Precious Moment

Yesterday I was working in the kitchen and Abby was doing her usual laps around the couch. I looked up to see her take a picture frame off our end table. As I was about to tell her, "No" she pressed her face against it and gave the photo of Mommy and Daddy a big kiss. My heart melted.

Pumpkin Patch, 20 lbs and Potties

This past weekend we made a trip to EZ Orchards. I had not been there during October for several years and was quite impressed with the improvements. Abby loves pictures of pumpkins for some odd reason, so I was really excited to share with her one of my favorite parts of fall. However, she has this obsession with rocks, so the gravel right next to the pumpkins won out. But we got some great fresh produce and Abby get to pet some goats.
Abby reached two more exciting milestones. Last week she broke the 20 lb mark! Not that it really matters other than for some reason this was a big psycological relief for me. Each night I have been putting Abby on the toilette just to start getting her used to it. Tonight, she went potty in the toilette! I think it was pure coincidence, but I made a big deal and even called Eugene for a little parental rejoicing.

In love with Fall

I absolutely love the fall. I love the cold, crisp, foggy mornings and the sunny afternoons. I love hot cider, pumpkins, baking bread and crunchy fallen leaves. When it starts raining I just want to open the window, curl up on the couch with a blanket and listen to the rain. And, from what I can tell it, a lot of my blogging friends share this passion, so I thought it would be fun to do a poll. What is your favorite season? Vote on the side and if you want, leave a comment as to why. Happy Fall!Pondering the greater questions of life

26.2

This past weekend we headed to Portland. Saturday was my Dad's birthday so we enjoyed some family time. Then, it was an early Sunday morning as we headed downtown for Eugene to run the: He and his running partner, Randy, joined over 12,000 others as they ran all across the city - 26.2 miles to be exact.
When Tina and I met them with food at mile 12 they looked like they had hardly broken a sweat and were keeping up great time. Sadly, Eugene's leg cramped up around mile 16. BUT, my amazing husband KEPT GOING for 10 more miles and still finished strong. I am so proud of him!

Coming down the home stretch!

Enchanted Forrest

continuing with our updates:

September 19th my parents treated us, along with my sister's family, to a day at the Enchanted Forest. This was a special day for a couple reasons. My brother-in-law returned that week from his second tour of duty in the Middle East so this was the first time our whole family had been together in a couple years. (Welcome home, Paul, and thank you for "working to keep us safe") Also, growing up we took many trips to this theme park with our cousins, so it was fun to relive some memories and pass on the tradition. I wasn't sure if Abby would be too young, but she had a blast.

more catch-up

After we came back from CA, Eugene had his first all-dorm event with Davidson. We are really enjoying this dorm - the residents (I never know what to call them - boys? sounds too young. men? no, they are still in college) are just super nice guys. Not that Farrar men are not nice because they are and they are super fun and crazy. Davidson just has a different personality and it is super nice, polite and friendly. I think I have written super too many times. Anyway, Eugene grilled 80 hot dogs, I made two huge pasta salads, we put together 3 big bowls of fruit salad and I made 10 dozen chocolate chip cookies. Needless to say, my kitchen was a disaster! And, sadly, we ran out of food. It's hard to know how much to cook for a whole dorm!

I'm not skilled enough yet to cook for 60 people and keep my baby from adding to the mess. But, I think she was glad - she likes making messes!

After the bar-b-q the guys had made a slip'n'slide down the hill into a pool. Unfortunately the pool was on just enough incline to cause it to give way to the weight of the water. You probably cannot tell from the picture, but this was just after panic time trying to keep 1000 gallons of water from flooding Academic Towers!

We always read Abby a book before bedtime. Here she is stacking her end table full of books after the bar-b-q was over. I think she was trying to give me a hint!


The next morning we were blessed with a visit from Don and Lynn Aimes who were like a second set of parents to Eugene. After a road trip, big dinner event and several rough nights with the little one, I was so exhausted and wish I could re-do their visit! They are such wonderful people and we are always so edified after spending time with them.

Pit Stops

After taking many trips to CA with a baby I feel we are becoming experts on play areas lining the I-5 corridor. My favorites have become mall play areas.