Winter Beauty in Grass Valley

I Need To Start Blogging Again...

I had to start somewhere...I really don't know how you all keep up with this. The amount of pictures is overwhelming plus the fact that we have 5 big people in our home (3 of which don't take naps anymore) using the computer for various reasons--mostly school during the day. I would rather do something else with my time than sit at the computer when it is available. And...I get stressed because I want everything to be PERFECT because I know someone (Russ) is going to read for grammatical errors so I try to go back before he sees the posts and correct everything! Talk about stress! Oh well, it's good for me to be corrected. This picture is of our dog Peppie. I'm not quite sure what he's saying, but I think it's along the lines of, "Hey! Play with me! I'm being neglected!"

Results of Ice and Snow...

Pictures of Caley's car with a branch crunching the front hood. Hannah had just been out under that tree, not too long before, taking pictures of Russ cleaning up the debris.

Insurance is going to cover it! Even with the deductible it's worth it.

Snow, Ice, Snow and It's Still Snowing...

Lots of snow and ice the last week or so. I know, I know--those of my family that live in Spokane and eastern Oregon laugh when we have a whole week of school cancelled for "snow". I laugh, too! We really have enjoyed it--the girls more so than me. I had to give up snowpants, gloves and boots this year to Hannah--I sure hope she stops growing soon! This is Hannah and Heather with our neighbor Cassie. They were using boogie boards to slide down the hill on our street before the trucks came around and dumped tons of gravel on it.

I remember being able to withstand frigid temperatures as a kid. We never came in from the snow unless we were called in. Same with the girls. When they did eventually come in, Hannah couldn't feel her bottom for at least 2 hours.

I don't think they were actually moving--just a great shot.

Where's the mountain???

Caley and Hannah trying to catch snowflakes??

"No Ball" Random Pictures

Our church put on a "No Ball" for our highschool youth this year. According to Caley and Hannah it was very fun and worth all the time they spent tracking down dresses to wear and doing hair and makeup!




Why can't these pretty girls just smile naturally?

I, as a mom, thought is was nice to see most of these young men dress up.

Beth and Amanda--now there's a nice smile, Amanda!

Caley and Hannah before leaving the house.

I think Russ was a little afraid to let them out the door...

Me helping with a tiny bit of make-up--kids at this age have such beautiful skin why cover it with make-up?!?

The dinner at the church...

Picture at the ice skating rink in Portland where they played broom hockey. Russ and I played this in college. Very, very fun! Hannah with some of her friends--I'm sure they were glad to get out of those dresses and back into their usual attire!

One of Many Thanksgiving Traditions-Family Photos...

You know how it is...on one hand you dread it because you want the perfect picture and on the other hand it can be one of the best times spent with family. We've done this for several years on the weekend of Thanksgiving. We figure out what to wear--what color we have the most of that year-- grab the tripod and camera and head downtown. Mostly, the photos have consisted of the girls, simply because they are the ones who have been changing so much over the years. I think the last family photo was 2005. I'll have to dig some of those out of the archives...

I'm not sure what happened here but it must have been funny! This is one of our favorite spots in a very secluded alley downtown. At one point, I didn't post the photo, I started laughing hysterically and couldn't stop because we were actually "posing" facing Liberty or Commercial in front of an old building and people were just staring at us!! You can imagine how ridiculous we felt...that's why we search for the old buildings in the alley way...

This one is my favorites--it's a simple, traditional pose.

Everyone else liked this one--I actually did too, after I got use to the bottoms of our feet. This and the one above were taken in the alley across from the downtown Great Harvest. Wait!! I'm giving away all of our secret spots...

Hannah, Caley, and Heather... I wish I had hair like them...maybe I'll try growing mine out--maybe not! This one goes on the annual photo mug. (Spoiler for the grandparents!) My dad actually started this tradition at the Oregon State Fair when Caley was a baby and we have been doing it ever since! My parents used to have all of them displayed--too many now. This will be the 17th one! I really like this one because of the creativity--Russ and Caley working together.

Willamette University after a few hours...

Gotta include the funny ones, too! Look at Hannah's head. Doesn't it look like she is hugging someone from behind the statue??? Weird!!

This was just fun setting the timer and walking hand in hand...just like when they girls were little...
Across from Willamette...
THE END!

Thanksgiving Day

Thanksgiving this year was spent with Russ's parents in our home. We had a great time together eating, playing games and eating some more!

Family picture...

Russ working on the turkey--complaining the whole time it was burning his hands--I think he needs to do more cooking!

Grandpa with the girls trying to figure out a math problem Russ had his kids do at school--only problem, he forgot the answer...

Hannah eventually started drinking out of the bottles instead of her glass..

Beautiful picture...Caley had just come off of working long hours at Great Harvest: Tuesday 11-5 pm, home to sleep for a couple of hours and then back for the 8-1am shift, then Wednesday from 10-4. She absolutely loved it!! What I would give to have that kind of energy again...

Too much turkey and not enough exercise...

Playing golf...

Grandma and Grandpa with the girls...