Gratuity and Gentle Reminders

I was reading a good friend's blog the other day and was really touched by his recent post. Robb and his kids were driving around Silverdale and saw a homeless man on the street corner. Concerned he may be cold, his boys suggested buying this gentleman some hot cocoa...so they did. They offered the cocoa to this stranger and talked with him for a while. I thought to myself...hmm...would I have the courage to do that? To get out of my comfort zone and offer a complete stranger on the street corner something warm to eat? Today, I was driving around our little festive town and I saw a homeless man with his dog on the corner by Burger King. I didn't even have to think twice about what I should do. But could I do that? So I decided to help this gentleman by buying him warm chicken fingers, jojos, some fresh fruit and water. And a cool thing happened - just as I was getting out of my car to walk over to him a woman drove by and offered him a sack of groceries! I will admit that I was very nervous about approaching him. But as soon as I started talking with him I felt very at ease. He was very grateful for the warm food. I asked if he had a warm place to stay and he said no because of his beloved dog. She is all that he has left in this world and unfortunately the shelters don't take dogs in. He said he had a tarp and blankets stashed in the woods. I spent a few more minutes talking with him and petting his sweet dog. As I was leaving he said "God bless you" and, with a lump in my throat, I said the same back to him. Thank you Robb, Jacob, Jonah and Noah for reminding me to take off my daily blinders, look around and "see" who I can touch.

Happy Halloween!

We hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween! While Derek is off hunting in Iowa with Tucker (hi daddy!) my parents came down from Leavenworth to hang out and go to the Stanford's Halloween Party. Schmidty you were missed by all! Ryland had a football game late this afternoon so he kept with the football theme and we gored him up with fake bruises and blood. Skylar decided to go as Luna Lovegood from Harry Potter...what a great character to be! And yes, I am dressed as a Green Crayon.

Yes, these are my parents. Can you believe it?!?! They were super troopers and went all out for the costume party. While mom was down in Scottsdale visiting Shannon a few weeks ago, they went out costume shopping and brought back all this biker garb. Never thought I would EVER see a tat on my dad's chest........

The gang already for the party.

Nate was quite creative....Canadian Bacon! His wife, Kelli, dressed up as a Pineapple...unfortunately I didn't get a picture of her! Nate won for best costume!

And our Hostess's with the Mostess's......Fred and Wilma (in reversed roles!). Matt...looking very sexy in this. We were all wondering what he might be wearing underneath....

The Princess (Ellen) and her 70's Pimp (Dave)!

Wilma (aka Megan) and Ellie - who started out at BamBam but it didn't quite last so she is wearing a beautiful dress she wore at her Uncle's summer wedding.

Colby and Papa Nate.

Happy Halloween everyone!

Promises, Mammograms and Glassybaby

The Seattle Cancer Care Alliance is teaming up with Glassybaby encouraging woman to make a promise to themselves and get a mammogram.

Commit to good health and the chance to win a glassybaby votive. While only women over the age of 40 should get an annual mammogram, anyone can make a promise to encourage friends and loved ones to do so. Please click on my link http://mam4.me/ShSc and make a promise that YOU will get a mammogram!

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Go Black Lightening!

Ryland's Pee Wee football team played their first game today and WON 22-19! Started off with a bang with a kick off return for a touchdown! The boys were seriously pumped up...so were the coaches and parents. Here are some fun pictures from todays game...

Little pre-game warm up.

Our wonderful coaches.

Skylar throughly enjoying cheering her awesome brother on....actually she did tell me that she is very proud of Ryland....aaahhhh.

Proud Papas watching their boys bring it!

Team line up before the game starts.

Some action on the field.

Ryland is wearing #73. He rocked today.....made an INTERCEPTION!! Ryland played the entire game (except for one play!) on offense, defense AND special teams!!

Half time oranges and water.

Celebration tunnel!! Post-game celebration huddle with the players and coaches. Great playing boys!

Here is the opening play....kickoff return for their first touchdown!

First Day of School

School bag in hand, Skylar and Ryland started the first day of school. Ryland is now in the 3rd and Skylar is in the 5th grade....her last year of elementary! We are incredibly proud of both of them and enjoy watching them grow into really good kids. Aren't they growing up so fast?

The future of WSU Football

Ryland started playing North Kitsap Pee Wee football in August and is loving it! He is on the C-Black team with 9-10 year old kids (there is a girl on his team that can seriously hit harder than most of the boys!). We really like the coaches - trying to get used to the fact that they are encouraging my child to "hit" his opponents. But, like Derek tells him, if he is the one always on his butt then he is really going to get hurt. So far so good with only minor bruises on his arms from learning how to hit and tackle.

