Obama vs. McCain

Here is a great video from Godtube showing the "hot topics" both McCain and Obama are answering in response to a pastor's questions.

http://www.godtube.com/saddlebackforum


Some of these responses drive me nuts (as in they take a flying leap into the Sea of Generalities), but it's really good to know where the candidates stand. I have come to the conclusion that when a candidate avoids answering a question or gives a very vague answer, therein lies thier stance.

I've Been Tagged, Sort Of

Mindy tagged anyone that reads her blog, so here we go...

20 Years Ago I was...8. I think I was still living in Portland then with my Mom and Pa going to school. Life was so simple then - I read a lot of books for fun.

10 Years Ago I was...18. We married in January, honeymooned in Hawaii then I moved to Queens, New York. I also started college on Long Island that year to become a paralegal. Life really got interesting then - there's nothing like being a newlywed in a new state with a husband in the military. Crazy times - and I learned so much.

5 Years Ago I was...23. I was working as a paralegal for Hollywood Entertainment (corporate office of Hollywood Video), living in an apartment in Wilsonville and then bought our first house in Milwaukie. We were hoping to have a baby, but that didn't happen until the next year.

3 Years ago I was...25! We had Samuel and Colin was remodeling our first house and working as a fireman for Portland Fire. I quit working to stay home with Samuel and haven't gone back since!

Yesterday I...Slept off some morning sickness (when will it ever end??!), went to Oaks Park with family friends and my two boys. Then cringed while Samuel decided to ride a roller coaster for the first time. Sigh. He's getting so big. He loved it. I then made dinner for my brother, mother-in-law and my family after they spent the afternoon digging a foundation for our garage. I love feeding people.

Tomorrow I will...Hang out with my kids, hopefully see my husband while he's working on the house, cook, etc., and feel my tiny baby kicking in my belly. Life is really very sweet now.

Next year I will...Have three kids under the age of 5!! God is good and has blessed us immensely. Who knows what next year will bring - hopefully that long coveted trip back to Hawaii. Homeschooling Samuel will begin and generally spending the year trying to become a better wife and mom.

I tag: Anyone and everyone who reads my blog! I love reading other people's answers.

Highland Games

The McGladreys orgnanized a family Highland Games on Saturday and between listening for Jude napping and generally feeling sick, I managed to capture a few pictures. This was a rock throwing contest to see who could throw it the farthest. I love the action shot with his wife cheering on the sideline.

This was a pillow fight atop some logs - this was Justin losing miserably to his brother Duncan.

Here is the action shot of Justin and Duncan.

They started the fight off amicably with a handshake.

Here's James carrying Samuel on his back.

Here are the participating game members.

And the token Goat picture - just be grateful I didn't snap what happened next.

Blog of Randomness

Finally! I am taking a moment to catch up on the blog. Colin's mom has been in town for 10 days and I didn't want to sit on the computer while there were girl movies to watch, sewing to do, etc. Here are some random photos from the last few days. I have a couple more events to blog about soon... Jude and Colin wrestling.

Samuel was "cooking" with ALL of my cumin powder. Jude actually drug all the pots and pans out and Samuel finished up.
Here are how Samuel and Jude have been passing the warm days - digging in the dirt and fighting over toys.

Such a cute picture of him - he does everything loudly.
I'm pretty sure Samuel got this move from his uncle - it involves a finger in his belly button. He was trimming the flowers here and stopped to pose for the camera.

Here Samuel caught and slug.
Ew.

My parents came over for dinner a few nights ago and here are my mom and Jude having a conversation.

Finally my tomato plants are producing! Samuel has been picking them and eating them fresh - he had this one for breakfast.

Family Trip to The Bite of Oregon

I've been wanting to make it to The Bite of Oregon for a few years now and finally I made it today! Colin and the boys came and while the food we tried wasn't off the hook, it was still great to get downtown and experience some of the culture. I ordered a falafel from the Greek Cuisina (I'm still standing by Riyhad's on Hawthorne - any other Mediterranean food pales in comparison) and the boys ate Japanese soba noodles with chicken from Noodles & Company. Samuel also had some strawberry frozen yogurt. It's so nice to get away from the house and all the projects and spend time as a family. Colin holding fussy Jude.
The token tourist picture of the Bite of Oregon sign.

