snow snow snow

We have had a blast this past week, sleeping in, well sort of sleeping in...I guess it is 3:30am and I am typing on my blog page!

It's amazing what you can get accomplished in a day when you get to stay home! My closets have never looked so good! I am actually tempted to take pictures of our office, my pantry, and soon our playroom! (this is why I am up at 3:30, it's a mess and I can't take it anymore.) I wonder if I am the only mom that can't stand clutter! It truly drives me nuts! I am thinking Goodwill or BUST today!!

Anyway, here are a few shots from our house over the past few days!

Love those BEAVS!

Could the Beavers make it to the Rose bowl? We have not been since the mid 60's. What a beautiful day for an OSU game! We had so much fun afterwards, celebrating our big win!

pumpkin patch

I love the Fall season almost as much as summer...almost! One of my favorite activities to do with my kids is going to the pumpkin patch. My first pumpkin patch trip ever was my first year of teaching 12 years ago! I have been hooked ever since. We had the pleasure of meeting up with our cousins from Mcminnville and enjoying the pumpkin rocket performance. Lots of fun, a beautiful day and a true appreciation for life!

Teagan's wedding

I LOVE going to weddings that having dancing and good food..I do...I may be nuts but I do. My little cousin Teagan was married a few weeks ago in Sisters Oregon after 9 years of dating her now husband! We stayed at an amazing resort, way over our budget, but worth every penny. Most of my friends are now married, (or divorced) So going to a wedding that plays 80's music is always a treat for me! A flashback to high school always brings back good memories! Even my parents (below) after 43 years of marriage rocked out to the music! These are the memories I will never forget because they seldom happen..so here is to all of you 80's music lovers like me!

My little Prince

I was so proud of my little man, for the second year in a row, Caden walked in front of 2300+ people at our homecoming ceremony. Way to go little man!

Fred Meyer...

Ok, so tonight I had the worst experience at Fred Meyer. I was at the check out stand, I had Payton in front of me, and in front of both of us was our cart full of pumpkins for preschool. Behind me was my husband and our cart full of groceries for our family. I walk up to pay and out of nowhere comes this smell, so stinky that I am about to vomit. I am trapped and begin going into a small panic. This check out lady has farted and continues to fart in front of me. It was worse than a skunk, a baby diaper, and really anything I have ever smelled. I look behind me to escape but realize that York too is about to vomit and finds a way to exit the aisle with Caden. I am left with Payton who politely does not want to say anything but is covering her nose with her shirt. The women kept on repeating herself by saying, "so, it looks like you are decorating for Halloween? I said, "No, this is all for my job." One minute later as I try to gasp for air, she says again, "So, it looks like you are decorating for Halloween." I wanted to say, "Look lady, you just asked me that question one minute ago, but clearly your brain is now fried because your gas problem is causing you to hallucinate. I quickly turn back and look at the spearmint gum and stick my nose up against it. She is looking at me funny now, but come on, are you serious! My clothes are starting to smell like this ladies gas...so I try to push my cart forward. She stops me! She says she needs to do a price check on something and then let's another one fly as she is leaving. I find myself almost hitting the floor, I can foresee the obituaries now, "Women dies from nasty fart from the Fred Meyer lady" I find courage to get back up and notice that the entire aisle has cleared out and my husband is sitting down about to vomit with Caden. (Who is plugging his nose)

One, two , four minutes pass, and finally we are done. As we leave another person gets into line looking at us like we were the culprit. I look back at the 25 year old man, and give him the look with my eyes that say, "sorry old buddy, but it wasn't us. Good luck breathing the next five minutes." I notice his eyes start to water, and soon, he says to the lady, "keep the change" and makes a B-line out the door.

I am not sure what that lady ate, nor if she was aware of her gas issue, but it now has been four hours since I was at Fred Meyer. I had to put Vicks vapor rub up my nose to get the semi-permanent stench out of my nose.

My struggle

On Saturday, as we were celebrating the OSU victory, my sister in law received a phone call that would change her life forever. Her 25 year old brother (who has a baby on the way) was in a major accident. After two life flights, and 6 specialists, they told Sandra's family he has a zero percent chance of living. He is brain dead.

I consider myself a person of strong faith..heck my husband almost died last year and I knew I had to put everything in God's hands. I hear people say, God allows us to experience rain once in a while so we can appreciate the sun. Sometimes I think I have experienced a few thunderstorms when it comes to death and my family. I am really struggling with this particular "death." Someone whom is 25 years old..really just a kid himself, happily married to the love of his life, excited to become a father for the first time, gone from our earth to head home. It's hard to understand, although I have read the bible and understand death..or at least I thought I understood death. I guess it's time to really take a look at my own faith, and put life into perspective again.

