I'm Still Here!!!

Brenda's husband sent this shot to me from bowling. these are my friends i spend time with at the pool in the summer he call us the Rat Pack. we always go to our kids birthdays and even though our kids are different ages by a year or and also we all go to separate schools i think (Michele and I are the McBride moms) we and our kids are still really good friends. they are a FUN bunch.



Me and My Jakie!


Just "LIVING LIFE" (see post from a couple months back, or maybe it was Candy's post about my comment to her when she said she hasn't posted forever..)
Now that we are back on schedule I almost secretly wish for more winter white so we can stay home and play in the snow and forget everything else.

One thing i did notice is our poor grass. and some of my poor plants. I am really hoping they spring back but it doesn't look too good from some of them. two of the palm trees by the front of my house died. (one was snapped in half the other just died. my friends butterfly bush died too. my vines look pretty sick and some of the grass is dead. it will be allot of spring cleanup when the time comes. i will have to plant some new things as well.

So now Jake started Tae Kwon Do(it's his 3rd week) he needs to go to the starter class(Tue/Thur or a while until he gets the basics down so now i am driving the kids to practice Mon-Thur. it's not too bad but i try to get dinner done early so we are not rushing around. Once Jake gets most of the basics down maybe in a month or so then he can go Mon-wed like Tanner. Tanner is moving up to the later class because he needs to spar practice with adults for training, it would help him prepare more for Tournaments, so Mon-wed i don't get home until 8:30pm.

We decided to only stick within our state tournaments until he is a black belt and then if he still wants to we will get into it more. I still am not one to push them into too competitive mode he tends to push himself at times so that's more than enough, i see so much burn out with the kids especially this age in any sports they do. He did ask me to take him running 3 days a week so we go to the track and do no more than 3 miles Tue/ Thur/ sat. well now Jakie wants to go so i take him Mon-wed and he goes no more than 2 miles one day he was like " you promised mom" i was so tired but i do want to discourage him either (it's better than playing video games I reckon")so i went. if this routine of there's keeps going maybe I'll lose that extra 10 from XMAS that wants to hang on for dear life.(wish i could stay away from my freezer"LOL)

Anyway we are having very beautiful weather here in Oregon. It is cold but SUNNY!!! we enjoyed our weekend we had Youth Group Friday, Sat. we had a b-day party(Bowling) , a bonfire in our Culdasac, Dinner and a movie with my girlfriends Sunday. Bride Wars was very funny. love Kate Hudson. And basically hanging out outside enjoying our weather. The house can wait to be cleaned. I went on a great run today. hope this weather lasts for a while. It's been such a nice winter here. well just a quick update i think it's time to go and enjoy the outside for a while

MYTHBUSTERS

Grant Tanner and Tori.. Up in Washington State




Last month Tanner was invited to view a taping of Myth busters on the discovery channel. My friends have some friends that were involved in this specific episode. Tanner has not missed a day of school going on his 2 nd year however i felt this was a excellent opportunity and life experience so I let him miss school to go.




(Plus the fact he was overlooked at the awards ceremony at the end of last year not just for not missing school but academically too i figured what difference does it make.)

Right now your probably thinking "that's not a very good attitude Lynn" however it's something i didn't and wouldn't say to Tanner but expressing here only. He's works so hard each and every year it disappointing when not just mine but other kids are overlooked.

anyway moving on and off my soap box...

It was a great day for Tanner however he couldn't tell me anything and we have to wait until it airs. As soon as i know you'll know I really wish I could of gone too I love this show and they do some of the coolest things.. Mythbusters is one of our favorite shows we watch as a family. the boys and I actually watched a marathon New Years Day. All the cast members are so hilarious. Tanner got to meet Grant and Tori and watch as they tested the MYTH. Anyway here's one picture I can share right now..It was a long but exciting day for Tanner. I'll share more later....

Christmas 08

our snowman.(yes he has large candy canes for arms)


Tanner got a ipod.. he has been saving for one by doing odd jobs so we decided he earned one without spending his money..





legos legos and more legos.. we must have gotten thousands on Christmas day alone.





opening the stockings...





cookies for Santa


getting PJ's Xmas evethe boys got so many gifts we had to stack them over by the couch.
maybe a little too much this year

my friends


can't get enough of the snow:)



Jake's homemade bird feeder came in handy for the birds. how cool is that?


