Fall Fun

Gabe started Kindergarten this year, so we have been adapting to many changes in schedule and routine.  No more staying up until past 10 pm and sleeping in!  We have this running family saying that "everybody knows Gabe" because every kid type event we go to, all the kids, teachers, councilors, etc. know Gabe.  He has met a lot of people thru the various kid programs he has attended, and I couldn't be happier!  I think he has been among the youngest, and that probably helps make him memorable, but he does have a great personality and is well liked.  His teacher says Gabe is never doing anything alone.

 

In early October, we took a trip to our favorite Harvest Festival spot just north of Corvallis.  It is amazing what they can do with hay bales!  They have slides, forts, mazes, and tractor rides, not to mention a big corn maze, pumpkin patch, and yummy lemonade and caramel corn.  We spent over 3 hours there, and I still had to bribe Gabe with his choice for dinner to get him to leave.

 

I had many wonderful ideas for Gabe's costume for Halloween, but I have to accept that the days of me picking his costume are over.  He insisted on being a Power Ranger, even though he really doesn't watch that cartoon.  We had a few decorations along with his jack-o-lantern, so I took this pic as we were on our way downtown to Trick-or-Treat.

Downtown Trick-or-Treating.

This year, Gabe analyzed every single piece of candy and spoke, at length, to every shop owner.

 



A hard days work pays off in Candy!

 



Children's Museum

We spent the afternoon at the Children's Museum in Portland with Erin, Ian and Ryan, and Nana.

This place is soooo COOL!  And the boys are the perfect age right now too!

 

 

In the "Water" Room

 

At the Grocery Store. 

If only the real store was this much fun :)

 

Behind the Deli Counter. 

The kids make the food, and the parents are served the meals!

 

This poor little guy was Dr.Gabe's patient at the Vet Hospital

 

A shot in the eye should do the trick.

 

 

Driving the bus with Copilot, Ian

 

 

 When we got to the Climbing Tree outside, Gabe said "This is my dream come true"

And he meant it!

 

 

Now...That was a fun day!

Gabe Turns 5!

5 years old on Aug. 5th.  So proud of my big kid!

 

 



There goes the neighborhood!

 

Carrying Grampa's Decoys.  See, it's a useful toy too!

Summer Camping Trips

Camping on the Metolious.  It was in the 90's the whole weekend, so we found a small swimming hole to wade around in.  The water in the river is very!! cold!!

 

 

Davis Lake Weekend in August.

All Things December

Around the first of December we had a record snow fall of about 7-9 inches in the Corvallis area followed by a cold snap lasting more then a week with temps dipping down to the single digits at night.  They say this type of storm only happens every 20 years.  This was definitely the most snow I have ever seen here.

 

We had to sweep off the truck before going into town. 

 



 

Gabe enjoyed sweeping so well, he took the liberty to do all of the vehicles.

 

The snow was so dry it was almost impossible to even make a snowball.

 



 

Our first trip into town. This is our local Safeway parking lot.

 

 

We did get out to play in the snow too!

 

 

Since the city does not have the resources to deal with this amount of snowfall followed by freezing temperatures, the downtown area remained icy for over a week.

 

 

Gabe was helping me decorate for Christmas.

 

 

The Gingerbread Construction Project.  Dan said you must decorate the sides first before you elevate the structure.  I definitely think that was a wise choice.

 

 

Of course Gabe had to sample all of the candy.

 

We were all very proud of our little candy house!

 

 



Gabe opened the marble maze as his Christmas Eve gift. It was a big hit!  He has enjoyed playing with it every day since.

 

 

 On Christmas morning, I got up early and set up the fully charged video camera to record the whole event.  In the weeks leading up to Christmas, Gabe hadn't really seemed all the excited about it, so we weren't sure what to expect. He started opening presents with a pretty calm attitude....at first. There were some books, etc. in the first few gifts, so he was happy about that.  The second gift was a Tractor pulling a trailer, so he started to get a little more excited.  The Third gift was a remote control Monster truck, and that was the moment everything changed.  After recovering from his surprise, he jumped up into the air, spun around chanting something that we couldn't quite make out, and proclaimed "It's present opening day!" in the most excited voice I have ever heard.  From that moment on, bows and ribbons were flying, wrapping paper was ripping and the rest of the present opening was somewhat of a frantic blur.  It was so much fun.  Okay....so the reason I went into great detail about this event was because later on in the afternoon I accidentally deleted the video I had taken of Christmas morning and, despite all my efforts,  have not been able to recover it.  I guess it will have to live in our memories.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and enjoy a very prosperous and joyful New Year!