Mother's Day

I have to post about Mother's Day because on this day it is my right to brag about my boys!

I am the luckiest mom alive, of that I am quite convinced. Soren is a bright, math-minded 4 1/2 year old that will strike up a conversation with anyone willing to interact. Most of his conversations these days are about space (he wants to be an astronaut when he grows up, he says), music, math or geography (as in, other countries and places he's been or wants to go). I have never seen a 4 year old so willing to share or one so adept at math (he's doing multiplication). He is affectionate, active, independant.

Keiton is a typical 2 year old in many senses of the word. He loves people and I am so glad to see him comfortable around our friends. He makes himself at home wherever he is. He has an easy-going wide grin that melts my heart everytime I see it and the most expressive eyes I have ever noticed on a child. He loves cars and sports and best of all, his mom's kisses! He loves everything his big brother does and thinks the world of his daddy. He is definetely "all-boy".

They are a handful, but they are a delight.

Here we are... myself with Soren and Keiton.


Up close


a little washed out, but Layth captured us while hanging out on the couch together on Mother's Day

Keiton Turns Two!

Keiton turned two in the middle of April. His birthday celebration was a fairly quiet one.

Keiton is into all things car or vehicle related and all things that involve a sports ball of any sort. So, for his birthday cake I decided to try my hand at a race-track cake. I think it turned out rather cute. And it was BY FAR easier than the dragon cake or ceiling fan cake I've made for his brother in years past. This cake involved two round cakes, frosting, crushed chocolate cookies, mike-n-ike candies, coconut with green food coloring, and flags made of toothpicks and checkered paper. Oh ya, I added two cars to the top of the cake... part of his birthday gift.

Just a quick note to say that Keiton is such a joy! He has a fantastic, fun personality that is characterized by his "crazy walk", his easy-going wide grin, sound effects and his frequent hugs and kisses.

The Race-track Cake




Keiton was so excited to blow out the candle that we couldn't get through the Happy Birthday song before the candle was extinguished.


Here he is blowing out his candle... again!

Couponing

I've been seriously "couponing" (for lack of better terms) now for about 7-9 months. Whenever I set foot in a grocery store, if I don't save at least as much as I spend, I consider it a failed shopping trip. Tonight we hit Albertsons and Safeway and I thought I'd share the results of a typical shopping trip since embarking on the couponing adventure.

I got for FREE the following items:
*Tuna fish
*Salad Dressing
*Grands Biscuits
*Chex Mix

At Safeway I spent $4.13 and saved $12.04

At Albertsons I spent $14.59 and saved $35.94

Total Spent: 18.72
Total SAVED: 47.98!

Ohhh, it feels so good. Now, it is true that I don't do all my shopping at Albertsons and Safeway as they are much too expensive for things that are not on sale-combined-with-a-coupon-or-two as well... but, with a little homework and some cutting, filing and sorting I get from those stores what I can that beat the WinCo and Costco prices. And I get some things that I wouldn't ordinarily get because they are FREE. (ie, Chex Mix).

It sure is fun!

OK. I do have a secret... I subscribe to an online coupon aid: www.thegrocerygame.com. It costs $15 every couple of months but as you can see I save a whole lot more than that every week. I LOVE the challenge; of seeing how much I can save and what I can get for free. I pour over my list every Sunday with my notebook of coupons, a pen, a sharpie and scissors.

Well, all the shopping and now this blogging has made me hungry... maybe I'll go have a snack. Something like Chex Mix. Or maybe a Tuna Sandwich?

Now if only those things were "FREE POINTS" too!

SNG "Saturday Night Group" Family Dinner

The group of friends that has been meeting on a weekly basis for many years now (began as all single adults) now meets on a rotation basis on Saturday nights. Once a month is guys night, once a month is girls night and once a month is "family dinner". This past month for family dinner every family was able to make it. For the first time in a long time. It was fun. It was crazy. It was chaotic. It involved 12 kids age 4 and under! Here are some pictures of the event.


Getting ready to pray before eating. Moms and kids everywhere!



