Now And Then...

I'm amazed at how much change occurs between years one and two. These pictures are proof! Where did our babies go? Two adoreable little girls have taken their places and I can only imagine what they will be like next Christmas. But for now we will just enjoy every moment of their two-ness. Which is mostly very easy to do, but they are two mind you... Sugar and spice and everything nice, this is what little girls are made of.

Two Men And A Toddler

Pinch me 'cause I can hardly believe how beautiful the Pacific Northwest is at times. The rain we can hardly endure another day of at times does such a nice job of making all things green and lovely. Sophers recently had a special Saturday afternoon with Daddy and Grandpa in the great outdoors while I did some leisurly shopping all by myself. At the time it seemed like the right thing to do, but after looking at the pictures I think not.

A girl and her grandpa.

Ooooooo!



Ahhhhhh!



The brains and the brawns behind the operation.

So pretty even a toddler stops to observe.

Didn't they do a good job documenting their play? Another beautiful day in the Pacific Northwest.

Beach Day

It was a lovely November day in Oregon today. And if you know anything about Oregon you know lovely is somewhat rare this time of year. I felt we should do something special out of doors in celebration. Then my friend Nancy called and invited us to the beach with her family. After the tide went out far enough for us to frolic on the beach we had a grand ol' time chasing seagulls, playing tag with the surf and enjoying a picnic lunch on the beach. Thanks so much Nancy for inviting us along! It was the perfect use of our lovely and somewhat rare November day.

Halloween

I do take requests here on my blog and Aunt Lou wants Halloween pictures! I hope the rerun ladybug costume isn't a disappointment. I worked so hard on it last year and Sophia said she could rock that look again, so we did it! We got together with our friends Tim and Jessie and took our girls trick-or-treating at family friend's houses and then neighbors after that.

My favorite shot of the night. A sly little hand makes its way into the candy basket!

Her ladybug costume from last year still fit. Actually it was really big on her last year, but the hat was a different story. She was a good sport though!





Ladybugs and Butterflies are the best of friends you know.

Sophia is checking out Jessie's bling here.



Then the ladybug and the butterfly decided to try out their wings.

We enjoyed watching Sophia partake in the festivities. By the end of the night she had what she was supposed to say down pat, but she didn't quite understand why we kept knocking on doors and then leaving right away. However, this was a minor offense she was willing to endure since there was candy involved.

Hope you had a happy Halloween!

Things I'm Lovin' Right Now...

• The amazing fall colors. Check out the view from my back patio! We put some good elbow grease into this corner of our yard this summer. It use to be a bit of an eye sore, but thanks to the addition of the trellis and all the TLC Ben gave my garden shed I think it's looking quite charming now if I may say so. And I'm loving that bright orangy-red tree in the neighbor's yard!
  
  


• Being able to enjoy the view from inside behind clean windows! Windex Outdoor All-In-One was recommended to me by my mother-in-law. It comes with a long wand with a swiveling head so I could easily reach all the windows on my one story home lickity split! It is so quick and easy to use that I cleaned all of the windows this summer and then did it again this fall. It costs about $15 for the starter kit and then $5 for new cleaning pads. I was able to use the same cleaning pad both times I washed my windows.


• Shopping at the Goodwill! Recently I've discovered an abundance of stay-at-home moms in bloggy land who have smashing wardrobes because they aren't too good for second hand items. Last week I dug through the skirt aisle and found 4 totally fun, brand new looking skirts that I LOVE and I brought them all home for less than $30 total. Mama's got a new skirt wardrobe!


• Cooking, baking and eating, oh my! The cool fall evenings and crisp mornings have me cooking up a storm! Some recent fav's include Pumpkin Pancakes, Sourdough Strata with Tomatoes and Greens, and a favorite from last fall Chicken and Biscuit Casserole. YUM!





The strata before it was baked. Forgive me. My mind was in strata-land when it came out of the oven.


• My newly painted outdoor chairs. Remember me telling you about this project? Well, three of the five chairs are now painted and lookin' all cutsy on my back patio. Now if I could just get the other two primed and painted. Next week maybe?





• As if a new skirt wardrobe wasn't enough things just got better! I am a long time user of St. Ive's Apricot Scrub, so when I found a travel size at Target of this new scrub they put out I decided to give it a whirl. I quickly bought a full-sized bottle. Try it. You'll love it. The end.

What do you "love" right now? Any best-kept secrets you are ready to shout from the mountain tops?

Cutie-Pie Chronicles

Here's a little somethin' for your sweet tooth. We are now less than 2 months away from Sopher's second birthday and a few new "stages" are emerging and keeping things lively around The Thompson House. Allow me to demonstrate.

• The move over Rover there's a new DJ in the car phase- She's fully capable of asking me to 'turn the music on' in the car and she can even say, 'Again?' when her favorite song is over.


• The prepare yourself for a taste of your own medicine phase - The other day I informed her she needed a nap because she was a little crabby. When she got up she pulled on my shirt as I tried to comb her hair. I told her to stop, to which she said, "Mama crabby."