GO OSU!

Although it was HOT, it was worth the trip down to Corvallis! Go BEAVERS!

American Girl Doll

Payton had saved her money for one year to purchase the "dream doll of a lifetime." Emily, the cute little American Girl doll came to us in a fancy box addressed to Payton Major this June. When I placed the order online, I used Payton's email address so that future sales or updates on the dolls would go directly to her instead of me. Once the order was placed the company sent Payton a generic email letting her know that her order had been shipped. So basically the email came from the shipping department. I check Payton's email every day to make sure that she is only sending messages to a few friends and her grandma, however on one sunny June day I noticed that she had sent a message back to the company or "shipping department"

This is what it said in reply to the email she received letting her know her doll was shipped:

Dear American Girl Doll People,
Whin will are doll come to are house? have a good day love
Payton's mom.

I was laughing so hard, especially at the spelling and use of my name being "Payton's mom" it was great.

Next, I noticed she had sent a second email to the shipping department and this one said:
Dear American Doll people:
This is the real Payton now. Thank you so so so so so so so much for shipping my doll. I have always wanted a doll that looks like me and I saved my money for one year to buy her. I didn't even by any candy or bad stuff so I could by her. I hope you have a good day. It is time for lunch now, what are you having today for lunch?
I love you and thank you again
love Payton Tally Major

I wonder what the shipping people are thinking...do they actually read these emails? I would be laughing and submitting this to my supervisor...it's too cute! We did however receive an email from someone in shipping letting us know that the doll would soon be at our house.

Good intnetions...bad idea!

This summer I have been on a HUGE exercise kick. After 15 years of not really exercising (other than maybe once a week) I have been working out seven days a week and have lost 14lbs and 9 inches! I am so excited to run/walk my first 1/2 marathon this spring. With all this excitement I have been experiencing, we decided to take the kids on a hike to Silvercreek Falls. Our intentions were good, however, we did not put much thought into the fact that one jogger stroller will not do the trick for five miles! The beginning of the hike was a lot of fun, so I will post those pictures. However, once I hit the steep stairs with the jogger stroller on my back, I soon realized this hike was a mistake of gigantic proportions. After 5.5 miles and three and a half hours of hiking, we were all tired...let's just say there was not a lot of family bonding taking place. Good thing I took pictures early on!!

Where is the sun!

This weather is so so so depressing!! I LOVE the sun and this weather reminds me of winter!! Here is a picture of my little man who gave up on the idea that we were going outside today to play in the sprinkler!

Anyone want to buy a car???

Great car....need to sell fast...Honda Pilot calling my name!!!

http://portland.craigslist.org/wsc/cto/802566314.html

Happy Birthday Payton

>7 things I love about Payton
1. You wake up every day with a very cute smile on your face and then you climb in bed with me. (Usually at 5:00am)

2. You love LIFE and everything that it brings. No matter what the situation, you handle it with grace and dignity. Something many of my adult friends have not even mastered.

3. You love your family and friends. No matter what the gesture, big or small, you appreciate everything and everyone. I never have to worry that you will be inconsiderate or selfish, because your heart is so big.

4. Your love for the Lord is incredibly strong. You pray before meals and at bedtime without mommy even telling or making you pray. No wonder the Lord has blessed you.

5. You love to learn! You are my little bookworm and I love watching you read chapter books with such expression..so cute!

6. You are an AMAZING big sister to Caden. Even though he gives you a hard time (every day) you still love him, take care of him, and teach him everything you have mastered. That little boy will soon understand how lucky he is to have you for a big sister.

7. Last but not least (because I could go on forever) You are a tremendous daughter! I never knew I could love someone as much as I love you. Providing a life that brings you love, comfort, and joy has been my pleasure these past seven years. You will always be my little girl (bear) even when you are 50! I know your teenage years will be here soon, however, I look forward to every adventure that life has to offer.
Happy Birthday sweetie!

A long time...

Now that school is out, it's funny how your routine stops. Instead of getting up at 5:00am and going to bed dog tired, I find myself getting up at 7:00am...pretty nice. I love summer..it is by far my favorite time of year. Not just because school is out, but because I don't have to rush, I get to enjoy my children, and each day means so much more because for 8 weeks I get to stop and smell the roses.
My little Payton turned 7 years old on June 27th. We had quite a bash with her friends and enjoyed the heat to go along with her special day.