The guys enjoying their meal. They sat at the end table and talked through their whole meal. Somehow, in spite of the chaos ringing around them.



Just after dinner some of the kids adjourned into the family room for a movie. Since so many of them were seated and quiet, we grabbed the little kids and threw them into the mix and started clicking away on the cameras. Here they all are!

Back row: Karis, Rachel, Soren, Kyler, Benton, Kyle, Nika
Front row: madelyn, Christian, Keiton, Joey, Nathaniel

Young Love...

This is Madelyn - a very cute 2 year old that has taken a fancy to my 21 month old. Can't say I blame her, really. They have a lot of fun playing together and the other day when I mentioned her name in passing Keiton got all excited and running over to me, poked me and said "mamma" and then ran off (that means I'm supposed to follow him) to the front door where he insisted I open it. He was obviously disappointed when Madelyn was not on the other side.

These shots were all taken at Madelyn's 2 year birthday party. An introduction for my kids to Chuck-E-Cheese (life will never be the same now that they know it exists!). Thank you Hammonds!









I'm not sure Keiton is interested in this right now... I think at this age he'd rather just watch the movie!

2008 in Review

There are so many great memories of 2008 that i decided to do a 2008-in-Review post... some of the highlights. I'll repeat what I said SOME of the high-lights. I had it narrowed down to 37 pictures after the first two rounds, and eventually got it down here. I can only post 4 pictures at a time using Picasa (if anyone out there knows differently, let me know) so I'll have to post several times. I tried to start at the beginning and work through 2008 chronologically.

Thanks for being part of our lives in 2008.

Soon after the year began, we found ourselves in sunny Arizona and San Diego... relaxing on the beach, exploring flea markets and having a wonderful time with Jim and JoAnn.


Layth turned the BIG 40! We had quite the shin-dig and he was properly introduced to a new decade.


My dad came for a visit and he rounded up all the NW grandkids for a picture with the grandparents. We sure did miss Kayla, Kendall and Kate who live on the other side of the country.


Keiton turned ONE in 2008. What joy! How yummy frosting is!

More 2008 in Review

We managed to get all the Sunday Night Kids together for a picture. Impossible? Not with Paradise Photography. There's more on the way now as well... (not with us, sorry to get you excited there for a moment grandmas)


We spent a wonderful adult week in Milwaukee with Vance and Alicia at my dad's fantastic down-town condo. We had a great time exploring and also all ventured out on segways for the first time.


My hubby and I - great memories of Milwaukee and the waterfront


Soren and Layth went splunking in our corner kitchen cupboard!

So many great 2008 memories

The entire Rowles Family got together for pictures


And went on a day-trip to Silver Creek Falls


We had more park, camping, outdoor adventures together


and many, many summer, spring and fall bike rides!

2008 also brought...

a 4 year old! And my first dragon cake


Great times at our island vacation house - including a weeklong get-away filled with friends and family that visited us while we were there.


Camping and summer fun! Including our annual friend's group camping trip to Dorena Lake.



And, Keiton passed the 18 month mark

And the end of 2008 brought...

Keiton turned 20 months


A snowstorm (the biggest in 40 years) descended upon us


Christmas took place - quiet and oh so different for us in many ways this year


But, we were together and that is what counts!


Thank you Lord for cherished memories and great times in 2008.

What will 2009 bring? STAY TUNED...

Kisses for Keiton

Just humor me... this is written as a mom that is totally crazy about her boys.

Today's showcase... Keiton Valor. 20 months.

Some of you may wonder why in the world I cannot keep my lips (kisses) off Keiton and here's why. The proof speaks for itself and I'll bet by the time you're done looking at the next round of pictures, you'll be kissing the screen too. (think I'm biased at all?)

a little blurry, but oh, so cute. brushing teeth before church



Sunday afternoon. All grown up!


Are you thinking about kissing the screen yet?


It's hard to resist, isn't it?

If you've resisted so far...

Than this ought to do the trick...


Or this... who can resist that perfect little-boy pout face? I know I can't and I see it quite often around here.
Even a face like this prompts kisses around here.


