Snow?

We have been hearing about snow coming for the last 4 days, and low and behold it's here! We woke up this morning to a blanket of white and it is beautiful. Before I was able to wrap my head around the fact that I am living somewhere where it snows the kids where downstairs playing in it. They said this makes moving "totally worth it!". We should have snow for the next day our own personal winter wonderland. Enjoy!

Family & Friends

Since my last post there have been many changes around here. Lorna and her boyfriend Daniel have moved to Portland. They arrived on the 27th of October. We loved it when she was staying with us in Walnut Creek and having her living in the same city is just as good. The kids love spending time with their Auntie and Johnathan and I are just thrilled to have her here! Chuck and Jen also drove up that same week and spent a long weekend with us! We had so much fun. Good times were abundant! Jen got in touch with her inner Wonder Woman, while finding time to make out with everybody's favorite green hero. What a girl. We visited the Burnside Skate park (one of Tony Hawk's favorites), and strolled around Portland's Saturday Market. The visit went by way to quickly but we are anxiously awaiting to see them again.

Pumpkin Patching

Some good friends of Becky's live very near our home, the Roloff's. She was not only friends but neighbors of the TLC family. Well I am pleased to say that we are now the new friends/neighbors of the Roloff's and the kids and I decided to pay their farm a visit and pick up some pumpkins while we were there. We left the house on Friday afternoon, it was so sunny and warm, nothing at all what I anticipated for pumpkin picking in Oregon. We drove through a rural part of Hillsboro to the farm. It was so picturesque. It almost seemed like a painting in certain places. Once we arrived we were greeted by a friendly Amy Roloff and proceeded to the pumpkin patch where the kids and I were determined to find perfect, plump, pumpkins. An hour later we carried out four pumpkins and headed home. Once home, the pumpkins, that seemed average size on a huge farm were larger than expected. No worries we had dad carry them up stairs! We are looking forward to carving them up and giving our pumpkins perky personality.

Monday Morning

As many of you know fall is hands down my favorite season. I love the mild weather, the changing scenery and now the beautiful foggy, cloudy, rainy mornings. Something I have been quite unaccustomed to growing up in California. A typical morning begins with Gary (our cat) who I think fits quite nicely in the Northwest, lounging on my window sill. If you look from my deck you will see dense fog followed by a light rain as the sun begins to rise. It has been breathtaking! I am looking forward to days curled up by the fire with a good book and something fabulous baking in the oven!

5th Grade

Today is my day off, it feels like all I ever do is work! I went to help out in Aidan's class this morning. I was reading essays about monsters! When I got home I was thinking about being in 5th grade again, my teacher was Ms. Gonzales. She was a fiery Vietnamese lady. I remember doing those types of assignments. They were so much fun. "Look I will give you a reward just for being creative!" I thought about some old friends too. Life was so carefree back then. I want my kids to look back at these years as carefree, but it is surprising how aware they are of current events locally and globally. I couldn't possibly tell you what was happening in the world when I was 10! Is a carefree childhood still possible? I would like my kids to look back at evenings spent wrestling and playing board games, nights cozied up in bed reading The Mouse and the Motorcycle. I want them to have that knowledge that no matter what was happening in the world around us that they were loved and safe. Time will tell if their memories of childhood seemed less carefree and if school days were jaded somehow by the influx of news and information.

Seaside

This weekend we wanted to see the Oregon coast. We left after church on Sunday and drove about 1 and a half hours to Seaside. It is a charming little old beach town, with an array of taffy shops, arcades, cafes, and plenty of quirky people to keep us entertained for the day! When we arrived I literally gasped when I saw the beach. I forgot how fortunate I was living so close to the ocean before. (What can I say, I will always be a Southern California girl!) The kids saw the white capped waves (it was quite windy and rainy when we arrived) and quickly realized we wouldn't be playing in the water. They were disappointed. They also love the beach. We walked along the beach and found some washed up crabs, cool shells and some swings, so it was still a great time. We are looking forward to checking out another beach city called Astoria, which is about 20 miles north of Seaside. It has an extremely deep port, I believe it has to do with the Columbia River draining into the ocean right there. We have so many opportunities I want to enjoy as many of them, as often as possible. LIVE LIFE the way God intended. Wherever we end up I will be blessed to be with my family, living, loving, laughing, crying, each day spent with them is such a tremendous joy!

