel. Would they need a permit to keep a camel, I wonder?

Weekend Report

Well, where do I start?

Last weekend we ended up down at the river trying to catch some fish. MArtin's friend Jim came over with his son Kirby and a friend. We all trekked down the path to the Nooksack hoping for some dinner. Unfortunatly the only one who caught anything was me, on the first cast no doubt. It was feisty and after having instructions shouted at me on how to pull it in, then put it back into the water so it wouldn't die, not to hold the rod but the line, etc. I sweetly asked my husband to take a photo. So he did, and a good thing too, since the darn fish thrashed so hard it snapped the line and took the lucky lure with it into the river. So that's all we have, a photo, no fish for dinner....

I spent the weekend at an overnight crop with some girls from the store. It was a blast. I got way more done than I thought and even won the grand prize to boot. Well, technically my Survivor tribe won the contest and then Cheryl, the organizer, drew my name for the grand prize. Thanks girls you rock.

Then today I finally managed to finagle husband and step-son into a family outing to the pumpkin patch. Except when we got there the sign said CLOSED! What's up with that? We weren't the only ones that had to turn around and head back home...strange!

So instead we spent the day going out to the Rusty Wagon for breakfast, napping, mowing some lawn, washing trucks, scrapping and watching lots and lots of football.

Grace's First Ever Soccer Practice

After numerous requests from Oma and others I am finally putting up some pictures of my new superstar. She loves it sooooo much, her first question in the morning, (after "Can you fix me something to eat?") is "when is my next game?"

Grace is now an official member of the Jaguars, the YMCA's 3 & 4 year old soccer team. All the players received a cool (if somewhat large) blue T-shirt which they all wear with pride. Their coach is Christa and she is the coolest...as you can tell by the adoring looks the kids give her. They learned how to dribble, which in 3/4 year old language is "kicking the ball using baby steps", how to stop the ball using your foot (Gracie is still working on this one, I personally think she may be destined to be the goalie. LOL), and how to play Red Light/Green Light using this new technique.
My wonderful boss Elizabeth just happens to have her two boys enrolled in the same program. So her youngest, Thomas, is part of Grace's team. I think there is some budding romance going on... Grace has officially been adopted into Thomas' circle of friends and she is thrilled to tell anyone who will listen that she is playing soccer with her friends Jackson and Thomas. Most strangers just give her weird looks, but family and friends are quickly informed of who these two budding soccer stars are.

Next Saturday's practice is going to be Picture Day. I think I am more excited than Grace.

Birthday Update...

I finally had some time to download these photos so I can publish this post I've had saved for over a week, and then my computer crashed. Wouldn't you know it...so here we try for the third time.

Just wanted to post some photos and give a big shout out to my darling In-laws who sent me the most beautiful bouquet of flowers. It was delivered by a sweet elderly couple who pulled into our driveway the night before my birthday and were arguing about whether or not they were in the right place. It was really cute. The flowers are soooo pretty, with a little sprinkle of glitter on them and a sweet butterfly tucked into the center. I am sure the pictures don't do it justice.

Lisa at work was soooo sweet to get me some Halloween decorations. Must've been all the whining I did about not knowing where my stuff was still siting in boxes somewhere. Thanks Lisa. When I came home after work my hubby had gotten me more flowers and put them in various places around the house. Beautiful pink roses and gorgeous gladiolas, even a little vase for Grace. Then he had arranged this whole little display of cards, flowers, gifts and food. What more could a girl want?

The sushi was divine and he won't tell me where he got it. It was waaay cheap, so if you know of any good, inexpensive places in town please fill me in. I could eat sushi every day the rest of my life.

Crisis Averted - Blanket Found!

This could've been the headline in our family newsletter after this past week and a half. Grace had misplaced her yellow blanket and it was a major disaster at our house. She asks for this blankie everytime she is tired, not feeling 100% or just needing a little comfort. So when all of a sudden we were unable to locate this precious blanket anywhere she was devastated. Martin & I really did look all over the house and were not able to find it. We even checked in various cupboards, footstools and cabinets, to no avail. Sometimes Miss Grace likes to hide things in these unlikely places, but not her blankie.

