Pumpkin Patch

This year's pumpkin patch excursion was a spur of the moment "this may be the only chance we get since we're going on vacation" trip that left me waking the kids up from naps on a Friday afternoon, rushing them out the door, and forgetting to bring Joe a change of clothes (and shoes) as we picked him up from work on the way. It felt only slightly rushed as we wandered in search of the perfect pumpkin, made the most of several photo ops, and perused the on-site market. After all, the itinerary that followed included dropping Joe off at his office so he could run and get a hair cut, run home, grab a bite to eat, pack his bags and leave for Albany (for Guard duty) at a decent hour. But as stressful as that all may sound, I couldn't risk the chance of missing out on our yearly p-patch trip and so we made the most of it. My sweet little pumpkins searching for pumpkins... it doesn't get much cuter than this.

Fire Station Fun

One of the benefits of having Brendan in preschool is the opportunity for me to chaperone all the fun-filled 4-year-old field trips. It's the kind of mom I always dreamed of being. The one who volunteers to drive, to load the van up with chatty kids, to cart them off, help keep track and watch the priceless smiles as they laugh, love and learn. So when Brendan's teacher asked if I could drive for the Fire Station field trip three weeks ago I jumped at the chance. Three 4-year-old boys talking non stop on the 5 minute drive who lit up with excitement through the entire presentation. The hats stayed on and the smiles continued on the 5 minute drive back to school. Priceless memories in the making... I think I may have had more fun than even Brendan.

Oh, and another benefiit of chaperoning? I get to put faces to names that I hear about in our "how was school" talks... namely a cute little blonde named Brooke who happens to be the current love of his life... I may need to keep an eye on this one :)

A Hand to Hold

She'll be Daddy's girl forever I'm sure. She sits next to the door on the front bench seat of Daddy's truck. And even though it's me who sits by her side, it's Daddy's hand she wants to hold. And really... how could he resist?

Long Distance Friendship

OK, so not really LONG distance. Though the drive from Portland to Bend can be treacherous at best through the winter months, the mileage is really not so far. The problem is, that all the hopes and dreams Sarah and I had of having children who grew up together, living just down the street from each other and seeing each other several times each week diminished in the moment we drove away, moving our possessions and our lives through the mountains to sunny central Oregon. But we've vowed to keep in touch and our friendship has never faltered. The boys still remember each other and it seems they pick up right where they last left off. And even if it's only one visit a year, there are priceless memories made in what feels like too short a visit.

The Falkner clan arrived late on Friday September 17th carrying two sweet sleeping boys through the door and up the stairs. All was quiet as they laid them down to sleep when breaking the silence, Sarah's cell phone GPS informed us all "GPS... YOU HAVE ARRIVED." We all stifled a laugh and I whispered loudly from downstairs "YUP! THIS IS THE PLACE!"

We visited until the wee hours of Friday night, spent Saturday playing and relaxing, watched a movie after the kids went to bed and said a sad good-bye on Sunday afternoon. And as I watched them pull away I had a longing to be back in Portland, if only to be closer to the friends who mean so much to me. But Bend is my beautiful home. And if keeping in touch means fun, relaxing visits then so be it...

School Boy

It feels like forever since I've updated the blog so I apologize tremendously. So much has been going on these past couple of months, it may be hard to catch up on it all..

I struggled for quite some time over the decision to put Brendan in preschool. Was it necessary? Was the cost worth it? Could I handle the influences that would result? Could HE? You only get one chance at doing the best job possible as a parent and I wanted to make the best decision. I knew if he struggled with it I wouldn't push the issue. But as it turns out, he absolutely loves it. He's growing and learning so much already. Just look at that smile... the picture says it all.

Clean Up

OK, so it's not as if I'm in the habit of allowing my children to eat food off the floor. But if you know how crazy my husband is about keeping those floors clean (fortunatley for me, the floors are his job...) you'd know it's not that big of a deal. So when I found my sweet girl on her hands and knees snacking on those runaway Cheerios I grabbed the camera.