another kind of canvas

Ben getting his tattoo at Scapegoat
Very brave
It looked quite painful
It was fun to watch though....sorry babe!

Well, the day finally came. The day that Ben has been longing for for quite some time now. The tattoo has been something he's wanted since we were married. So here it is, 12 years later and he finally got it. If you are an adult and are reading this I am sure you can relate with the fact that there are lots of things we want and we get so close to getting whatever it is and then the money set aside is needed for something else. So for Christmas the deal was sealed. It took about 4 hours. I was able to go thanks to my parents watching the kids for us. Two of his friends also showed up to show some support. Thanks Peter and Benjie. I was pretty intrigued by the whole process and I am really glad that I was there to see it and be part of it. I think if he would have come home with it I would have freaked out a bit because it was quite a bit bigger than I was thinking. I love it though. Ryan did a great job. Sydney is excited for when daddy is going to get one with her name on it. It's going to be awhile however. My name......even longer.

November

This has been a busy month....lots of normal stuff and a bit of the extra and exciting too. We seemed to have lots of birthday parties and baby and bridal showers. The two highlights would be family picture day and Thanksgiving. Picture day. Wow! It started out a little on the rough side. I had my idea of how I wanted everyone to look, not specific but in general. The girls wanted to do the fancy dresses thing but that wasn't really what I was going for. We came up with some suitable compromises. We went to the Ace Hotel downtown Portland and our friend Kim started snapping away. The girls did great. It was a typical NW rainy day so most of the pics were taken inside. It was a lot of fun. Now, to order the prints and send them out!

Thanksgiving was a dream. We were there for four days of total relaxation. The girls had a blast playing here and there and everywhere. My parents and Grandparents were there as well as my Aunt Cindy, Uncle Wayde, Kellie and Blake. Everyone had an amazing time playing games, reading, sleeping, taking walks (or runs) and eating lots of good food. My dad took the girls fishing one day and they enjoyed that. Let's not forget the arcade........the girls got over 700 tickets to spend.

So much to be thankful for!

Halloween

This year was really fun. The girls were so excited about their costumes and getting all dressed up. We usually go around the neighborhood with one or more of the grandparents and let the girls trick-or-treat and then it's off to Neewollah at Church where they have a horse drawn carriage ride, games, food and a huge bounce house.
Noel had so much fun thinking up her "rock star" outfit. We even made her a guitar out of cardboard. She colored it. The metallic dress that Grammy made her last year was a big hit. Sydney was really looking forward to wearing the Tinkerbelle costume as Noel had worn it the year before. She looked very cute in it and had fun getting candy with her neighbor friends Bekah and Keke. I dressed up too......I went as a pirate. My Nanny McPhee costume didn't pan out......maybe next year.

Girly girls!

Just thought I'd share these cute pictures with you. A friend from church passed down this dress with matching purse and shoes that she made (well the dress anyway). Both of the girls love it!

Noel crafted her own wedding ring out of foil. Not bad, but let's not rush anything little lady!

Playing Chuck E. Cheese

Leah, Noel and Sydney had fun the other day playing around the house. They made their own Chuck E. Cheese where they could win tickets and then come to pick a prize. All these prizes on the couch were worth different amounts of tickets. It was so cute!

First Day of School Picture

Here is Noel and her good friend Savanna on their first day of school. Don't they look adorable. Noel was so excited about wearing her "SouthPole" jacket and "skinny jeans." Little fashion queen already.

Skip ahead two months to today..........Daddy , Sydney and I all went and had lunch with Noel at her school today. We got to meet her awesome teacher, Mrs. Ulbin. Noel really likes her teacher a lot and is doing well in first grade.

Computer Fun

Both Noel and now Sydney are enjoying playing fun little games on pbskids.org. They are learning computer skills while playing games and listening to stories as well as interacting with their favorite cartoon characters. This is a good alternative to watching TV and entertains them for short bits of time here and there so mom or dad can get some stuff done quick. If you have kids and haven't checked this out yet........do it! Playhouse Disney has a lot of great stuff too!