Sugar cookies and Sugarbear!

Doug and Brianna built the gingerbread house and did a great job. Of course there were some bumps and bruises along the way....

But for all that, their hard work came out great. Of course, as you can see, at this time the roof is no longer with us...THANKS Doug....but I wanted to be sure I have a picture before it all goes the way of the roof.

Lots of Christmas lights in the Vander Yacht household...making spirits bright....

And Sugarbear always makes us happy! Sandra and Matt stopped by on their way to Washington. We had a great visit, with Matt and Steven playing the Wi game. Matt won at bowling and Steven was top dog at golf. Sugarbear got to bark at Deacon (who was put in our bedroom since he doesn't know his own strength and he's a bit bigger than Sugarbear...better safe than sorry!). It was so nice to see them.

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas.....

Surprise: a white Christmas! Was coming down pretty well and we enjoyed it big time!

But of course, the Wi game was top dog today. Cari shows off her skills.

And Doug goes the old fashioned route and plays with his Rock em Sock em Robots. I have to tell you, I think Cari kicked his butt at it!

And Steven looks like he had a bit too much Christmas....................

Joy

My friend Alexis and her husband are welcoming a beautiful young woman into their lives:

Elizabeth (Ellie) Rose

She was born prematurely, but is strong as well as lovely, and doing quite well. Her mother has chosen a wonderful family for Ellie to become a part of. Ellie is already very much loved, and will be the center of the universe for two of the nicest people around.

Merry Christmas Ellie! (I'm the one who gave you the penguin 'rattle' slippers...when you're a bit old and able to wear them, and your dad and mom are being driven crazy by the noise, don't remind them who gave them to you...it's just between you and me)

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.....

Yesterday morning I met up with Cari and took her and Erik to breakfast. Great food! And then we went to a Scrap Bazaar, and Cari found some paper and a yellow ring (see above for details). Fun was had by all.
Mark put up my penguins. It wouldn't be Christmas without a penguin or two around!

Joy to the world!

'da bears'

This last Thursday Mark and I headed on out to Captain's Ron in Sherwood to watch the Bear's game. It's a great little place and we had good food and great service. Unfortunately the Bears did not have a good time and lost. Mark and I just know that our friend Kurt was living and dying by how the Bears did. He is a HUGE Bears fan and we were rooting for the Bears for Kurt, but it wasn't to be. As you can tell by the picture, he's even got his adorable daughter Sara in the act! Gee, I remember when she was born. Time sure flies.

Fun in Port Orchard!

Mark and I drove up to Port Orchard yesterday and had a wonderful time. Mark hung out with his dad and brother-in-law Randy while I went shopping (yippee!). Above my mother-in-law and sister-in-law Mary Jo are looking through the goods at the bazaar we went to at a local high school. It was a lot of fun, I bought a small purse, and looked at quite a few amazing items. We had a great time.

And the whole while it snowed! It was just enough to be pretty, and I woke up to snowfall this morning. This is the view outside of Mary Jo and Randy's home. Lovely.

And this is Megan and Dillion's dog: and you know, I can't remember his darn ole name, but I remember how much fun he was to play with! He loves to fetch, and he tries to carry as many toys in his mouth as possible, and he was cracking us up all night. Now if I could just remember his name.......
New addition: his name is Thor! The same name as Mark's grandfather......

Thanksgiving

Due to work schedules we weren't able to travel to Washington to be with our family. So we hung out here. Eric reads the paper, and Mark is busy playing video games.

And Cari is busy keeping Richard busy. The boys are busy sleeping in, and I'm busy watching TV. All is well. We're all healthy, in good spirits, and we're together. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

The Kids

Sunday night Mark and I took Cari and Steven out to dinner at "Max's" in downtown Tigard. Doug was playing basketball with his friends.

Tried to take some pictures when we got home. Steven was hurt at being left out....

So we asked him to join in and he decided to give his 'big' sister a lift!

Relay U

Yesterday I attended our area's Relay U, and I let a workshop on Activities/Food. There were a lot of wonderful folks there, and our committee had two tables. Kathy's smile tells it all. She's do darn cute!

Here's the rest of our group. I think lots of learning and sharing was done, and a good time was had by all!

And some celebrities showed up to help showcase the theme, "There's no place like HOPE".

