Uncle Tooter ... oh I mean Sgt. Reese

Jason came over to pick up a new police vehicle (Dodge Charger) and stopped by and talked with John's class. The kids had a great time listening to the difference between state patrol and the local police. Their favorite was when they got to go out and look at his car. It was quite cute to see all these 6 year olds enthralled with all the gadgets on the vehicle. I think they were most impressed by his "big gun" otherwise known as a Shotgun in the car. Thanks again Jas for stopping by John's class loved it!

Chloe's 5th B-day

We had a two day event for Chloe's B-day. On her birthday she got to open presents from all the family and pick where we went out to eat. She actually chose Applebee's (thank goodness we skipped Chuck-E-Cheese). The next day we went to Build-a-Bear with four of Chloe's friends. They all got to pick out an animal and a little outfit. It was quite an experience, then we had B-day cake at the mall!! Notice the lovely monkey cake that Ronni and I made for Chloe, we had a little trouble getting the feet frosted correctly but Chloe loved it anyways.

Halloween

The kids had a great time trick-or-treating. Kaiya was suppose to be Princess Leia but refused to wear the hair so I put her in the duck slicker instead!

Pumpkin Patch and Carving

We visited our first Pumpkin Patch in Oregon and realized how spoiled we were in California with Avila Farms. The kids still had a fabulous time picking out their pumpkins and eating donuts. We also went to a friends house for a pumpkin carving party, where we ate too much and made a huge pumpkin mess. The kids even had cute little arts and crafts projects that they had set up. As you can tell this year we branched out to more intricate pumpkins.

Salmon Festival

Thanks to Mike and Janice McDowell we went to the 25th annual Salmon Festival on the Sandee River. It was fabulous, completely geared to the kids. They learned all about the life of a Salomon and what we needed to do to make sure that the salmon continued to live a long healthy life.

Zoo

We spent Friday afternoon at the zoo. It was clear but cold so we bundled up to see the new baby elephant "Sam". He weighs 425lbs now, so not much of a baby but is oh so cute! We only had time to see half the zoo so we'll see the rest next time we go. Thank goodness for yearly memberships!

Kaiya loves Aunt Krista

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Finally Kaiya let Aunt Krista hold her at Nanny and Pat's house.

Ramdom pictures

Here are some pictures of the family that I thought were cute. Turns out Kaiya loves green beans (raw and cooked).

The novelty of rain

We all know that it rains frequently in Portland but the kids still think it's the greatest thing. Every time it starts to sprinkle they want to grab their rain boots and umbrella and head outside (I'm sure the novelty will wear off soon). I'm reluctant to send Kaiya out since she is not walking yet and tends to get her knees soaked and filthy. Kaiya is quite sad when the kids go out without her but she'll be out with them soon!

Tuckered out

Kaiya plays hard and sleeps hard!

OMSI

We spent last Sunday at OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry). The kids had a blast playing with everything. We will be definitely going back frequently. Plus Jay still wants to check out the submarine (but he's waiting for Uncle Guy to visit, so he has someone else who will be equally as impressed with it).

Fall

It's definitely fall in Portland. The trees are changing colors and Jay is busy offiiating. We stopped by some flag football games and caught him in action. Jay just officiated his first varsity game in Jewell, OR last week. He got to meet some of the players up close and personal when they plowed him down on the sidelines, but don't worry he made the call before getting knocked on his butt. I found it rather amusing but Jay did not think it was quite so funny. He's alright not even sore from his encounter, just missing a little skin from his thumb and palm.

Cooper's baseball

Jay's Mom got some great shots of Cooper pitching. We even had a visit from an adolescent moose. John and Chloe got a kick out of the moose on the loose!