• The monkey did it! phase - No, she does not have a messy diaper. That smell isn't coming from her. The stuffed monkey did it.

I'm so glad I decided to get a picture of Dolly while her hair is still somewhat respectable. She is developing a large bald spot on the back of her head. Something about her hair being a pretty good way to carrying her around ...

I line up her shoe choices before church. She's sparkles all the way, baby!

Check out our "new to us" wagon! We picked it up for $10 at a house down the street. I was originally planning on fixing it up and maybe waiting until Christmas to give it to our Little Rooskie, but the other day I did not realize the garage (aka hiding place) was open until we walked right in front of it and she exclaimed, "WAGON!". I'm mostly glad she found it because there's just something about fall that makes me want to go for walks with a wagon in tow. She was happy to ride inside the wagon our first trip out. Now we put Dolly in the wagon and I pull it while she pushes it from behind.

We got a perfect day at the pumpkin patch this year...

Some of Sophia's current fav's

• The Goodnight Moon and crickets - She loves going outside in the yard right before bed so she can see the "Goodnight Moon!" and listen for crickets. The Goodnight Moon is somewhat of a local celebrity to her. He's done all of the books, yet he's so approachable when you see him around town. ;)


• Playing with Dolly - Dolly accompanies us most places these days. Sophia really makes her tow the line. She tells her, "Sit right there, Dolly!" and "Lay down!" She even has a spot at the dinner table and it is very critical to Sophia that she wear a bib.


• Being Mama's little helper - She loves having a job and I love giving her one. She helps me pick up the house, move the laundry forward even moves area rugs so I can vacuum under them. That a girl!

This picture cracks me up! It's the way she's just lounging because she's totally use to these pre-church, you're so darn cute I just want to take a bite of you photo shoots.

Here she is fresh out of bed the other day. "Hold you? Snuggle?" she says to me.

note to reader: She refers to herself as you.

So that's the here and now with Miss Sophia. I can't believe what a big girl she is already turning into. She fills each of my days with joy and laughter. I love being her mom!

Smell Like A Monster

Here's a little giggle for your Tuesday morning. I don't know about you, but I much prefer Grover's version of an Old Spice Commercial. Hope it makes you smile too.

Happy Tuesday!

Tink, Tink, Tink...Is This Thing On?

Hello! It's me again... or finally.. or whatever. I know it has been a long time since I posted, but I've decided not to treat my blog like a chore in hopes that it won't read like a chore and then we're all happy, right? Since way too much has happened since July I'll just let one picture do the talkin' here folks. Here was the apex of my summer. It consisted of getting up at 4am, drinking coffee with my Grandpa while tapping our toes to Johnny Cash in a rag top jeep headed for the lake, pushing off from shore only shortly after the sun came up and catching the biggest fish I ever caught. Ahh, how I've missed fishing... and my Grandpa. Paraphrase fishing with my Grandpa. You see, I really couldn't go fishing with anyone else. Who else would put up with me? I have been fishing with my Grandpa since I can remember and he's always done the dirty work for me. I don't do night crawlers. And I don't stick my fingers in fishes gills without a rag between me and the fish (see exhibit A below) and cleaning fish??? Are you kidding me? I got enough of that kind of stuff in high school biology to last me a lifetime. Grandpa always just smiles and puts the millionth worm on my hook with the same patience he put the first one on with. He always tells me I did a good job no matter how many fish get off the hook right before I flopped them in the boat. I love you, Grandpa.

Are you familiar with The Pleated Poppy? This blogger, slash mom of three, slash stay-at-home mom posts pictures of what she wear each week. She does it as a way of motivating herself to make more of an effort with how she puts herself on instead of just walking around in sweats with chocolate stains on them all day. So people link up with her blog and post their own pictures of what they wear each week. It's fun to check out, but never have I seriously entertained the idea of posting what I wear until this picture. It would be just for kicks and giggles, which is about all my wardrobe choices are good for anyways. Here's how it would go...

Budweiser hat - borrowed from my little brother
Mossy Oak sweatshirt - borrowed from my mom
Camo thermal - borrowed from my mom
Levis - borrowed from my big sissy

Now that's an outfit! Grandpa said, "No wonder you've got good luck today. You've got the whole family fishing with you!"

exhibit A. Sockeye Salmon, 23 inches. I ate it for dinner.

I'm not mourning the passing of summer at all. We traveled, we barbaqued, we laid on a blanket in the back yard while our baby splashed in her kiddy pool. And now it is time wear boots and jeans and drink warm things and dye my hair???

Never have I ever gone darker! Blonde highlights are about as bold as I get when it comes to color, but I was ready to try something new. So ta-dah! I'm having fun with it.

Here are some pictures especially for you, Mom. You said you'd like me to sneak into Sophia's room and get some pictures of her sleeping in her new(ish) toddler bed. What a big girl, huh? She's a little girl all the way these days.