Here's Jude eating up his noodles.
Finally Jude is getting a little more brave and standing with support. It feels like he won't be walking until his is 14!
And here's Samuel with a mouth full of food.

Samuel Loves His Books

My Mom gave Samuel the whole collection of the "Little House" books so we don't have to check them out from the library. Yay for grandparents!! Here he is holding his book asking for his "15 minutes of reading" for the day.

And here is Samuel as a wee babe being read to. He really has always loved books. So sweet!

Pics of the Boys

I thought I would post a few pictures of the boys from the last couple of days. I'm still not feeling great, so things have been pretty low key. We went to the Wilsonville park that has water features yesterday and both boys had a great time - today we went to the Lake Oswego Library storytime and Samuel actually participated a bit this time! After that we joined Jan (Sarah's Mom) in helping at the Adult Community Center serving (and eating) lunch. Samuel got very good at handing out milk. Colin is done with his 2 1/2 week vacation, so I'm trying to transition the boys back into having just me around. I let Jude have some of the marionberry pie after dinner last night - he actually spread these berries all over in his hair as well as his face.
This is Jude's favorite comfort object now - besides his thumb, of course. He named the pig "Bobby" for some reason.
Samuel and I started the day off with a paper craft - basically just cutting up different colors of construction paper and gluing the pieces all over. He loves doing this and is getting pretty good with scissors and glue!
I love taking pictures of those chubby little hands at work.

Berry Picking and Family Time

We decided (ok, well I decided) that the family needed to go berry picking yesterday. And because marionberries are my all time favorites, we went to a place called Thompson Farms and I believe we were in Boring. This place was amazing - it had strawberries, marionberries (blackberries were also hiding along the fence line and I had to compare the differences between blackberries and marionberries - not much, except the berry shape and the tangy taste the marionberries have), peaches, onions, etc. I knew Jude would love it because I often find him picking blueberries out of our yard. Everyone had a great time - here are some photos. Jude inspecting his berry. He is still clean at this point.

This picture not only gets Jude picking his berry, but his always messed up hair. I promise, I come this mane down every evening, but it truly is a fruitless effort.

Samuel decided these berries were finger lickin' good. He turned out to be a pretty good berry picker.
And here is how Jude ended up - we meandered through the strawberry field on our way out (they were $1/pound - what a steal!!) and just set Jude down and let him pick.

Colin and Jude carefully selecting the right location.
Samuel with the beginning of his berry mustache - it got much worse.
Samuel wanted to stand on this table - makes for a cute picture.

Even though I still can't stand the thought of sweets, I had all those beautiful berries, so I made a marionberry pie (normally one of my favorite desserts ever) from scratch. And for once, this pie actually turned out - crust and everything!! I used Mario Batali's Mom's recipe, oddly enough. It was in the current issue of Food and Wine magazine. And as a side note, did you all know that Gweneth Paltrow and Mario are travelling around Spain and eating for a show on PBS? I'm not sure Gwennie ever really eats - I'd be interested to witness it.

Sewing Project and My Boys' Tractor Rental

Well, Colin decided to rent a tractor to dig a three foot hole in our yard for the foundation of the future garage. I'm so glad he didn't do it by hand, because I would like my kitchen to be remodeled in this century, and everything awaits this garage completion. Samuel was as happy as a pig in poo riding on the tractor pretty much all day long. It amazes me how hard that guy works - he just found out today from PGE that he has to dig another 3x3 hole in a different part of our yard and he did it in his spare time today. The kids are off with the grandparents, so we had some alone time and had lunch out at Panera, strolled around a few stores and just relaxed. It was wonderful! But I do miss them and often wonder what I did before kids. Here are Samuel and Colin on the beloved tractor.
And I've been working on this baby shower gift for a few days. It's a hooter hider and burp cloths. I love to sew and decided my machine needed a tune up - so I took it into a shop in SE Portland (my first mistake) and received the absolute worst customer service I have ever encountered in my life. I was ignored by not one, but two people for at least 20 minutes. The treatment got even worse when I showed them my coupon for the tune up - how dare I pay only $20 to get my machine looked at!! The guy pretty much laughed at me and in a roundabout way assured me they would find more things wrong with my nearly new machine than just the basic tune up required. Should be interesting. I did however drool over the Berkina sewing machines which were proudly displayed all over the store. The store was scared to display the prices, so I'll search the internet and see what I find.