I am just getting around to posting Christmas. and what a Xmas we had. The single best thing was having 3 weeks of being home bound.. Quite honestly i could of gotten around but i took advantage of our surprise snowstorm and stayed home. all of our Christmas shopping was finished and all i really needed to do was get a ham for the big day. As i type this and reflect on the past 3 weeks i came to realize that i can take this as a sign to slow down. Not just me but the kids as well. i am very fortunate to have great neighbors and spending allot of time with them during the holiday season was like having a 2nd family. With the snow we spent time at each others home eating playing games and just hanging out together. we played so much in the snow, got our exercise and just enjoyed life. I cooked up a storm something i love doing but get to busy to do. it was a very stress free few weeks. i want to take that time with me and try to just live everyday like that. i know now that were all back to the grind it is easy to jump on that good old super busy bandwagon but i think now i may change a few priorities. with all that said it is good that the boys are back in school, i am glad to get the house back in order, put all the Christmas deco away, clean etc. here's some December and Xmas shots. the kids had a great Xmas. they opened there pj's eve night, left out cookies for the big guy, we actually woke up before them Xmas morning, we made oven pancakes and sausage. and as you can see Grandma and Grandpa Loff spoiled them beyond belief. dinner was great and we stayed in sweats all day that is why there is not a official Christmas pictures of us. tee hee..

Time to Reflect and Tanner's TKD test

Tanner tested for his belt last Friday, no sparring shots but got a few of his form and self defense he also Reffed and coached a couple other fights. He did great.
This is Tanner's good friend "it was for there self defense" and they were trying not to laugh at some points just thought this shot was funny
breaking a board
receiving his blue belt/black stripe
splintering another board
i couldn't see


too cute
my hubby!

Needless to say a week ago last Sunday i would of never thought we'd have the Christmas that we will have. Exactly a week after the first snow fall we got hit with a what Oregonians like too call a "Artic Blast"( they did give the mid-west a slight run for it's money LOL). I have to say we lucked out on the traveling. Dax flew in Friday no problems and my folks flew out Saturday morning(with just a 2hour delay). I insisted to my dad they will close the airports on Sunday as we are not equipped for winter weather here and i was right. Growing up Minnesota as a child and young adult we didn't miss school unless it was over 70 below wind chill and a blizzard at the time the buses would be moving. my dad had a good laugh at us(it got old after a while). I am glad my parents made it home however i would of loved for them to be stranded and stay with us longer instead. We enjoyed our first Xmas meal last Friday Prime Rib and then we played in the snow some more. Sunday night when the storm really hit was a fun night. we played and watch the news and enjoyed being warm in the house. I still am a little shocked we actually got over a foot of snow all together. it was 40 years to the day that was the last time Oregon was hit like this. I do love it. We are getting around with little problem, i skipped out on work Monday "just because" but went for a walk that turned into a jog for an hour. (yes i got allot of funny looks) We went to Fred Meyer and got our Christmas dinner and Dax's Birthday stuff. Going for allot of walks. Sniper went to the field on Sunday and the snow was so deep after three Frisbee catches he was pooped. We go to our hill at 4-5pm like clock work with our neighbors and sled for a couple hours. Scott brings out the heater to warm our hands. I am training Sniper to pull me and we've had some good laughs with that. The boys fort is a work in progress. Tanner made $30.00 shoveling. Dax and I have gotten a good work out shoveling our driveway. You really can break a sweat it's very hard work.Dax started his puzzle(John Wayne) and is almost finished.(i hid his last piece as always and he always fall for it teehee) I almost think my boys are more active during this snow than they would of if it was just rainy and cold. Today the driving is much easier. (thanks to a huge truck and 4 wheel drive) work was a piece of cake and people were happy to have a good class. Dax and his friend have gone to Costco( i guess the pass is pretty clear). i am making more bread and a little house cleaning. then back outside. I told the boys to savour this because Sunday it could start to disappear, and I will be sad and what funny i am on a short list of people that feel that. I really do like it i am not cold it's pretty i am just dyeing to buy the camera i really want just to get some awesome shots. I will miss it. i wish the track at the high school was cleared, but i am making due doing my jogging in boots and snow pants and using the god-awful treadmill. Cabin fever could come about if i stayed cooped up but as long as i am out i am good to go. Just think we may never see this happen in Oregon again. I think it is something else that for sure. Will friends and family this is probably my last post until after Christmas. so enjoy your family and the blessings you've received through out the year, take this snow as a gift spend some quiet time together, work on a puzzle, play games, bake, watch movies. if you are driving, be safe and aware of your surroundings. Merry Christmas!

more Snow photos

Tanner and Jake has pretty much lived outside the past week. This sure beats laying around the house. I have done some nice long walks with my friend and we've been building and sledding. Now that the boys have actually full 3 weeks off it will be interesting to see if we start to get on each others nerves. Dax is home and off work until the New year as well. I love our neighborhood. our neighbor across the street has been blaring the xmas music as we play out front, we've had a cookie exchange and have been snacking allot. it is very festive. My walks usually start out at the field and go around the fair grounds. it was so pretty last Wed. The dog is loving it too.