The team played their first scrimmage last Thursday and Ryland caught an INTERCEPTION!! Yeah, baby! We will be posting more pics as the season continues - games start in two weeks!

I do have to say he looks so cute in his WSU football shirt all padded up!

Leavenworth Family Reunion

The third weekend in July we all headed up to my parents Bed and Breakfast for our much anticipated Family Reunion. It was so much fun to see everyone especially our beloved 91 year old Gammi! There are many summer birthdays in our family so it gave us a chance to celebrate them all.
Since Ryland is the only young one of the summer birthdays, we had a celebration just for him one evening. He was so surprised when he opened up his last present....a Pokemon Emerald game for his DS. I know, you are probably thinking WHAT? But let me tell you....when you are nine and you have your heart set on that one thing it really is a big deal. I had to drive all the way to Gig Harbor to find it!

All the cousins together singing Happy Birthday to Ryland. Gigi used trick candles so there was lots of hysterics over trying to get them blown out!

Hanging outside, riding bikes and tubing down the river are some of the highlights. We also enjoyed beautiful music played by Zach (the girls were in heaven!) Check out his new album http://www.zachhendricks.net/ Great person and talented musician but most importantly very loving to my beautiful cousin Shelby.

Fun was had by all. Lots of hanging out, catching up and playing badmitton. Seriously watch out for Shelby and Zach...they are a just a tad bit competitive (the Schmidts still rule though!).

Aunt Peggy provided a really fun craft for the kids. Well, okay, truth be told I think the adults had just as much fun! We tye-dyed! Even Bapa got in on the action when we had all the grandkids sign their names on his whitie-tighties and we dyed them RED....yah baby!

Here are some of the works of art....they came out pretty good! We layed them out in the sun to dry and even hung the underwear in the trees...what would the neighbors say? Do we really care? No.

Wine and cheese filled our afternoons before feasting on delicious dinners. Thanks everyone for such a wonderful weekend! And a HUGE thank you to mom and dad for opening up the Inn for all of us. It a rarity that we all get together and the times that we do always create very special memories.

Splish Splash!

We have had some really hot days this summer. Which, of course, we are thankful for since our winters are so long....and wet....and dark. These are those moments that, as a mom, I will forever cherish.

I love the magic of photography. The way it can preserve a memory in a split second...forever holding my children in that moment of life.

These images are some of my very favorite. Okay, I cannot tell a lie. I have THOUSANDS of favorite photographs of my family. But these were so much fun to take and really captured our afternoon of playing.

Aahhhh the blessed profile. Love taking pictures of their profiles because they don't know you are taking the picture and its not staged. Its a fleeting moment in time.

I pray they always remember to laugh and enjoy this life we have been given.

LIVE. LAUGH. LOVE.

Ryland Turns Nine

On July 22nd we celebrated Ryland's 9th birthday at our local bowling establishment. All the kids had a great time and it was so nice and cool inside.

The big sisters came along as well - they are always fun to watch when they get goofy.

Every year, Derek and I say the same thing about how fast time is going by. But really. Nine? When did this happen? His final year of single digit birthdays. He is growing into such an amazing and kind person. We are incredibly proud of him and can't wait for the next nine years to see what happens!

No competition here....what is with boys?

Girls Weekend

We call ourselves The Vegas Girls. We are four moms who have become great friends. We have traveled together (we went to Vegas a few years ago...hence the name), met for dinner, drinks, lunch many times and have bonded in a very lovely way. We also have our own unique connections. I have know Angela since the 6th grade. I met Megan because she married my childhood friend, Brian. I got to know Carrie through our Mother's Nurturing Mother's group years ago (our youngests are 1 month apart). It is a group of women I highly respect and treasure. This July we were able to spend a wonderful weekend in Long Beach, WA at Carrie's family cabin. A big thank you Carrie. And another HUGE thank you to our hubbies!

We spent one day exploring Astoria. If you have never been there I highly recommend it! We had an amazing dinner at the Urban Cafe, shopped the quiant stores for treasures and watch Star Trek in the old movie theater (it has couches and serves beer!)

Great coffee house in Astoria.

We also explored Oysterville which is a few minutes north of Long Beach. This town was built in the mid-1800's and you can walk around the old houses, church and school house. The red door above was the front door to the church.

Thanks girls for a wonderful weekend of sharing, playing and relaxing!