PIZZA PARTY

Our new favorite thing to do as a family is make our own pizza's. You can see who really gets into it! Trader Joe's has really tasty pizza dough, garlic herb is our favorite, but the original is delicious too! It is fun for the kids to get there hands dirty and create their dinner. We usually make a night of it and end up eating on a blanket in the living room and watching a movie. Bon Apetite

Waterfall Weekend

Last weekend we went and saw waterfalls near the Columbia River. We drove the historic Hwy 17 "King of Roads" as it is called. It is a scenic route along the river, with breathtaking vistas and of course waterfalls. I think there was 5 or 6 along the highway. We were all excited to see them. I don't think any of us have seen them in person before. We hiked trails and Keelyn collected leaves along the way. She has begun classifying them at home (with the help of Northwest Tree Guide for children) and told us she wants to be a "Nature Girl". We had a picnic and enjoyed a beautiful day.

First Day O' School

We were so thrilled to find out the John & Millie were coming to visit us the week the kids started school. (To those of you I made bets with I would like to change my time to 1 year). It has always been a tradition for Millie to go with the kids to the first day of school and this year was no exception! They are attending Nancy Ryles Elementary School in Beaverton. It is a beautiful facility with exceptional teachers and staff. Aidan & Keelyn were both looking forward to making new friends and meeting their teachers. Although the night before school Keelyn thought she was going to be sick, when I went in to pray with her she told me not to worry she was just "nervous and had a little anxiety"! The first day went awesome, they both made friends and Aidan met a fellow student who just moved from Dublin, CA and he is our next door neighbor too! Johnathan and I feel so blessed to have them going to such an awesome school.

Oregon Zoo

Many of you might not know that I have a cousin who lives in Oregon. His name is Eric, his wife Jennifer and two children Seth (10) and little Zach (2). They live on the coast in Coquille. We were able to connect with them the week after we moved and they invited us to the Oregon Zoo. It was a much needed excursion as unpacking and organizing were becoming quite tedious. We haven't spent any time with them since their wedding, 3 years ago! The kids were so excited to hang out with their cousins while Johnathan and I were able to catch up with Eric, Jen and Grandma (Jen's mom!) The zoo was gorgeous and there was so many beautiful animals. There was a baby elephant and funny cape monkeys. My favorite was watching the 2 polar bears swim and play, it was absolutely amazing.

This was a perfect end to summer and we are looking forward to catching up with Eric and Jen next month (Roloff Farm?!).

A Series of Unfortunate Events

Moving 613 miles away is very difficult. Let's begin, we left Antioch around 10 am significant other, kids, cats and crap in tow. (The cats in crates for two days is an entirely separate blog). We would drive half-way the first day, ending in Medford. Our first stop brought us to Redding for a late lunch and swim with my dear Aunt Rita, Uncle Allen and Renee (thanks for the reprieve). We left for our final destination that day around 3:30 pm and the trip up the I-5 was pretty uneventful, just slow going, yes we drove 55 the whole way, it's amazing what an extra 25 miles per hour will do for you! We make it to Medford around 8 and we are exhausted and ready to sleep in our Komfy Kabin kompliments of the KOA. As I begin looking for the blankets, which I set aside a day earlier with this overnight stay in mind, I realize there are no blankets to be found albeit one handkerchief sized one (apparently I was prepared to keep a very small person warm if one was to be found along the way???!!!) Luckily a dismal situation is no problem for me, Johnathan and I have cal-king sized pillows with cal-king sized pillow cases which double as sleeping bags for kids in a pinch! I'm not kidding. While Johnathan and I fight all night for the little person blanket. We didn't sleep long and we were on the road by 6 am. A quick bite to eat and Beaverton is in our sights just 5 hours to go...... Fast forward to moving in... that same day about 2 pm... after very little sleep and a very long drive (did I mention I have two cats in crates??) we get to move in upstairs, three flights of stairs. Well, how can I say this without offending you, IT WAS HELL!!!!!!! We kind of finished around 11pm, and the last two heavy things were not coming up stairs that night, yes, we really need an extra freezer and bookshelf. Much to Johnathan's chagrin we couldn't park the moving van and trailer in our tiny apartment parking lot. So he parks it at a Safeway parking lot (yeah Safeway), and afraid the car trailer will get stolen, walks back to the Safeway parking lot to sleep in the cab of the moving van. Although he brings an adult size blanket and pillow with it's case for a much more comfortable sleeping experience. Okay, okay I know it doesn't sound that unfortunate, until last night after unpacking for five days my asthma decides to kick into high gear and my breathing is so shallow I can't even speak I also try to tell Johnathan I'm dying for real. Johnathan calls 911 (he loves me what can I say) has me picked up by an ambulance oh yeah and 3 firefighters have to carry me down the aforementioned stairs in a modified hammock seat. We spend 4 hours in the emergency room so I can breathe again, during which a highly agitated shroom user is getting restrained and sharing his philosophies of truth of relativity next door, (it's nice to know where your local hospital is though). Well, it is Tuesday morning and I am all hopped up on steroids and 25 breathing treatments (okay, 4 but who's counting). I figured I better blog this out now, there's no telling what will happen over the course of the week. Lots of love to you all!

