Complete Chaos

Those are the words I am using to describe the state of our house at this moment. I have tried in vain to find a multitude of items and I have an idea of where they may be but inevitably they are never there. It's at this point my body starts to shut down and I get agitated, depressed and stressed out. We've been so busy running from place to place that things get thrown on the counter with the intention of it getting put in it's proper place. The "I'll get to it later" mentality is ever present by the stacks of unopened junk mail, unfolded laundry, unfinished craft projects, dirty dishes and unread magazine piled up around the house. You know it's bad when you can't even eat at your kitchen table because of the clutter that has taken over the only flat, unavailable surface in the house. It's at this point that I take a deep breath and dive head first into the mess. It will take me days even weeks to get everything in order. Hopefully, it will all be in satisfactory condition by the time Christmas rolls around.

And then the process will start all over again......

Pumpkin Spice is my Vice

I am addicted to all things pumpkin spice at the moment. It all started when I had a Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks, one of the most delicious drinks on the planet. I, being an amatuer mixologist myself, am trying to duplicate this intoxicating taste. It hasn't come to fruition yet but I have tried some Pumpkin tea (not even close) and International Coffee makes a Pumpkin Spice flavor (not bad) . I still have yet to find a worthy replica of the Starbucks. I've had several other coffe house Pumpkin Spice Lattes and they are poor duplicates.

This pumpkin addiction doesn't stop at coffee drinks either. I have made a pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting and have even purchased pumpkin flavored ice cream. If you look at me really close you will note that my skin has taken on an orange hue. Keep it coming though. I love Pumpkin!

The Big Cave In

Last Sunday we bought a puppy. We caved. The girls (especially Josie) have been asking, no, begging for a dog for years. We kept making excuses such as, not until you're older, not until the fence gets put up, not until the yard's ready etc. etc. Well, none of our conditions are met and now we're the owners of a canine. How did this happen?

I was away at a scrapbooking retreat and Nate took Josie to the pet store to pass the time. There they fell in love with this cute little Dachsund/ Cairn Terrier mix puppy who was so soft, cuddly and angelic. Aren't they all when they're confined to a cage? I came home from the retreat just as Nate and the girls were pulling out. "Hop in the truck," Nate said. "We're going to look at puppies." Josie announced. I just figured that they were heading out to give them something to do until I came home. Little did I know this was the third trip to the pet store.

Well, she won my heart over also once I saw her and the pathetic little looks the rest of the family were giving me. How could I be the cold-hearted witch and say no to my family? Besides I was well rested and relaxed after my retreat. I looked at how tiny this little puppy was, how tough could she be to take care of anyhow? And the next thing you know we're carrying her around the pet store while an employee is loading us up with dog food, toys, treats, teeth chews, fleece doggie jackets and yes, even a $50 dog brush!

It's been a week since we've had our little Butterscotch and I am wearing thin. It feels like I've had a newborn in the house what with the waking up in the early morning hours. The girls are already not living up to their bargain of helping take her outside to go potty which can last up to 30 minutes at times and is extremely painful given how cold it's been outside.

We're thankful Butterscotch, or Butter as I call her, is an easygoing puppy and so far has been relatively quiet (no howling or barking), very easy to train and is just a riot to play with. I'm hoping in the coming weeks my schedule will get back to normal again as I haven't had time for much else except be the dog trainer.

Oregon Memories

We took a small family vacation to the Oregon Coast - Seaside, Astoria area last week. We definitely needed a break with all of the work Nate has been doing. He worked weekends and evenings just so he could be caught up in order for us to go. We arrived late Wednesday evening.

We stayed at the KOA and rented one of their Kamping Lodges. Nate's parents joined us as well.


Thursday morning we woke to clear skies. A miracle considering that Accuweather said it would rain the whole time. Those weathermen are full of crap!

We went into Seaside to eat at the Pig 'n Pancake and then onto the Seaside Aquarium.


The girls got a big kick out of feeding the seals at the aquarium. They were more excited about hitting the beach and chasing waves. Within 10 minutes they progressively kept getting deeper into the waves which soon lapped up over their rubber boots. They became soaked so we had to cut our Seaside time short and went back to the KOA for a soak in the hot tub.


Bruce and Leslie met us at the KOA. We ate lunch and then went across to Fort Stevens State Park to see the wreck of the Peter Iredale.


The Peter Iredale Shipwreck was a highlight of our trip as we visited it several times. The beach their was pretty vacant having gone in the month of October. The kids (and Nate) loved climbing aboard the ships hull.


Annabelle on what used to be one of the ships masts.


Nate inside the hollowed out hull. When the tide cam in the waves would crash into here.


On Friday we toured the Fort and then made our way here for a bonfire and s'mores. Another beautiful day.


Nate and folks around the campfire.


A shop in Cannon Beach. COuldn't help but snap a photo given the name.


And right next to Josephine's was Bella. We walked through some Cannon Beach shops, grabbed some ice cream and Grandma bought the girls some more Webkinz to add to their collection.


The weather turned south on Saturday. We walked out to Haystack Rock and it took us about 30 minutes to get there as we walked into the driving wind. To get back to our car only took about 10 minutes. We still had a great time.

We left on Sunday and went to the Columbia River Maritime Museum in Astoria before we made our back to Moscow. Nate of course, had to make a stop at the Full Sail Brewing Company in Hood River, Oregon.

We had a wonderful time and were sad that it came to an end. Looking forward to visiting this place again.

My Arm Made the Front Page!

My arm graced the cover of the Moscow-Pullman Daily News last Thursday. Can you see it? It's right behind the little boys face. I'm just glad my butt was strategically placed behind the kid. I was there volunteering to help Annabelle's class put in native plants in the outdoor classroom of their school.

This photo was taken by a Daily News Staff person.