Who doesn't love fall?

Owen and I spent the afternoon outside enjoying fall today, and let me just say that it was SO nice! We raked leaves, ran through leaves, threw leaves in the air, buried ourselves in leaves, and raked some more leaves. But the most exciting part (judging my the volume and extensiveness of Owen's jibber-jabber) was the dead snake he found. He was THRILLED about the thing. Funny how boys will be boys...he just picked that snake up without a stitch of fear or disgust and fisted it all afternoon. It was pretty much crumbled by the time he finally lost it at the bottom of the leaf pile, but it sure provided some great entertainment while it lasted! And let me just say that Owen is at such a fun age right now...it is so fun to watch him grow and learn about life. More fall pics in Picasaweb if you're interested.

Fun with the Howard clan...

Yesterday we made a trek to Tri-Cities to watch C.J.'s little brother play football. It was our first time taking Owen to a live sporting event...and let's just say I was a little nervous to have a 17 month old on bleachers for 2 hours. But, he did surprisingly well thanks to all of the attention he got from the family. It was really fun to see all of them! Keith played a stellar game...his team won by a mile, which apparently is nothing new! It's amazing to see how quickly Keith and Kylene are growing up. We had an awesome time visiting with all of the Howards, and I know Owen thoroughly enjoyed soaking up some good time with all of them...especially Grandpa!

P.S. C.J. was the official photographer of the day, so the credit goes to him for these!

Grandpa Howard

Kylene

Keith

Kyle and Owen

Keith hard at work:

Yesterday was full of treats...

Montreal...

C.J and I just got back from a week together in Montreal. Although we missed Owen more than you could ever imagine, it was REALLY nice to enjoy being husband and wife for a week! We watched a whole bunch of movies, shopped a ton, and just relaxed together. I must say, it was awfully nice being so lazy! And now that we are home and have had about a thousand snuggles from our little guy, I am thoroughly enjoying being home and soaking up the fall goodness. While Ceej was busy taking care of business in Montreal, I explored the city and tried my hand at photographing scenery. I quickly came to the conclusion that I take WAY better photos of kids...but hey, I had fun trying! There are more in Picasaweb...

Just because it's been a while, here are a few shots from our morning...

A baker in the making...

So here we have just a little bit of this and that from our household. The pic above: Owen helped me make zucchini bread today. By "helped" I mean he stuck his hand in the raw eggs, almost tipped the bowl over 7 times, ate some John Deere fruit snacks so that he wouldn't stick his hand in the bowl anymore, and licked every spoon or spatula that had been within 3 feet of the batter. And the picture below: He has decided lately that he loves to do somersaults. Only he gets stuck in the upside down position when he does them without the assistance of an adult. And then he just hangs out upside down. I love kids!

The Harrah Fall Festival...

Tucker

My beautiful sister-in-law and her boys

Grandpa and Owen

Today was the oh-so-exciting Harrah Fall festival and parade. Grandpa, Leah, and the boys came out to enjoy the festivities. Afterward, they came over to our house to play. It was a ton of fun to see them. I love it that Owen is old enough to play with the boys now. He doesn't fully keep up with them, but he certainly tries! There are more pictures in Picasaweb for those who want to see the cuteness of the Dahl boys!

Keith Howard helps the Kamiakin Braves beat West Valley

Keith Howard looking happy to go 2-0 on the season

A great evening for a football game

Well, I guess this would be my first post on the blog.  My lovely wife has done such a great job of updating all of you who visit this blog, on the going-ons in our life.  Last night I had the privilege of catching my brother Keith's second football game, which was held at West Valley H.S. in Yakima.  After not getting much playing time during the first game, Keith spent most of the game on the field, playing both offense and defence.  It was really awesome to see my little brother looking over to the coach on the sidelines, getting the play and calling it in the defensive huddle.  West Valley didn't put up much of a fight against the Kamiakin  Braves freshman football team of the Tri-Cities.  It looked like a shut out until the waning minutes of the fourth quarter.  The Braves had been so dominant the whole game and played with such hustle, that they looked a little tired and let one slip with 2:00 left.  However, the 34-7 romping of West Valley took the Braves to 2-0 on the season.  I got to say hi to Keith after the game was over, to congratulate  him on the victory.  Then it was off to Miner's Restaurant for the team, to enjoy those tasty burgers.  For those of you who know about Miner's, know that it's the spot for sports teams to go after games in Eastern Washington.

Great job Keith!  Keep up the good work.

C.J.

Happy Birthday Grandma Hake!

My beautiful Grandma

The birthday girl and Oliver

Cupcake goodness...

These pics are from the picnic we had today to celebrate my Grandma's birthday. She's a wonderful woman, that's for sure. We love Grandma Hake!

Kalaloch Round 2

We just got back from our second camping trip to the beach this summer....and it was AWESOME! Again, we owe a huge thanks to Grandma and Grandpa for all of their help with the kids. We certainly turn their relaxing beach days into chaos, but I'm pretty sure they wouldn't have it any other way. And I'm also pretty certain this is the first time in about 15 years I have actually set foot in the sand every single day of the trip. Gone are the days of playing Pinochle and taking naps all day. Instead, we chased babies around the campsite, wiped sand from their mouths about 128 times, threw a good 2,000 rocks into the water, ate lots of really unhealthy goodies, took several walks to the bright orange tree fungus for the wee ones to admire, and, well, you get the picture.....but...we enjoyed every minute of it. I took about 400 too many pictures and whiddled them down to 70-ish in case you are interested in seeing more from our adventure....they are in Picasaweb in case you couldn't guess. Oh yeah, and it's good to be home!