Happy 3rd Birthday Caden

Although time has passed, I thought I should post a few cute pictures of Caden on his birthday. On May 25th, our little stinker turned 3!! There is something magical about the age of three, and for Caden he surprised us by going potty in the big boy potty. I didn't have to do a thing. Way to go my little man! Even though this post is a little late...happy birthday!

We have been trying to purchase a Wii for over three months and finally after calling Fred Meyer every day, I found one. So, this was Payton's early birthday gift, York's father's day gift and Caden's birthday gift...it has brought many hours of joy to our family and even a few sore arms the next day.

We love going to Chevy's, even though it is not good for you. Here is Caden, enjoying his ice cream after being sung to about three minutes prior to this picture. I think the staff at Chevy's freaked him out a little. However, he quickly recovered once he saw his ice cream.

All events are over

A few more pictures of the kids and their events...I am trying to learn how to add pictures while I write.

All events must come to an end.

This year I really wanted to limit what extra curricular activities Payton participated in. It seemed that this fall we were running literally every day of the week. Between dance, cheerleading, Awanas, church, and Piano, I was exhausted. This spring we had Awanas, softball, piano and swim lessons. Well, they are now finally complete. Payton and caden enjoyed swim lessons and improved a great deal. Payton still has a little fear when it comes to being alone in the water, while Caden has no fear at all. He is our little fish and loves to just jump on in with the intention that someone will catch him. Over the past few weeks he started doing this dance before he jumped in..it looked as if he had been watching some sort of adult dance performance judging by his moves. He certainly did not get his "dance style" from us!

Payton had her last softball game last week and I had to get a picture of her with her catcher's gear on. She could hardly walk, which made everyone crack up!I don't know if softball will be her thing, but it sure was fun to watch her little legs run to each base.

We found the sponge park!!

Ok...mystery solved!! Thanks to Bridget and Heidi, they informed me of a fun park that has a sponge material instead of wood chips! This place is AWESOME! It's like people do not know it exists! We have gone three times and practically had the park to ourselves.

Thanks ladies...we now have a new spot to play!!

Keeping a three year old still

We thought it would be fun to take some pictures this weekend for Caden's birthday. Normally I have no problem getting him to smile, however, I guess he knew these were important pictures so he was not still. He has this new smile that looks like he is grunting...

The good news is Caden potty trained himself over the weekend. It must be the magic age of three where kids just get it...

We had an awesome preschool graduation yesterday...I am going to miss my kids so much.

Sunshine on Monday?

Today, although I have a ton of work to do, I decided to let the kids run outside and play for about an hour while I made dinner. I heard Payton laughing for me to come outside to see Mr. Caden being, well, Mr. Caden!! Boys are so so so so so different that girls...at least at the Major household. I can't wait to show this to his wife one day!

Special People

As I get older I find a much deeper appreciation for the people that come into my life. For the past nine years that I have been a teacher I always appreciated my Aloha family but never really knew the depth of their gratitude. Teaching was not my first choice or even my 100th choice as a major in college, however, I know our wonderful Lord put me in my current position for a reason! This year especially, I have grown to know our preschool families on a much more personal level. There are so many fun parents that bring such joy to my morning and afternoon. The lives they lead are busy but rewarding and I have certainly enjoyed the new perspective they have given me on family, marriage and life. In addition to our preschool families, I have grown to deeply appreciate my students. It wasn't until I brought Caden to our program that I truly understood how much they do for me and our school. So for anyone reading this blog that has been a part of Little Warriors Thank You for shedding such positive light my way!

This blog is dedicated to my "daughter" Cynthia as she heads off in a limo to her senior prom. Although she was dateless, her mother saved up enough money to purchase a limo for the evening. I can't think of a more deserving young woman that Cynthia who has a smile on her face and the most positive attitude of anyone I know!! Thanks for always teaching this 34 year old crazy teacher that there are only 24 hours in a day...it CAN get done tomorrow, I CAN'T make everyone happy, and that I DO need more than four hours of sleep. What would I do without you! Love you always.. your "other" mom!

When you leave your child alone...

Yesterday was a very busy day at work. I had four letters of recommendation to write, lesson plans for my HS students, and orientation paper work for our new preschool parents...Within a few minutes, I hear an almost silent giggle...hmm I thought. I wonder what Caden is up to..

Check out his face ink job!!