And, if you're not kissing the screen yet you are a much stronger person than I!


I love my little man!! What a blessed mom I am to have him in my life.

Two pictures...

I just remembered these pictures and thought I'd post them because they're great (thank you JoAnn).


Layth and Soren with the lions in Molbaks. Thanksgiving weekend while at Shawn and Karins.


The Rowles family in front of the famous pointsettia tree at Molbacks.
Hmmm, I REALLY need a haircut!

Christmas 2008

I'm terrible and hardly took ANY pictures this Christmas. In fact, you're getting them all. Sad, I know. We had a nice Christmas. Very different from any other we've ever had in most every way, but different is not always bad and my first shot at a prime rib roast turned out great (except that it was a litle too pink for me, but Layth says it was perfect! And that's what counts I guess.).

The Bowman's invited us over for dinner on Christmas Eve. We went over and had a fantastic meal - slow cooked beef brisket. Yum, it was GOOD! Then we went to the Salem Alliance Christmas Eve service and I thoroughly enjoyed that... and also ran into some people that are very near and dear to my heart that I don't see very often. After the service we returned to the Bowman's put the kids down and then talked about playing games, but instead ended up sitting and talking until after 11:00. It was a wonderful evening.

Christmas morning and day were quiet. Stockings in the morning and then a delicious breakfast compliments of my dad who sent it to us from Milwaukee! Gift opening and then playing all day, nap time, eating, that sort of thing. A good family day.

Soren after he woke up and before stockings


Soren's first look into the stocking


It's a long stocking and his arm couldn't reach the bottom. He thought it very silly that I would put an orange in the bottom of it. He laughed when he pulled it out. (by the way, the "big candy cane that is bigger than Keitons" - see post below - was in the stocking).


And Keiton with a case of great bed-head. He came out and was more interested in the candy on the floor from his brother's stocking than he was in opening his own stocking. I finally showed him that there was candy in his own stocking which made him much more interested in it. Here, he's trying to eat a Lindor Chocolate with the wrapping still on!

Snow Storm 08

Or, ARCTIC BLAST 08 as the Newscasts like to call it. I'll jump on the band-wagon here and post about it too! We got our share of snow, that's for sure. It was REALLY fun for us because we live far enough north that we were caught in the Portland cold and snow zone, so on days that Salem and south didn't get snow (or just rain or a snowy mix) we got inches. We ended up with well over a foot when all was said and done. Plus, our power went out for 3 days and with the power goes our water (we have our own well)... quite the adventure.

I took pictures one of the very first days of the storm and then the camera battery died, the power went out and so I had no way to recharge it, the power came on the day it warmed up and started to melt (and I forgot to plug in the battery that day as well) so the only pictures I have to document the event are when we had a measly 4 or 5 inches. Small stuff compared to the reality of it all.




The boys in the snow (before I bought boots and gloves. I have a hard time buying snow stuff here in Oregon when you don't know if you'll ever use it! I broke down and by the time we were done, Keiton was outfitted in some hand-me-down boots and gloves and Soren had new stuff - that Keiton will use, Lord willing - someday too!)


Layth shoveled a path on our deck and Soren really wanted in the action as well. He did quite well. He'd heave the snow up over the railing there and drop it below.


Keiton trudging through the snow.


It was beautiful. It was amazing. At night I would looks outdoors at the total quiet of the winter wonderland and yearn for it to stay that way forever. Silent. Frozen. Pure. From where we are with our view and all, the snowstorm made it feel like we lived in a mountain chalet; our warmth came from our wood-stoves, our light came from flickering candles (OK, and a battery-powered camping tent light we have), our view was of snow laden trees and a valley of white below. Awesome actually. I'm sad it's come to and end.

A picture at Thanksgiving

You would not believe how hard it was to get even THIS picture! My boys - all THREE of them - do not want to sit still, or smile NICELY, or even look at the camera. I had given up by this point... (this is about shot number 12) and you can see it in my face. This is my family of boys. The real us. I am so lucky!! There is never a dull moment in my life (or quiet one for that matter!). I love my boys. I'll take them any way they come.