The beauty of Fall

As I drove home today I noticed the amazing group of geese hanging out at Metzer School. I just had to rush in, grab my camera, and get a picture. Shortly after this someone, or something (I have the feeling a four legged critter was involved) caused them to take off in mass flight.

As I walked back home I noticed how nice our home looks and decided to take a snapshot to remember. There are larger homes out there, but I truly doubt if anyone loves their home as much as I love mine.

This is the view from our driveway.

And the view from the front yard, looking towards Lincoln Center.

I love the light: Mark's mom and dad gave it to us and we get so many positive comments on it. It not only looks nice, but reminds us of folks that we love and who always are doing wonderful things for us. I have a great life.

Happy early Birthday Mom!

I made a scrapbook calendar for my mom's birthday (November 2nd) and she got it today. She sent me an email saying she liked it and she appreciated all the time it must have taken. I'm so glad because I loved working on it for her. It's special to work on something for someone you love and think the world of.

I also created a scrapbook of my niece Rachel's wedding for my mother-in-law for her birthday. She called and told me how much it meant to her.

I'm very lucky to have these ladies in my life and I love them both very much.

FYI: the page above is from when we went to Six Flags this summer. Steven would not go NEAR any of the characters....dork.....

This is a great one: the picture of the cute lil girl is me on the birthday I got Huckleberry Hound. I LOVED him, and imagine my delight a few years ago when I found one at a doll show. I had to have him, and he has a place of honor in my home. I knew my mom would get a kick out of this.

And I'm glad mom's stuff came today because I managed to smuggle in some Halloween peeps in there. My mom loves it and we all know they're even better on Halloween itself!

Exercise Momma

This is an example of how I spend part of my evenings....

Penguins, penguins, everywhere!

I was shopping for something else, and found the wonderful shower curtain. Perfect!

And I love this batik of a penguin. I first saw it during an art show at Tigard High School. Some of the art was for sale and I offered to buy this, but the young man who created it didn't want to sell. Well, at the end of the year Cari informed me that the young man had not picked it up at the end of the year, had left school, and her teacher said I could have it if I wanted it. OH YES, I wanted it and I think it's wonderful. The colors are perfect and he's so animated.


Penguins are vain, didn't you know?

Parents Night at Tigard High School

Tonight was Parent's Night (Seniors) at the Tigard High School football game. Since it's the game before Halloween they also carve pumpkins with the boy's numbers. Looks great!

Here they are, the class of 2008. I remember when most of these boys began, back in third grade. I remember Axel and Doug as first graders, playing around while Steven and Gunner were either at practice or at a game. Time sure flies.

Some of the nicest folks in the world.

A new friend

Today I found a new friend. You can't see it, but he's the softest penguin in the world! I adore him and he is going to hang out with me at work.

It will be tough for him to leave because he and Tigard The Tiger got along quite well today. They hit it off right away, and I have the feeling he may have to come home every once in a while for a "play date" with TTT.

TTT is very lovable. GO TIGARD!!! (he told me to say that)

Nice Sunday

Today was a rather pretty day. I was working on scrap booking stuff, but took some time out for looking at the pretty fall colors right outside my backyard.

AND admiring my new penguin slippers. I love them. There, I said it. They're the bomb!

Fun Weekend!!

Mark and I went to our friend's Joe and Mary's football game. Joe coaches an 8th grade Tigard Youth Football team. They were playing Hillsboro and we figured we'd catch part of the game and then use the gift certificate for Buffalo Wild Wings Linda and Glen gave us for Christmas.

The game was a lot of fun! Both teams played very well, with Tigard winning in the end. Mark and I do love us a youth football game.

So right after the game we headed on over to BWWs and had us some beer, some onion rings, fried cheese sticks, etc...you get the drill! And we got to watch the Oregon State/Cal game with a lot of other Oregon State fans. How fun was that? And what an ending! Oh my gosh!!!

Go Beavers!!!!!

Mark looks so serious here, but he was actually pretty relaxed and having a good time. Really!

This is why.....................nuff said????

Sunday morning wallk

Today I decided to start my day with a walk. I drove over by First Tech in Beaverton, walked throughout the different streets, and it was beautiful, full of Fall colors. And LOTS of squirrels!

As I said, Fall color was everywhere. And the area is perfectly set up for walking.

Lots of wildlife around the lake and a nice way to start the day.