New Addition...

So, we decided we didn't have enough going on around here with two kids, and two cats so we got a new puppy!! We did some research about what kinds of dogs are really good with kids and we knew we wanted a medium to small sized dog. We ended up leaning towards a Springer Spaniel and we found one in Silverton about 15 miles from Salem. He is 8 weeks old and after much debate we named him "Rusty". He is soo cute and cudly. Wants to be held all the time right now. We brought him home yesterday, introduced him to a crate (he had been in a kennel with his Dad at the breeder) and he is really taking to it great. Kevin and I went out to dinner last night for our 8 year anniversary, which is actually on Wednesday, and Rusty came along with us crate and all. He stayed in his crate in the car and did great. Last night we brought his crate into our room when we went to bed and he whined for about 5 minutes and then gave up and went to sleep and slept the whole night! I couldn't believe he did so good in his crate the first night. I think it helped that he knew we were right there and could hear us breathing (or snoring) Ha!

The boys are just thrilled. Carter told me last night "I love him soo much Mom" and he flew out of bed this morning when I said he could let Rusty out of the crate to take him potty. Fun stuff! We have been wanting to get the boys a dog for a while and I am glad we decided to go ahead with it. I can tell this is going to be a really fun time.

"Warms"

I made some rice pillows or "warms" as we call them now around here for the boys. They are the neatest thing and I have taken over Gavin's because he doesn't seem to like it much... (I need to make some more) but Carter and I love them.

They are easy to make and then when you are done you heat them up in the microwave for 2 minutes each night before you go to bed and you have this really warm little pillow to cuddle with. They stay warm for 3-4 hours too. Really great for cold feet which I always seem to have. I read on another blog that someone said she was sick with the flu and her "warm" was the only thing that made life worth living.. that cracked me up totally and reminded me of myself. I can totally see myself in that position when I get the flu- I usually get it once a year and I am knocked out for like 5 days (I mean, cannot even get out of bed knocked out).

Anyhow, here are the directions I followed for the litte "warms". Oh, the best part is when you heat them up they totally smell like rice and make your bedroom smell like you are cooking it or something.. Kevin, (again) thinks I am nuts. I have read that you can fill them with other things like corn kernels, etc. but haven't tried that yet. Oh and one other thing is that when you first make them and heat them up they give off quite a bit of steam so they may feel damp when you take them out of the microwave. The more you use them, heat them up and so on that dampness will go away. So.. hello winter and cold toes, we are ready!!

Super easy fall scarf..

I made this cute fall scarf today. It is raining (pouring) here and I am getting ready for fall & winter. Washing all the coats, etc. This scarf is made with the some Anna Maria Horner (my favorite) fabric for the front, a nice cozy flannel from JoAnn's for the back and lined with some extra cozy fleece. It is a really fun & funky print and I love how it turned out. I used this tutorial, here, but I really think most people could do this without one, super easy. I have the urge to make another one too, with some of the fabric I have laying around.

Fall..

We have been enjoying the start of fall here in Salem. We went on a nature walk and collected a bunch of leaves, nuts, sticks and all sorts of fun stuff and then we made this cool collage. Carter had soo much fun doing this and is really proud of it. He signed his name on it and insisted I sign it too because "you helped Mom". But I had to sign it Stormy and not Mom. He is a pretty funny little guy.

Carter is looking forward to his preschool starting on Oct. 14th and Gavin and I will get to spend some quality time together then too which is fun.

We are in the process of building a new deck in our back yard (our last project around here for a long time!!!, says me anyhow). No, I am of course excited to be getting a new deck, just can't wait for it all to be done so we can relax and enjoy it.

Sunriver..

We got back Tuesday evening from a really fun trip to Sunriver. Kevin had an Oregon Restaurant Association meeting over there so Kevin, his dad Dave, my Mom, the boys and I all went over on Sunday morning. We stayed in a really cool house with a fun bunk bed/toy room for the boys and nice rooms for all of us adults. I love Sunriver and could see myself retiring there. It is soo relaxing to me. Anyhow, I got to go to all of the fun stuff, the fancy dinners and the casino night/party night as my mom stayed at the house with the boys. We had a great time. It is fun to actually get out and about as an individual and talk to adults. Not that I don't love my kids and cherish the time I get to spend with them. It is just really nice to get a break once in a while too, helps me to be a better mom...

The Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure is on Sunday and I am running.. can't wait. I am now on this kick to beat my time and see if I can do better each time I run a 5k. I am about ready to move on up to a 7k - and eventually up to a half marathon. That would be an ultimate goal for me, we shall see. :)

I love this super cute idea of reading a book to your kiddos and having a special fun snack that coordinates with it. Check this out. I am totally going to have to do this with my boys...

Camping, Garden, etc..

We got back on Friday from another little camping trip - trying to squeeze as many in as we can before the end of summer. The boys love camping now and want to go all the time. We took our bikes this time and we all went on quite a few rides and basically just hung out at the campground, going on walks, hanging around the campfire and all that fun stuff.

Our garden is winding down now, still waiting on those green tomatoes to ripen. We planted carrots this year and I am loving them. The boys love to eat them raw and we have been putting them in salads and making yummy salad rolls.. my favorite.

I am obsessed with this thing called Letterboxing. I am soo excited to do it with the boys. It is like a scavenger hunt type of thing that you can do and I know the boys would LOVE it. Here is a link and all the details. I want to try and start it this fall, before the weather gets too bad. We need to get a stamp and a journal to get started but that is all you need.

Summer Fun..

We have had a really busy summer this year. Lots of fun stuff crammed into the hot days and we have been loving it. We went to the Hillsboro Airshow which was tons of fun, both boys love their airplanes. I was too slow to take any good pictures of the planes but here is one from the Monster Truck ride we went on. I think they maybe even liked that even better than the planes...

We have been spending alot of time in the garden and have beans and zucchini's galore. We have had quite a few cherry tomatoes and little pear tomatoes but the big ones are just hanging there green and ready for a few more days of sunshine. But the beans, my goodness. I can't keep up with picking them let alone figuring out new ways to cook them, etc. We mostly eat them raw the boys love them this way and so do I.

Kevin turned 30 yesterday and last weekend I had a little surprise party for some of his friends & family. It was really fun, even though Kevin had sort of figured out something was up on his way down to the restaurant and wasn't like totally blown over with surprise which is what I wanted but it was fun. The theme was James Bond and we had different food stations from all over the world, martini glasses for the candle holders, really neat and fun.

On Wednesday night Kevin and I went to see Jack Johnson up in St. Helens. The show was excellent and we had a great time. It is an outdoor venue and it was a beautiful night, a few sprinkles here and there but no real rain which was great. We hit a huge traffic jam on the way to the concert though and ended up being an hour and a half late but Jack had not even started when we got there so I was soo relieved.

Also happening this week.. Kevin won a four-wheeler. At Cash-n-Carry where he buys alot of his beverages for work (RockStar) they were having a drawing and he won. So we are now the proud owners of a custom RoskStar mini (holds 210 lbs) 4-wheeler. It is too big for Carter to ride, and a little small for Kevin.. guess that means it is mine for now. :) I was cruising around on it in the backyard and the boys are beyond excited. We will have to scope out a good place to go riding around here and take them out someday soon. After helmets are purchased of course..