Soren's Christmas Prayer

His prayer today at brunch went like this:

Thank you God for comets, geysers, black holes and turtles.
Thank you God for Christmas and celebrating Jesus birthday.
And thank you God for mommy, daddy, Keiton and Soren.
And thank you God that we opened stockings.
And for my big candy cane in my stocking... that is bigger than Keitons.
Amen.

I think that about covers it...

FINALLY! Soren's 4th Birthday Pictures

Soren is 4 years old... has been now for a couple of months, I've just not posted about it yet.

This year Soren requested a "Loving Dragon Cake" for his birthday. This is what I came up with when all was said and done. I have pictures of it closer up, but they're on a computer that is not functional at the moment so this is probably the only glimpse you'll get of it. I was pleased with how it turned out.

We had his official birthday part in Ellensburg with family. Here is Soren with his trademark "thumbs up" smile and the "loving dragon cake"



Soren blowing out his candles


Grandpa and Grandma gave Soren a bike! His first one. Here he is. Again, the trademark thumbs up.

Weekend O'Fun at the Island House

The first weekend of our week trip the island house was kind of a "revolving door" of people. My mom and brother came up for a night, my sister came up for a night and the Taylors came up for a night. I lost my camera at one point and am so sad that I did not get more pictures to document what took place becuase we had a FANTASTIC time! We walked up and down the hill to the beach 3 times in one day (quite a feat if you've never been there), talked a ton, explored, picked blackberries for a delicious blackberry cobbler, laughed a lot, crabbed, played on the beach and on the playground, hiked around the island, ate a ton of food... and the weather was great for the most part.


Bringing the boat in after checking the crab pots


SUCCESS! Wyatt holding one of the larger crabs. We had enough to feed all of us as much crab as we wanted, plus some for Soren's birthday dinner (he LOVED it!).


Jazzmin made a lean-to on the beach. This is the day after they left. We went down to the beach and it was still there.


For some reason Layth was feeling destructive. Sorry Jazzmin!

Vacation at the Island House

We spent a week at the island house. The longest I've ever stayed. It was the end of August and so my expectations and vision going into the week were one of sunning myself on the deck while the children frolicked happily about in the yard with no fighting, arguing or conflict. The picture in my head was near perfection. Well, it rained pretty much the whole time and was cold. But, we did manage to have a great time in spite of the weather. We got down to the beach most every day, played inside a lot, relaxed, watched a few movies, ate well, found enough good weather to have two campfires, celebrated Soren's birthday with cupcakes, etc. Here are some pictures.

Keiton - his first time on a "big boy" swing.


Oops, I guess he doesn't understand the concept because both his hands came off the chains here and I managed to capture it. (good thing Layth has quick reflexes! We removed him from the swing at this point).


Look what the tide washed in...



Keiton has some throwing arm... and good form too. He would spend ALL DAY throwing shells, rocks, sticks, etc into the water if I let him. It was by far his favorite thing to do at the island.

What is going on?

Soren dresses himself now...

After studying the pictures below, can you tell what was so alarming to me?

Group Camping Trip 2008

About a month ago we took our annual Group Camping Trip with the Bowmans, Lundes, Wests and Zunigas. We had a fantastic time playing on the playground with the kids, riding 7 miles into town for breakfast and a couple of hours at the park before heading back to the campsite, sitting around the campfire after the kids were in bed having ADULT talk, eating, laughing... the group camping trip has become one of the highlights of my summer every year.

Paul led us on an UPHILL evening bike ride to the dam. It was beautiful once we got up there... it was hard riding up pulling the trailer. But, the views were well worth it and here is the Rowles family at the top.



Fun in the tent.


Soren on the playground. Weird, huh?
o

More Camping Pictures

Karis and Keiton - heading to the playground


Layth and Soren... I love how this picture turned out with the sun and lighting and all. Soren LOVED riding like this too. He and daddy took rides every evening.


This... not so nostalgic,,, or cute.


"Let Us Out!" Poor kids... look at their faces. How sad is that? Nathaniel, Keiton, Karis