Small things

Draft - Evan is already packing for Tahoe! He knows we are going to CA this week to see his "sisters" Chloe and Macie. Think he wishes we were going to Tahoe on this visit. (we are set to go again this July! Woo hoo!) While mom and dad were sleeping in (well what we call sleeping in with Evan) Evan got out all his short sleeved shirts and shorts, which he loves to wear anyways, and piled them up to begin his Tahoe packing effort.

Christmas 2012

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM CORVALLIS!  

Merry Christmas! Up here in Corvallis we have Grandpa Reg, Grandma Patti and Aunt Suzanne here for five full days. Before they arrived Evan said he wished they were staying longer. Suzy went for an hour run with Mike yesterday up into the base of the forest, then jumped on a mountain bike and rode with Mary for a bit. She is such a trooper as it was pouring and 44 degrees at the end of the ride! Amazingly she smiled the whole way. She needs to move up here if she can handle that!








Evan is so excited to have family here. Grandma Patti made pozole (Mexican Christmas soup) dinner on Christmas eve. Super good!

Christmas morning was awesome as Evan was nearly in shock that the wood stove door was open (that was nothing to do with Santa, Mike was putting wood in!) and the stockings were full. He was SO VERY patient waiting for everyone to be ready for stocking unloading. Mary got some great items from Santa Suzy (just like Aunt Beth knows what Mary needs -- one or more personal shoppers!!!). 

  

 






Grandpa Reg got mustaches from Santa Suzy.....








We had a snack and then the presents...

Evan could have played with his stocking items but the lure of large wrapped items was strong. He opened a t-ball set from Grandpa and Grandma. Somehow Evan was hitting balls inside the house (what were the grown ups thinking? no one knows). The first hit was clean and right on the ball, so was every hit after that. We were all amazed; no instructions needed. We had to shut down the hitting indoors as he was just too good at it and something was sure to get broken. 

The next gift was a soccer net and Evan-sized ball from Aunt Suzanne. That was a good indoor sport and very fun. After the presents Evan said he got the presents he dreamed about.

When the drizzle stopped Aunt Suzanne and Grandpa took the t-ball set outside so Evan could really got for it. Such fun!



Patti has been busy strategically getting the Christmas meal underway. Grandpa and Grandma went for a drive to see the area just north of town where we mountain bike ride and where our grass-fed beef comes from (had a prime rib roast Sunday night, glad Patti was here as Mary had no idea about cooking that cut of meat and Lauren is on the other side of the country!). News report, dinner was amazing...time to sleep now. Grandpa was the first to throw in the towel, off we go.

Along the way there have been art projects with Evan, games, fort building, and Santa hat skating! Get ready to laugh, he wanted MORE hats!

Merry Christmas to all and to all a GOOD night!
With love, Mary and Aunt Suzanne

On October 25, 2012 at Josie's, Zed asked Evan "How will we write a mouse story?" And here is what Evan said:

Mice are little, tiny creatures. Their tails are small and they are not like a ball. Mice are not pests. Mice like eating. Mice are tiny creatures with noses that are tiny. Mice whiskers are white. They have tiny feet. Mice are tinier than your foot. Mice are adorable.

Summer highlights and today gluten free, vegan donuts!

What have we been up to here? Summer of course, which is so wonderful in Corvallis.

In July we did the annual family time at Tahoe; one of the best times of the year with Evan, Chloe and Macie all running about.Chloe learned to ride with two wheels; Evan was happy to help out with a little demo for her. The kids explored the Upper Truckee Marsh that is one block from the house. The hot tub was great and the nearly naked painting was a hit. Special thanks to Grandma who brings all the art supplies!

This summer we got new neighbors two doors down, a family of four that are super! Their youngest child, Ike, is a very special friend of Evan's. We have lots of play dates with Ike here and Evan there.

One evening our friends Gregg and Stephanie stopped by for dinner and brought their car-top tent for Evan to see. Evan was in awe and wanted to stay in the tent all evening (poor Gregg)! Evan still asks when Gregg is coming back.

We made a trip to the beach and that is always popular with the guys around here! It was so nice that Evan did dune jumping in his underwear; well we had the entire beach. Evan is trying surfing with a water-logged board.

Aunt Suzanne came up and Evan still asks (quite often) when she is coming back. Her visit was a special time for us. Suzy is great on a mountain bike. Sorry I have no photos of this extra fun visit. Suzy is so wonderful with Evan; her students are so fortunate to have her as their teacher. What a super aunt she is and we love her.

Grandma Carole came up in September, so nice to have family with us and it allowed Mike and I to do some things as a couple. While Grandma and Evan had a bubble festival as well as adventure hikes in the neighborhood.

Then earlier this month we all went to New Orleans; Mike had a conference so we made it a family event. Evan was a super traveler and there was so much to do there with a kid. We did a swamp tour in a boat and saw alligators, went to the zoo (feeding parakeets!), aquarium, and insectarium (amazing!!!) and took a mule-drawn carriage ride through the French Quarter. We spent 45 minutes in the butterfly room at the insectarium and one landed on Evan (some hit me in the head). Evan loved the VW Beetle that had a movie playing inside it on the windshield about "love bugs" that mate in swarms along the highways in the south. We stayed in the Garden District before the conference and saw amazing mansions as well as walking through some of the above ground cemeteries (the city is 6 feet below sea level so it makes sense to bury the dead above water level). The conference hotel was on the Mississippi River so we got to watch large ships come and go. Evan was quite happy to take rides on the street cars which stopped at the hotel; this also made it easy and very fun to get around.