And here is a glimpse of my current project. This summer my dad gave me two metal outdoor chairs that have been around since I can remember. In fact my dad can remember sitting in them at his grandparent's house when he was a kid. There's nothing better than these chairs when it comes to relaxing outside. They have this certain bounce and rock motion to them when you sit in them. Not to mention they are just dripping with nostalgia and are completely perfect for my 1950's ranch style home and backyard. Anyhow, they just seriously needed some TLC which I was absolutely prepared to give them once the roar of summer passed. And then the other weekend Sophia and I were walking home from the park and we passed a garage sale. There sat three more metal chairs and they were five dollars each! Well, I beat cheeks back to the house and returned in my car with my checkbook to haul them away before anybody changed their mind. And now I am the proud owner of five somewhat rusty metal chairs. I mean treasures. I can't wait to show you the transformation!

On that note I better be going. The Target Pirates are getting restless. Happy fall, happy harvest, happy Halloween, happy boot wearing and pumpkin spice latte drinking!

Anniversary Trip

Benj and I are six married years old as of this Saturday. My, how time flies when you are married to your best friend. We really lived it up this year with a overnight getaway to Portland while Sophia had her first over-nighter with her Grandma Kathy and Papa. All parties were satisfied with this arrangement before and after the stay, so although it was our first night away together since Sophia was born it certainly won't be our last.



Here we are on our way to The Portland Saturday Market. I haven't been since I was a Freshman in college and Ben had never been. It is a very fun place to people watch and if you should decide you'd like a lawn gnome with your face on it you can get one there.

After The Saturday Market we went to The Japanese Gardens. I have seen brochures for this place and it looked spectacular, but nobody I talked to had ever been. Doesn't that seem odd? I wondered if it would be like watching a commercial to a really good looking movie only to discover they showed all the best scenes in the previews. So with my expectations set pretty low we visited the gardens. I'll let you take a look at my pictures and you can decide for yourselves, but I'm already planning my trip back this fall.



The Portland Japanese Gardens are said to be the largest Japanese gardens in the world outside of Japan. They are built on 5.5 acres.

Heron Statuary

The Falls


One thing I was curious to find out is what makes a garden a Japanese garden?

This picture sums up the three elements in a Japanese garden in one breathtaking glance. Stone, the bones of the garden; water, the life-giving force; and plants, the tapestry of the four seasons.

As you can see the gardens are so beautiful they are almost magical. By this time I was in such a trance that if a unicorn were to frolic by it would not have seemed out of place to me.

Check out the size of the koi in this pond. Jinkies!

The majority of the gardens are shaded by a thick canopy of trees, which really helps you forget you are just outside of downtown Portland - until you hear the zoo train whistle.

The gardens are made up of five distinct gardens. This particular one proved to be a little too abstract for my taste. It's pea gravel that has been raked into a very flowing pattern, which is supposed to represent the sea...

Hmm. Still not there yet....

And the grand finale as you finish your tour of the gardens is a stunning view of the city below with Mount Hood keeping watch. I wish we could have captured the mountain in the background for the picture.What a perfect way to celebrate our first six years of marriage.

So - any takers for a trip back this fall?

Well, summer is off to a rip-roarin' start here at the Thompson House and I'm finding that even posting once a month is too much for me. We've been having fun, getting stuff done and spending time with some of our favorite people in the process. We've spent a little time in Central Washington and Southern California, went swimming, running through the sprinklers, made some strawberry jam, had a yard sale, went for a hike, oh yes - and somebody turned 30. Now lets see - how 'bout some pictures?




Opening my b-day present from Benj.



Yahoo!



It was a beautiful, warmsunnyday on my birthday so I had a pool party!




Correction - Sophers and Ella-roo had a pool party.



Let's refer to this little sweetie as Pebbles for the duration of this post, k?




Here I am with good friend Miss Jess. Sophia and I traveled down to see her and her husband, Joaquin, and their new little guy Max.



Here's Mr. Max. Isn't he cute? I loved holding him and the whole time I was sort of marveling at how Sophia went from being a cooing, snuggly little milk monkey in my arms to the busy little fireball that she is now. Suddenly referencing her as "Baby" became quite ridiculous.



His profile looks so much like Joaquin here, Jess.



We went down to the beach one evening and watched the sunset. Sophia was fascinated by the water, so that kept me busy.

"Hey you guys - wa-wa!"



And she's off....again...






Meanwhile back at The Ranch, my flowers were coming right along!



So we pulled all the junk out of our cupboards and closets and had a yard sale. Would you believe we made $350 in just one morning/afternoon? Well, I'm not surprised things sold with this little sweetie in the customer service department. The girl has got her "hi" and "goodbye's" down.



Don't mess with this cowgirl.



I repeat - don't mess with this cowgirl.



We're officially caught up, so here's a picture from today. Dick and Kathy took us hiking. We have big plans in the outdoors this summer, but we're starting slow to see how Sophia does so hopefully we don't find ourselves camping with a sleepless toddler. Here's to crossing our fingers AND our toes!

Happy Summer!