Love, Me

P.S. Pictures to follow, that just isn't happening today!

Seattle, Washington

As many of you know I work at Starbucks, and as many of you don't know they are incessantly having us do contest to sell coffee, beans, product etc.... just a little healthy competition among co-workers right?!!! Any way, the last contest was to sell pounds of coffee, the prize: a three day all expenses paid trip to Seattle. Well low and behold I sold like 55 pounds of coffee and didn't win the contest. Really. Another co-worker (partner) excuse me, won and I was the second runner up. The first place winner had to forfeit the trip so that is how I ended up in Seattle. There was a total of 93 Starbucks employees from across the country. I met some great people as well as Howard Schultz (CEO). I stayed in downtown Seattle, went to the Space Needle for dinner, and also visited the headquarters. I was surrounded by coffee aficionados for three days and it was quite entertaining. It was a totally unexpected trip and an awesome opportunity to see what goes on behind the scenes.

Happy Birthday Aidan!

Aidan celebrated his 10th birthday on Friday, May 23rd with his family and friends. We had pizza at Skippolini's and went to Q-Zar for a fun filled and highly competitive game of laser tag. We were so happy to have my sister come up and celebrate with us too. Johnathan and I had fun watching Aidan and his friends hang out and have such a good time together. We can't believe how quickly 10 years has gone by. Johnathan and I are so blessed to have him and see how he is changing into such an awesome individual!

Happy Mother's Day

It felt so nice to be celebrated yesterday.  I was treated like a queen all day, every whim was catered to!  Nothing was withheld from me, not this day.   Johnathan and the kids surprised me with my favorite coffee and pumpkin spice muffin.  The kids had to be at church early to get ready for a special Mother's Day performance, so I got ready all by myself!  It was so quiet and peaceful, I enjoyed my coffee and muffin at a leisurely pace, I was so relaxed that I arrived at church late. Luckily I did not miss the kids performance.  The children's ministry leader prepared two songs for all of the moms and it was awesome!  After church I was whisked away to lunch, and was showered with gifts, a purse, jewelry, candy, and homemade cards.   After we arrived home I was surprised by impromptu dance shows, skateboard stunts and a little sprinkler acrobatics.  Honestly it doesn't get any better.  I feel truly blessed to have two amazing kids to love, guide, and share Jesus with.  I want to thank them for making Mother's Day so special for me.  Love you guys, love you everyday ;)

Conservatory of Flowers

We decided to visit the Conservatory of Flowers yesterday in San Francisco. They had a special butterfly exhibit that I thought would be interesting to see. We were surprised at how large and beautiful the facility is. It had five separate areas, Lowland Tropics, Highland Tropics, Aquatic Plants and Potted Plants. As well as a special exhibit this one being The Butterfly Zone (March 18th-November 2nd). It was very reasonably priced ($13 for a family of four) and plenty for the whole family to see and enjoy. Keelyn's favorite was the butterfly exhibit. We started calling her the butterfly whisperer because they kept landing on her!
I loved the Highland Tropics with all the beautiful orchids. I have always wanted an orchid but know how delicate they are and how difficult it is to keep them alive, but they are so beautiful I must have one! Aidan loved the area with all the plants that looked like they are from a Dr. Suess book.



