Happy New Year

So
Better late than never on the Holiday posting!

We survived the hectic holiday. It's funny how every year, I think to myself, this year I'm going to plan ahead and simplify this holiday season.
It never seems to work out that way! I shouldn't complain though, we did some awesome stuff. We got to see the Christmas lights display at Portland International Raceway - which is really fun, and Bailey and I got to go to our traditional Christmas Tea at the Heathman Hotel in downtown Portland with out bestest buddies, Lisa & Jordyn, and Amy & Brooke. We look forward to this every year when we can dress up, eat and drink off fancy dishes, and just plain be girly. Afterwards we go shopping downtown, which I think is just as fun as the Tea! Lisa and I have been taking Bailey and Jordyn since they were 2 years old and they still enjoy it just as much as when they were little ones. -So do Lisa, Amy and I.

Hello New Friend

We decided the house was very lonely without our little Chloe, and so after some encouragement from Mark and Bailey, we adopted our newest kitty. I was hesitant at first, having gone through Chloe's illness and the hurt no quite gone, but after having her here, it's been great.

And so, meet our new kitty:

Princess Luna Half Stache

(Luna for short, Half Stache for half a mustache).

She is very loving and cute as can be. We got her after visiting her at the Humane Society a couple of times. Welcome little friend.

Goodbye Old Friend

We had to say goodbye to our sweet little one in December. Chloe had been fighting E-Coli for about 2 months and her old 20 year old cat system just couldn't take it anymore.

When Mark and I first got married 20 years ago, he brought me home this little junkyard kitten to keep me company all those lonely hours he was starting up his Snap-On business. Not knowing a soul in Oregon at the time, Chloe kept me company and gave me love 24-7.

She beat the odds after almost loosing her after moving, and then moving again to Bend. I have only fond memories of her and she will always be special to me.

Goodbye dear friend.

Halloween Open House Extravaganza

We hosted a superfun Halloween open house this year. Our neighborhood gets around 300+ trick or treaters (no, I'm not exagerating) so we decided to combine our efforts with friends and have a party at the same time. The parade of costumes at the front door was so fun to see as we all took turns on door duty. We also ate a lot, played guitar hero and pinball and just had fun talking. I kinda went crazy on the decorations, but had oh, so much fun.

Missing you.....

Have I written how much I love having visitors? Well, I do and I was looking at my pictures the other day and missing my sis. She and her fam came to Bend about a month ago and if you need a commercial about how great Bend is to visit, just ask them. And how cute are these girls? Love you Ang.

Smoke gets in your eyes

So sorry about the large time lapse, but the computer which is normally used for this blog and all its pictures recently died.

moment of silence


Today there is a haze of smoke in Bend from a forest fire somewhere nearby. It is making the sunset a beautiful orange, but we cannot go outside to enjoy it because we start hacking.

SUMMER ROCKS

Our summer so far has been so great- I can't believe it's halfway over. It's been a month so there's lots to catch up on.

First was Bryant and Sandra came to visit us for forth of July. They enjoyed Bend with us on Bend's biggest city-wide celebration of the year. We walked the downtown festival, saw Tumalo Falls, and then watched the great fireworks on Pilot Butte. We scouted out an awesome place for watching that was really close and not very crowded. We all went to church together the next day which was also really nice.
Thanks Bryant and Sandra for coming, we love you!

Next on the travel log is the first ever Olmstead family reunion, held in Monterey, California. We made the trek by car and stopped in Ashland, to see a play at the Shakespere festival- which was excellent, as usual. The next stop was Monterey and our lovely family who, for the first time since the little ones were born, got together.

We had such a great time catching up, going to the beach, eating good food, going to the aquarium, sightseeing and playing with the babies.
Lily, (Mark's sister Joy's daughter) had grown up a lot and was as cute as could be. She is a delightful, curious little girl with lots of energy. She was captivated by the other guests' dogs that would play in the courtyard.
Fhynn (Mark's other sister Alicia's son) Had grown a lot since we saw him in December. He can walk now and loved getting so much attention from everyone. He is still as cute as ever and was really fun to watch eat, picking everything up and feeling it before putting it in his mouth.
Being with our family made me wish we weren't so far away from each other. MISS YOU GUYS!

After we said goodbye at Montery, the 3 of us went on to San Francisco. Wow, what an awesome city. The history is so rich there and there is so much to see. We did a tour, seeing Chinatown, Golden Gate Park and the Japanese garden, the Painted Ladies victorian houses (and go to go inside one), the Palace of Fine Arts and then at last, -Bailey's favorite- drive over the Golden Gate Bridge. The weather couldn't have been better. Even though it was pleasant, we still got to see the fog roll over the bridge- just beautiful.

Well, that's it so far. Next week it's off again. We'll be taking Bailey to EFY in Tacoma while Mark and I drive up to the San Juan Islands to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary. (Yes, I can't believe it's been 20 years either! Go us!)