A little sampling from our morning...

Holland playing Peek-a-boo behind the curtain.

Baby Jack watching the older kids play.

Oliver

Owen enjoying the slide.

P.S. More pics from our picnic at Fort Simcoe in Picasa.

Fun in the hay...

One of the best weekends ever...

We are just winding down one of the most fun weekends I have had in a long time. All of my college girlfriends that are still in the state came with their families for an over-nighter...and let me just say, it was SOOOO good to see them. These girls have been an incredible influence on my life and it is so refreshing to catch up now and then. Although we don't see each other nearly enough, it always feels like no time has gone by at all when I see them. They are definitely friendships that I will cherish forever...and visiting this weekend is just what I needed. And actually, it's not quite over...Becky and Hale will be here for a few more days, so the fun will only continue! Meg, Cholie, and Mar, we SO wish you could have been here. We need to see you guys ASAP! There are a whole bunch more pictures in picasaweb if you're interested...Kate, sorry you're not in the one above, we took it too late!

Bed time...

This evening before bed time, Owen and I were outside to see Daddy off to dinner with some business associates. And of course, the minute Owen saw his rocking horse on the deck he started tugging at his shirt (his version of saying "please" in sign language) and pointing at the horse. So I let him ride for a few minutes even though he was SUPER tired and he got the happiest look on his face. It was like he had escaped the doom of bed time and instead got to do something that he thoroughly enjoys. He was oh-so-happy....So, I snapped a couple of pics.

On a different note, I decided to let you all in on a little side of Owen that I have not yet shared on the blog....his fits. I have no idea where he got this from, but whenever he is mad and pouting because he doesn't get his way, he throws himself on the floor and burrows his forehead into the ground like something absolutely horrible is happening. And then he peeks up to see if you are watching or not. I know it shouldn't be funny, but for some reason I really get a kick out of it. So the pics below are a little taste of this behavior from a few mornings ago...Daddy took them to catch Owen at his finest...

This is mid peek to see if anyone is watching:

And finally, he has discovered the fit got him nowhere:

My Top 5...

I've never really done one of these before, but hey...they're entertaining, right?  Thanks Danielle!

Things under $5 that I couldn't live without:

1.  Deodorant.  Let's be honest, I have an obsession.

2.  Gum.

3.  Coffee creamer.

4.  Paper towels.

5.  Fountain soda.

Favorite Movies:

1.  Shawshank Redemption

2.  Anne of Green Gables

3.  Napoleon Dynamite

4.  The Fugitive

5.  Little Miss Sunshine

Baby names I love:

1.  Claire...but unfortunately it doesn't work too well with St. Hilaire.

2.  Grace

3.  Liam

4.  Greyson

5.  Gavin

Songs I could listen to over and over:

1.  "Country Roads" by John Denver

2.  "Independence Day"  by Martina McBride

3.  "My Front Porch Looking In" by Lonestar

4.  "God Bless Us Everyone" from Celine Dion Christmas

5.  "Be Thou My Vision" from the church hymnal, ba-dum-ching!

Books I love:

(Oh dear, this is going to stretch me.)

1.  The Bible.

2.  My Utmost for His Highest.

**the problem now is that the last time a read a book I was probably 8 years old, so....

3.  Black Beauty

4.  Mandie and the Ghost Bandits

5.  The Velveteen Rabit

People who have influenced me in positive ways:

1.  C.J.

2.  Owen

3.  My mom and dad

4.  My college girlfriends for sure!

5.  and specifically Marla, because her heart is AMAZING!

Things that are always in my purse:

1.  Keys

2.  Sunglasses

3.  Wallet

4.  Gum

5.  Tampons, of course!

Moments that changed my life forever:

1.  May 13, 2006...the day I married my incredible husband!

2.  May 23, 2007...they day our precious child was born!

 I don't think I can name any more specific moments, but periods of time that changed me include:

3.  College

4.  Moving back to the Valley

5.  The one year and 2 months we have spent raising our son!

Obsessions I currently have:

1.  So You Think You Can Dance

2.  Watering the yard....a lot!

3.  Watching my plants grow, and I'm not kidding.  I take a walk through the yard at least once a day just to see if anything is changing.

4.  Taking pictures

5.  Watching Owen ride his tractor...and walk...and do all of the cute things he does.

Places I would like to go:

1.  Hawaii, here we come!

2.  Mexico again because we absolutely LOVED our honeymoon!

3.  Ireland

4.  Greece

5.  Australia

Appliances or kitchen tools I couldn't live without:

1.  Paper towels for sure.  I know they aren't technically appliances, but they definitely get the most use in our kitchen.

2.  Good knives.

3.  Hand mixer

4.  Coffee pot

5.  Salad spinner

People whose top 5 I would like to see:

1.  Becky

2.  Carly

3.  Leah, but that might be hard since she doesn't do blogspot.  Maybe she should start!  ;)

4.  Meghan 

5.  Alli, too....just like Leah, she should definitely start a blog.  We'd all love it!