It turned out to be in the dirty laundry pile, waaaaay down on the bottom. Guess I was a little behind with the was that week. **insert guilty grin here**

But all is well again in the LaVergne household, the blanket has been located and family peace has been re-established.

BTW - If anyone comes across a yellow satin trimmed blanket (I found this one at Target!) please feel free to purchase it. We are apparently in dire need of a back up blankie. Thanks in advance...

Visit to the Navy!

That's what Grace says when we ask her about our recent trip to Chicago. On September 4th we packed up the family and headed east to attend my step-son Ben's graduation from Basic Training. I had never been in that area before so I asked for my friend Jeanne's advice before booking hotel rooms and such. We ended up staying at a Residence Inn by Marriott in an industrial part of town, which was nice and quiet, yet close to the Naval base where we picked Ben up every day.
We arrived late on the Thursday night and picked up our rental vehicle, (which by the way was a full size van due to the fact that Ben's uncle Matt & his son Oscar, and Ben's mom Pam joined us on this trip!) shortly after midnight. Martin, thinking ahead, had packed our GPS unit to help us navigate around the Chicago area. Well, it took almost two hours to drive to the hotel and let me tell you, the neighborhoods we drove through were pretty scary. We kept trying to figure out what these blue lights were that we saw mounted high up on streetlight poles. Adam thought they were for the cops to catch people running red lights. Well, let me tell you from the looks of these neighborhoods that was the least of their worries. I think they were some sort of security feature, cause we were in "THE HOOD" man.
After catching just a few hours of shut eye it was up and at 'em bright and early in order to get seats at the ceremony. You see the Navy only guaranteed us 4 seats per family (kids under 12 didn't count!) but everyone else was first come, first served. After sitting in traffic for over an hour and then being herded out of our vehicles to be briefed over a loudspeaker system on how not to behave on base, our van was searched, our ID's scrutinized and then we were on our way. The ceremony itself was pretty impressive. There were over 1000 Graduates and a few of these flunked out during the actual graduation ceremony. Imagine spending over two grueling months training and working your heinie off and then passing out just minutes from reaching your goal. These guys (and gals) literally collapsed in front of thousands of people and now have to start all over. What a bummer! I managed to catch some photos of Ben's Division which was the last to march into the hall. None of us could spot him, so I tried to sweep the whole division and did manage to catch one good one of him. It was a good thing I did cause Ben ended up standing right underneath the bleacher balcony we were sitting in, and we couldn't even see him the rest of the time!
After the ceremony was over we headed out and spent the day driving around with Ben. We visited the Bass Pro Shop, which is the coolest store I've been to in a long time. It's an outdoor hunting/fishing/camping/anything else you may need in life kind of deal. They have a full size pond/aquarium inside, an archery range, a shooting gallery, etc. Their clothing selection is amazing and the whole thing just puts REI to shame. Sorry! We then had some nourishment and headed out to the shore. Who'd have thought that there was sandy beach, warm water and beautiful waves on the shores of Lake Michigan? We found a gorgeous beach and just hung out for a bit. Ben had to be back on base each evening for 7:30 PM, so there was no time for late night outings.
Saturday we spent half the day in Chicago, while some of us visited Millennium Park, the Navy Pier and other tourist spots around the windy city. I really wish we would've had more time to look around and especially to take some more pictures. It seems like we hit the jackpot with the weather. Ben said it had been raining most of the week before we came and apparently started raining again the day we left. So that worked out great. Ben had duty that day at 4 PM so we had to have him back by around 3 PM, which gave us the evening off.
On Sunday Martin got up real early to drive Matt & Oscar to the O'Hare airport, as they had booked different flights and were leaving early that morning. Afterward he picked up Ben and we decided to try out sightseeing. We voted between the Botanical Gardens and the historical town of Antioch, and lookie here, the town (which just happened to have a scrapbook store recommended by my friend Jeanne!) won. So after traversing what seemed like maliciously planned construction, (we hit the freeway and were detoured for miles without an available exit ramp) we turned around in Wisconsin and headed back towards our goal. I'm sure we exceeded the 50 mile radius that Ben was supposed to stay within, but we won't tell if you won't.
Antioch was a surprise. The town was quaint to the point of being boring. Some shops were closed and the boys were not impressed. We headed to a local lake/park where we blew off some energy by goofing around on the swings. Poor Ben, all he could do was watch and push Grace "higher, higher!", since he was in full dress uniform and could not get it dirty. Then we headed into town to choose a restaurant for lunch. I had Martin drop me at "Hannah's" the infamous scrapbook store and told them I would meet up with them. Well, let me tell you, it's one of those "been there, done that" experiences. The store was great, large, more of a home decor and more store with a big scrapbook selection. However the gals working there were a bit slow on the uptake. It took me almost 1/2 hour to get some stupid ribbon cut, cause there was no yardstick/ruler/measuring tape, nor any scissors in their fabric/sewing department. Kind of strange if you ask me? Anyway, I met up with the group at an Italian joint which was nothing to write home about. How can you screw up lasagna? Well, their cook sure managed. It was all in all one of the most disappointing stops on the trip.
We made another quick trip to Starbucks (we found a nice one in Lake Forest, a really cute suburb) and bought Ben some "real" coffee. Apparently the Navy serves Folgers and he got spoiled at home. Martin popped into the Navy Exchange store and stocked up on the real thing, Navy branded workout gear. 100 percent polyester, no wonder they sweat up a storm. Go Recruits!
On a more serious note, we saw a lot of people come up to Ben and his classmates, to shake their hands and congratulate them on their choice. Many expressed gratitude and thanked them for their service. So remember that these fine young men and women serve for the whole country and they should be included in our prayers every day.