Today Evan and I made gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free baked donuts! We used the fancy mixer (thanks mom) and Evan wore the Nigerian apron the Grandma Carole and Grandpa Duane brought back Africa. He was very excited about having his first doughnut; but in Evan style he ate less than half of one. Halloween is coming and Evan wants to be Batman again (woo hoo mom lucks out). My wonderful office mate, Linda, sewed the cape and waist belt last year and provided advice as well (she is a life saver).

Well I am sure I have left something off but it is quiet time and the homegrown pumpkins still need carving! Please send this on as I know I do not have everyone on my list. Thank you.

Grandpa and Grandma come up from the desert

We just had a wonderful time with Grandpa Reg and Grandma Patti. We tried to get them to stay longer but they may have needed to go home to rest! The weather was nice for them (as it always is here once summer is on - 70's and 80's for the highs and 50's for the lows). Patti led the team to recover the six dining chair seats. She helped with fabric selection and installed it. Dad did the staple pulling (not fun and resulted in a blister). The chairs look amazing and have the best foam EVER with a layer of cotton on top (we got a lot of tips from the local upholstery shop, very nice of Victor at Chuck's). You can come stay for a long meal in complete comfort while viewing the back garden.

I should probably stop there or I fear no one will come see us but I must tell you the rest of what these two did on Wednesday and Thursday. Grandpa detailed the Subaru for hours and it looks NEW. The problem is no one is allowed in it now...mom's new rule. Then Patti put a paperwork system in place in the office as she is a professional organizer - what a gift! Then with her art-savvy eyes she hung art in many rooms. Patti also did most of the dishes, deadheaded the roses (we have MANY and some bushes are HUGE) and put roses in vases all over the house. WOW.

Evan also got many nice presents from Grandpa and Grandma - three new books (topics - construction, nature and dinosaurs), a custom made museum grade airplane to hang with the other one Grandpa made him, and some amazing, remote-controlled robotic insects. Grandpa is giving Evan a tour of the features of this plane and the special one-of-kind details Grandpa added to make it more true to the real plane. Below Grandma is reading Evan "Good Night, Good Night Construction Site." Another wow.

Friday we spent the afternoon in the OSU forest. Evan played in Oak Creek with Dad building a dam. Then he went on a single track mountain bike ride on his 12" bike with dad jogging alongside (top video). That was the last Grandpa, Grandma and I saw of him in the forest. Patti knew a lot of the flowers. Then we went out to dinner at LaRockita (our #1 place) and we ate out - Evan was very good.


Today we went to the library, farmers market and the bike store. Evan now has a 16" Trek bike that he rode upon getting home. It is a little hard for him to reach the ground but he can move fast on that bike such that Mike will have to ride along side Evan. Grandpa and Grandma got to see his first ride before they left this afternoon. See the video below of Evan on his new 16" bike! He was riding up and down the street showing off to Flecther (6 yr old) down the street. Notice him standing on the pedals and how slow he can go under control. We are proud of him...of course. We get so many compliments on his riding where ever we take him.

They were so easy to have them here and it was a special time for us with them in Corvallis. They are missed already.

The lastest up in Corvallis



Want action in a tide pool? Add a rock.

Grandma Carole came up from CA to see Evan and oops I have not downloaded the images! During her stay Mike and I got a night over at the coast - dinner out then a warm and sunny beach day. That was so nice for us; added bonus is that and Evan had a super time without us.

In order to get something up I will share our recent visit to the coast. Evan LOVES the "beach house" as we all call it affectionately. What is not to love - indoor pool, great condos and access to a wonderful beach. No need to drive anywhere. And then there are the travel toys, who knew one child could have so many! He was checking to make sure they were packed! You can see why we love it up here -- no one else is on the beach with us. That is just how it is up here.

Above Evan and Mike are making the fish swim in the tide pool by tossing in a rock. Below Evan and Mike blocked a stream to create a pool for Evan to surf in (using a piece of foam that was on the beach). The video shows just how busy our boy is and how much there is to do at the beach (no toys needed).


Surfing in a stream.




Who needs shoes they are a hassle!

 Evan is quite creative and decided that he could easily keep his feet clean and dry out on the deck by putting a bag on each foot. He was eating berries and melting ice cream at the rock wall. What a hoot he is! Evan loves to ride his bike and we gets LOTS of comments on how skilled he is on the bike. He rode over 4 miles on Saturday to and from the farmers market.

Grandpa Reg and Grandma Patti are heading up here right now and will be here tomorrow! We love having guests here at the Gumwood Resort. Please book your stay soon.

Easter fun in the sun!

Well the Easter bunny really came through this year (Nana + mom = lots of eggs). What a surprise it was to get ready to hide eggs and one bunny had already hopped over to Gumwood, so sweet. Evan even got two Matchbox cars and two small dinosaurs! The raisins in little boxes were a hit, he said "I like raisins in boxes, they are really fun." Here are some photos of our 70 degree and sunny day. What fun Evan is right now. (I have a video to share but have not gotten to load up yet.)

With the warm weather the neighbors are all coming out given the sun and they are all very nice. If you want to move up here the house two down went up for sale last week, we would love to have more great neighbors...OK we hope for a local family to move in (that is more realistic).

Friday afternoon we had a brief, surprise visit from Grandma and Grandpa Halbleib, we tried to get them to stay over at the Gumwood Resort -- maybe next time. We plan to go to Bend next weekend and will see more of them then. Grandma Carole is coming back for five days, including my birthday (I see a long bike ride with Mike happening in the forest!). Reg and Patti are coming up for about a week in mid-June and they kindly offered to help recover the dining table chairs and refinish the dining table surface! Then we go Tahoe for the week of 4th of July to have some serious fun with Macie and Chloe (Evan's sisters as he calls them) -- the summer is shaping up with fun family time. Hugs!