The Muddy Adventures

October 15, 2012

Northern CA trip

We try to visit Joe's sister once a year. It is such a hardship to go to San Fran every year (totally being sarcastic here). Many memories have been made on our trips. We were engaged in 2006 in the city, before Joe's sister lived there. I saw my first whale a few years ago and Kamden took his first flight when he was just 4 months old.

We still get nervous flying with him because it isn't getting easier. In fact, we were discussing trips we want to take the rest of the year and Joe wasn't so sure we should cash in on the free lap seat ticket we can get until next August. I am sure he will change his mind :)

Kamden still did pretty great on the flight. We took the last direct flight out of the day both ways. He basically slept the entire time but it wasn't quite as easy to get him to sleep because he doesn't take bottles anymore. Luckily, the flights were very empty both ways. No one wanted to sit close to us (not a surprise) and we had tons of room.

We got in late Friday night and then lounged around Saturday morning. It was a beautiful day so we packed a picnic and went to a park. Kamden enjoyed the swings and crawling around while the rest of us were attacked by bees that wanted our food.

Joe and I headed to wine country for 2 nights while K stayed with Aunt S, Nana, and J. We booked this trip very last minute so reasonably priced places to stay were limited. We ended up at a B&B with a cooky old lady running the place. Minus the crazy lady and her house, we had a great time!

Here is a list of places and services we used. This is mostly to help with my memory... but if anyone has questions feel free to ask.

Zin Restaurant - Dinner Saturday night

Wine Country Chauffeur - tour guide. I didn't have time to research and left the itinerary completely up to them. They did an AWESOME job.

j winery

Mochin Wine - this is where we did a full winery tour.

Dutton Estate Winery

Balletto Winery

Thomas George Estate

Barndiva - Dinner Sunday night

Our take-home bottles... really excited to drink these :)

Monday morning, we headed back to see K and leave for KC. It was a great trip and we look forward to next year!

October 6, 2012

Look Mom, No hands!

So yes, my child still doesn't walk. At 14 months. I am not worried about this but some people look at me with complete shock. Joe didn't walk until 17 months but I walked at 11. I figure if we beat that 17 month marker, we're in good shape.

Kamden has adapted. He has learned to use his mouth to hold things while crawling. We captured this video today....

Deck Improvements

We desperately needed to have our deck refinished. It hadn't been done in the 4 years we have lived here. We are trying to breath a little life back into the deck until we make some big decisions about our house. It needs to last at least another 5 years, which requires a little more frequent maintenance.

In addition to staining the deck, we had the handyman take out the hot tub and deck over the space, rebuild the stairs, beef up the railings, and add gates to the top of the stairs. The gates are quite possibly one of my favorite home improvements. Ever. Such a small thing but it contains my child to an area of outdoor play that isn't a gigantic dog toilet bowl! On nice afternoons I just open the back door and let K go in and out as he pleases. This is priceless right now!

I don't have finished pictures but you get the idea.

Adios broken hot tub!

Look at that beautiful gate!

Sidenote: Pinterest isn't just a time killer. It actually inspires me to do things. Like clean my entry grout for the first time in 4 years. Yep. That is gross.

Family Photos

My sister asked me to take some family photos for her. I am NOT claiming to be a professional. I leave that to my sister-in-law, Cindy. I am happy with the results of these pictures. I do wish I would spend a little more time figuring out my "fancy" camera.

We tried getting a few "cousin" pictures without great results but this one of just K was pretty cute.

Labor Day/Xmas Celebration

This celebration took place over Labor Day weekend with our Nebraska family. We rotate years and this was the year for my mom to host. We have had an insanely dry and hot summer. Labor Day weekend blessed us with many inches of rain (remnants of a hurricane). It was much needed but wasn't exactly the best timing. It cleared up and we had plenty of fun outside. Anyway... on to the pictures!

First buggy ride! All "the Grands" love riding on this cart.

We don't exchange gifts for these events but my mom made capes for all the grands. Superman for the boys, princess or wonder woman for the girls. HUGE HIT!

Great grandma and most of the kids present. Pretty tough to get a decent one at this age. Kamden was NOT happy.

September 14, 2012

So Excited!

This home project isn't complete but I couldn't resist posted the progress pictures.

Before:

After:

That is right people... all the navy is GONE!!!!

I will post more details later. When it is done.... weeks from now. I had no idea how long it takes to install shower doors (or how much they flipping cost!).

Portland, OR

I am finally getting around to recapping the trip to Portland. Only about 6 weeks after the trip.

We had planned an anniversary trip to New Hampshire but Joe needed to be in Portland about 3 days before we were going to NH. So, we just changed the trip and headed to OR instead! It was a great choice. Loved the city and the people we got to visit while there.

This will be a quick and dirty synopsis of the trip. Mostly photos and a few captions :)

I had the day to explore on my own while Joe was working. I took full advantage and did things I couldn't drag him to. I started with the International Rose Test Garden. It was AMAZING! Hundreds of thousands of roses in bloom.

Next stop (literally across the street) was the Japanese Garden. I was able to catch a tour that was just starting. Very informative and interesting.

I bought this adorable owl at the Japanese Garden. I love him.

Ended my time alone with an amazing sandwhich at PBJs Grill food cart. Portland has city blocks full of food carts. We basically ate lunch everyday at different carts. great food!

Joe surprised me with flowers, champagne, and chocolates in the room! Love that guy :)

We explored the city the next day (including Powell Books, Voodoo Donuts) and then hit up the Bite of Oregon the next. Fun food/wine/beer festival

The next day we headed to the coast. On the way, we stopped at the Tillamook Cheese Factory. Nice tour, great cheese, amazing ice cream.

We loved the coast! Cool weather and plenty of sun. We were just in time for the last few days of Dungeness crab season. We shared a delicious whole crab at Ecola Seafood Market. We brought a bottle of local wine that we got at the festival, cheese from the factory, and sat on the beach and enjoyed. Seriously, a great day.