Who loves FREE stuff?

I do, I do, I do....and I'm sure many of you do too. So go ahead on check out this link:

Sweet Life in the Valley Blog.

These would look cute in long or short hair, don' t you think? And what girl doesn't need more gadgets? Check out the details at Heather's site.

I have been eyeing these puppies since my BFF Megan linked Heather Bailey's site for her fund fabrics. Would you love to get your hands on a set? So send her an e-mail with Trash Ties in the Subject line and which ones you would like to try out...

Good luck everyone.

Mt. Fuji Take 1 & 2

Well, remember my reference to Mt. Fuji the other day...well we've conquered most of the mountain. With a little help from my sweet sherpa Grace we sorted all the offending pieces by colors (well, mostly dark & light) and started to chip away.



I think I must've folded a gazillion towels today. I swear we didn't even own that many towels in our house. Also a tons and tons of undies, guess that's a good sign! LOL

With being in Winthrop and then Kelowna last weekend, and then Winthrop again this weekend it seems like we are never home long enough to get the job done. Since we are leaving again on Thursday I better get on it and finish this seemingly never-ending task.

Winthrop Weekend

Well, I didn't have plans to visit again, especially since we were just here last weekend...but the draw of the awesome Rocking Horse Bakery scones and Grandma's chock full currant bushes were just too strong. Guess Mt. Fuji and my latest scrapbook projects will just have to wait a day or two.

We arrived in Winthrop in the late afternoon and hit the garden right away. We picked, and picked and picked and picked...you get the picture. I have no idea how many pounds of berries we ended up having but it was a lot. Grace was a big help with rinsing and picking through them for bugs and leaves. I brought my much neglected juicer and we revved that puppy up... Appearantly my Mother-In-Law thought that I was going to go and de-stem all the berries and then boil them to make juice.??? Nahhhhh, just throw those puppies, stems and all, into my handy dandy BRAUN juicer. Thank God for good German engineering. LOL I made three batches and then had to quit as Grandpa was getting a little worried about when dinner was supposed to be. So I saved the last batch of juice and I will process it at home later. Grace had fun helping to put the berries into the juicer, licking the juice, stirring the pot and then of course taste-testing the whole thing in the end.