Johnathan was inspired by the coloring of the plants and flowers and has plenty of ideas for some new art work. We also went to the Cliff House and saw Seal Rock (no seals though) and we ate at Louis' where we could see the Sutro Bath House ruins. Keelyn has never seen Lombard Street, so we walked the crookedest street and admired all the beautiful houses too. I think being able to visit San Francisco in 30 minutes is one our families favorite things about living in Northern CA it is such a spectacular place to see, we just love to go and explore. Well until our next adventure. Ciao!

www.conservatoryofflowers.org

It's me!! Aidan!!

Hello people of earth and beyond! It's ME, Aidan J. Snoderly!! Barbara's son!! I have taken over her blog and will be writing on here every now and then. Right now I will talk about skateboarding. I have been making some progress in my work and I know how to do a pretty dang good ollie (Ollie is just a fancy word for jump) AND I can go down some pretty steep ramps. My Dad, Johnathan is also doing very well. (Yes, he skateboards too). We also built a sweet ramp together and go down it when we're not at the skate park. Well, guess I'll leave now. Bye peoples!! Check out my skate video below.

A Little Etsy Anyone?

Johnathan has spent years creating, drawing and painting. This year he is taking the next step and selling his art. Etsy is an exciting website where creativity and commerce come together. Johnathan chose to display his artwork on Etsy because everything that you can purchase has been hand crafted. You can browse through this fun, clever and quirky site and check out Johnathan's art at jsnoderly.esty.com.

We Love Coffee

Johnathan and I are at Pacific Bay Coffee Co. & Micro - Roastery in Walnut Creek. We actually came here last Friday and we couldn't wait to come back! We both ordered large lattes, 4 shots of espresso each, steamed milk, and beautiful foam. This is the perfect place if you want delicious tasting espresso a nice coffee buzz and a casual atmosphere. If you are in the neighborhood we highly recommend stopping by, just come pick us up before you come! Enjoy.

changes

now that i have returned to my blog i have decided to make a few changes. thanks to johnathan and his computer abilities my header has changed and my music. yeah! i was also able to add a slideshow. thanks again hon. monday is my regular day off and my cleaning day :( but i spent last friday spring cleaning so i get to go do something fun. i think b & n is calling, i will go catch up with my friends claire and jaime (see currently reading). have a beautiful day.

13 Years?!!!!!!!

That's right Johnathan and I have been married for 13 years now. The blessed event happened April 8th 1995 in a little town called Lake Hughes. Looking back at that day I can honestly say that I didn't really know what I was getting into. I had just turned 19 the week before and thought being married would be easy, yes I am laughing right now. Still laughing.......... Anyway, I was just beginning to scratch the surface of who I was as a young woman and now I had a husband who was learning about himself in ways only a wife can shed light on. Let's just say it hasn't been easy but it sure has been an adventure and quite a learning experience. I believe Johnathan and I love each other more deeply now than the day we married and that only comes from living day to day, month to month and year to year with one another with the knowledge that pressing through the difficult times has strengthened the bond that God sealed us with 13 years ago. For our anniversary we spent 4 days at Manchester Beach. We traveled to Mendocino and Fort Bragg and saw breathtaking coastline, beaches, redwoods as well as coastal towns, micro breweries and... we saw alot! It was so much fun hanging out with my best friend and look forward to hanging out with him for the duration of this adventure.


Bye For Now!

Friends

We spent the weekend with Jax, Kelli, Kyle and Ellena the third weekend of March. It was so fun to talk about the old days, well there was alot of laughing about those times, catching up and hearing about the new path our lives are on now. The kids got to play, well I can't call Kyle a kid anymore he is in middle school and is becoming a young man, but he and Aidan had a good time playing video games. The girls are one month apart and were inseparable all weekend. I loved just listening to them talking and giggling and giggling and giggling! The visit was over to quickly but we loved every minute of it!

I Turn 30 Again!

I celebrated my birthday with a few girlfriends on Saturday night and my family took me out to lunch on Sunday (my actual b-day). I had a great weekend. I felt a little of what Nikki must feel celebrating for more than one day! I am looking forward to this year, each one has been so full of surprises. Some good, some not so good, but I have to say with each added year comes knowledge that only comes from a life lived at the feet of a Father who wants the best things for his daughter. I hope and pray that this year will bring me opportunities I have never dreamed of and wisdom to accept these gracefully.