Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Crazy Drivers

Here is Bryce and Cayden out for a ride in Bryce's new Gator. Cayden is still able to fit and help him drive around. Unfortunately, it has been too cold and snowy here to be out too much in it.

Christmas 2009






























We had a truly amazing Christmas. We spent a week in Colorado with family and friends and flew back to Oregon on Christmas Day and had our family Christmas and then enjoyed an evening with friends. We are lucky beyond words. Here are just a couple of pictures of the kids opening presents. Santa brought Cayden the Star Wars Republic Gun Ship Lego. It must have 600 pieces and is currently ALL over the kitchen table. Bryce received his very own John Deere Gator and he is already practicing his driving skills (good thing we have a wide open yard).



Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Bryce part II


So Bryce is still being a pest at bedtime. Imagine that... Well, tonight, he strikes again. Here is the newest picture of our little man falling asleep in his chair. This one isn't as blurry because he fell asleep with the lights on.

What Cayden Wrote

I put this on Facebook the other day but thought I would share it with everyone who wasn't on there. In my classroom the other day some nice student had written on the white board "Mrs. Lowenbach Rocks." When Cayden came in that afternoon after school he added underneath that "Ya, she really does. Do your assignment." It just cracked me up. I am glad that he thinks so highly of me! I wonder if he has me for a high school teacher what he will be writing on my white board?

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Bryce... again...


Bryce has been in a big boy bed now about a month. He took about three days to get the hang of it and has been doing great since. Until now. The last couple of nights he has been getting out of bed again and again. We have patiently been leading him back to bed and eventually he goes to sleep. However, the other day, he even gave us some grief at naptime. When Jeff walked him back to his room Bryce climbed up on his chair and his room and started to look at a book. Jeff left him in his chair and about ten minutes I went back to check on him and this is what I saw. It is blurry because it was dark and I was really worried about waking him up. He sure is sweet.

Friday, December 11, 2009

The Play




Cayden's first grade class participated in a play about space. Cayden played the part of Dr. Solar System and he did great. He was really nervous at first and mumbled through his lines but eventually got so comfortable with his role that he was yawning. I have to admit that while I was sitting there watching him I was holding the tears back. It is hard to believe that he will be 7 soon and I was so proud of how well he was doing in this play. I will try to put a few pictures and a short video on.


Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Our Christmas Tradition



Since I shared our Thanksgiving tablecloth tradition I thought I would share our Christmas tradition. We own three books by Jeff Guinn. They are "The Autobiography of Santa Claus", "How Mrs. Claus Saved Christmas", and "The Great Santa Search". All three books have 24 chapters in them and are designed to be read one chapter a day until Christmas. Jeff and I bought the books when Cayden was too
young to listen to them and Bryce wasn't even around at all. Finally, last year, we read the first book (The Autobiography of Santa Claus) with Cayden. He
loved it even though it didn't have many pictures. Tonight, we started "How Mrs. Claus Saved Christmas". So far, he said it is a great book. I look forward to the next 23 nights with him.






Bryce's discovery

Rollin', rollin', rollin' keep that paper rollin'. Bryce discovered the toilet paper roll. It is so true what people say i.e. "I just turned around for a minute". It is what happened here. I was running around putting things away and Bryce was following me as he will often do saying "hold you, hold you". I was doing my best to get a few things done before I began to pack him around. I have to be honest and say that when I was no longer hearing "hold you, hold you" I didn't think too much about what grabbed his attention. As I went looking for him I found him sitting on his potty chair unrolling the toilet paper. He was having a great time!

Christmas Tree Waiting

This year we went Christmas tree hunting with the Crofcheck family and the Sloper family. We were a bit rushed but got a few pictures. You will notice the absence of men and of trees. In this new tradition that I love, the menfolk head out in search of the perfect tree and the womenfolk stay by the fire and EAT. Did I mention that I love this new tradition? Bryce is a bit young to head out on the hunt so he stayed with us ladies to eat and stay warm by the fire. We were surprised by the amount of snow at our little "spot".

Bryce, mom, and a potato chip

Niki, Erin, Sarah, and Kim

Sarah and Bryce


And, Bryce (our honorary little lady)

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Our Thanksgiving Tradition

Starting in 2005 we started a fun Thanksgiving tradition. I didn't realize exactly how meaningful it was until I got it out today. I purchased a plain white tablecloth and fabric markers and our family started to write what we were thankful for on our tablecloth. Each one of us writes our own and puts the date next to it (we would write for Cayden until last year). This year Cayden could read all of our previous entries and spent some time going around to read them. He liked talking about what everyone wrote. Here are some of our previous entries:

Jeff is thankful for:
Family (including dogsters) '05
Living in a great place '06
His exceptional electrical and plumbing skills for our remodel '07
Peach Hardy '08
and, on occasion, the Broncos have been mentioned. I'm not sure that will be on this year's list.

Carrie is thankful for:
Hot Chocolate '05
Hugs from Cayden and a job that I love '06
The baby boy in her belly (but don't tell Cayden) '07
A Husband that cooks and Christmas lights '08

Cayden is thankful for:
Mommy, daddy, and Mallory (don't know why on that one - she bites) '05
Food and Drake the dog (our house guest on many Thanksgivings) '06 This was the year Cayden wrote his own "C"
Toys, Luna, God and Jesus (and yes, in that order) '07 This year Cayden wrote his whole name
Mom and Dad and Bryce '08 This year Cayden wrote his own list.