The jam turned out wonderful. I forgot how much fun it is to make your own and how yummy the end result is. Needless to say we'll be picking more berries and anything else I can get my hands on for more jam making sessions in the near future.

Almost Forgot...

my hubby wanted me to pass on this photo he texted to me this morning. He is up in Port Renfrew, BC on the west coast of Vancouver Island fishing with his buddy Jim and his son Adam.

I guess this is a record breaking catch as it's the biggest Salmon caught there this season. Adam caught it and it weighed in at 47 lbs, (that is 1 1/2 times as big as Grace!!!)

What a whopper, we'll be eating good for a while...

102 Posts...

wow, I just realized that 2nd last post was my 100th post on this blog. That's a lot, not as many as some people (Miss Julie), but still a lot.

I feel a lot better at having updated my blog, but even with the best of intentions I just don't seem to have the energy to finish my posts lately. Sorry for those of you who actually check my blog regularly.

My leg seems to be getting better. I took the steri strips off today and it's a nice scar, but what's 'nother one on MY legs. LOL

Here is a photo I took of Grace enjoying an Oreo cookie. She picked them out especially at Target for herself since I don't care for them.
We hit the Farmers' Market on Saturday morning and picked up some fresh carrots, corn, kohlrabi (if you've never had them check it out, love them!), and Gracie even turned down ice cream in favor of a chocolate milk from Starbucks. I spent the rest of the weekend limping around, doing a bit of chores, watering our flowers, trying to get some class samples completed for work and keeping out of the heat. Also did a bit of Olympic Games watching. Man, I miss my volleyball.

I think I must miss my hubby too, since I haven't even felt like digging into the treat I bought for myself. I got some yummy Mango Ice cream (low-fat of course!). But I just realized it's still sitting untouched in the freezer. Weird...

The Fair (Take Two)

So the first time we went to the fair for the second time this week. When we headed there on Monday we ran a bit late and didn't really have a chance to see any of the displays or the animals. So I promised Miss Gracie that I would take her again later during the week. Of course we had to wait for the hottest day of the year to go...what's up with that?

Anyway, we headed out around 2:30 in the afternoon since I had to have my leg massaged in the morning. I had the stitches removed on Thursday but have been dealing with a lot of muscle pain in the calf. I went in again to see the Doctor on Monday as the pain was so bad I had trouble sleeping. She said it was just tension and to take a painkiller and stretch. Well, the pain medication helped to a point but it was getting ridiculous. So I am still in a bit of pain, but have been icing and applying heat, that with the pain meds seems to get me through the day. Not sure when I'll be able to get back to the gym though...

Anyway, the fair... On the way to the fair Grace fell asleep in the car. So when we got there I got lucky enough to find a coveted spot in the shade. I had packed her stroller, which we really don't use anymore, but thought it may make things easier on my leg. Good thing, cause I loaded her in it and headed straight to Woods Coffee. They had wonderful A/C and of course I had to have a refreshing Avalanche while Grace slept. After about 30 minutes I decided to head into the fair grounds to see if she would wake up. Well, I think I made it through most of the indoor and outdoor commercial exhibits until she was awoken by a band playing on the small stage. We then set off to find the animals. Of course all Grace wanted to do by that time was hit the carnival rides. To our dismay we found that hey had taken out the dog/cat display barn and we had missed the dogs completely as they were there only till Wednesday. What a bummer. Anyway we saw the animals including the calf that had just been born on Monday night. Grace got to pet a few goats and cows, not so much luck at the horses. And I just couldn't convince her to pose with the llama for a photo for Grandma.

We ate some more junk food, (I am proud to say that I did not give in to the looming temptation of having a 2nd Funnel Cake!). Although I really wanted to. LOL


Grace got to choose three rides to go on, and the merry go round with the horses was her favorite. We got home very exhausted and tired that night and hit the hay pretty early.