What will 2009 have?

and, this year we will add Bryce although I'm not sure what he will be thankful for? I would have taken a picture of the tablecloth but it is VERY wrinkly and I think I am morally opposed to ironing a tablecloth...

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Smith Rock with the Wiles Family



Cayden at top of climbing wall


Me and the boys




Heather and her boys



Bryce looking at the river



Max and Nikolai at the top of the climbing wall

Monday, November 16, 2009

The Commercial

The commercial that Cayden got to be in is finally on air. He has a couple of small speaking parts! Look for the cute blonde at the ice cream store!

Sunday, November 1, 2009

A bad video but a video nonetheless

Since Bryce wouldn't stand still for a Halloween picture I thought I would try and take a quick video while Trick or Treating. I know it isn't very good and I promise I will get better but here it is anyway.

Lego Car


Cayden got a Lego Club Jr. magazine yesterday in the mail. And, now that he can read, he learned about a contest in which the winner could earn a $100 lego gift card. He promptly came home and closed himself in his room until he created the car you see posted here. He NEEDED to have it put on the blog because he is sure it will win.

Halloween

Cayden, Hogan, and Sam at school

My Knight in Shining Armor

The Dad and the Dragon (again blurry because Bryce wouldn't stop moving)


Friday, October 30, 2009

Halloween Shirts





These pictures are dark and I'm sorry about that. But, when my boys actually will sit or stand together and I can get a decent picture I will try. Their shirts are matching in case you can't tell!!

Thursday, October 29, 2009

No Autographs Please!
















Cayden got invited by our good friends Jvon and Dane to be in a local commercial that is spotlighting their local business. They own Goody's which is a wonderful ice cream and candy shop. Cayden had a few speaking parts and one BIG eating part. His costar was his babysitter (and Goody's employee) Corey. They were amazing together and we can't wait to see it all put together. He had such a good time! He woke up the day after filming the commercial and said, "well, I guess it will be a normal day where I won't be in a commercial". My little superstar!

Pumpkins












Jeff is responsible for carving the pumpkins in our house. My job is to capture the events with a camera. Bryce enjoyed his first experience with pumpkins (last year he was asleep). He enjoyed coloring on them. Cayden picks to do a "normal" jack o lantern every year and I love it!



Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Bryce is growing BIG


Bryce had his well- child check yesterday. He is now 20 months old! As I usually do, I checked his growth in comparison with Cayden's.


Bryce at 20 Months:

38 1/4 in.

35.4 lbs


Cayden at 24 months:

38 in.

31 lbs


Bryce is already taller and heavier than Cayden was at his 2nd Birthday! I wonder what will happen 4 months from now?

Friday, October 16, 2009

Two Firsts in our House

Two things happened in our house last night that haven't EVER happened. Jeff wasn't home to witness them and even he didn't believe it but it is TRUE.

1. Bryce ate fruit that didn't come out of a can or jar! Yep, he ate apple slices (peel and all).

2. Cayden ate pizza crust. He has been opposed to eating pizza crust since I forever. Last night he accidentally took a bite of the crust and spent the next 15 minutes talking about how GOOD it was. HE IS MY CHILD AFTER ALL!

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

What Cayden said (sang)

There is a country song that is on the radio currently and the chorus is "I gave up women, smoking, and drinking and it was the worst 15 minutes of my life". Cayden was singing this song in the truck on our way up woodcutting last weekend. It was funny enough to hear him singing it but then it got over and Jeff says, "so, Cayden, you gave up smoking huh?" And, Cayden promptly said, "no Dad, I gave up smoking women. Duh." Right, sorry dude. I guess this is another time where the comma can make all the difference in the world.

On a positive note, I am glad he is making healthy life choices.

Trick or Treat




I recently paid way too much for Halloween costumes but the boys love them so I guess it will be all right. Cayden decided to be a knight in shining armor and wanted Bryce to be a dragon so they could be a pair. I agreed it was a great idea and we were off to find the "perfect" costume. I was worried about actually putting a costume on Bryce and having him want to wear it so I was so glad to find the one I did. Sorry the picture of Bryce is blurry, he wouldn't stop moving.

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Peaches and Apples









About an hour and a half away from us is a teeny tiny little town called Kimberly. It is beautiful and even better because of all the amazing fruit that is grown there. This summer we took the trek to pick peaches and apples. By the pictures you can see that everyone got involved. We brought home our fair share of bruised fruit (thanks Bryce!).
We have since tried to make freezer jam which turned out more like peach sauce, applesauce which was very good and other hot desserts with the fruit. Yummm. Our freezer is packed with fruit waiting for people to visit so it can be turned into more yummy desserts.





Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Too many tomatoes




We had an amazing garden this summer. We had beans, tomatoes, peas, squash (don't know why - we didn't eat a single one), carrots, tomatoes, beets, corn, tomatoes, and pumpkins. Did I mention tomatoes? Seriously, we were overflowing with tomatoes. It was great fun to share all of our tomatoes with friends and try tons of new recipes. We made tomato soup for the first time and it is great. Here is a one day collection of tomatoes!