The Cunninghams

St. Louis

2010-04-24T13:00:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we decided to take a mini vacation to St. Louis. I've been wanting to go since our trip was cancelled last summer, and we love exploring new cities! We got on priceline and booked the Hyatt in downtown for $60 (I love priceline!). We were only in St. Louis for 2 days but we had a total blast!

Stopping at the Stake n Shake in Columbia... as you can see Rob and I are so excited about our trip that we are totally neglecting our children sitting in the background... I suppose is they were kidnapped we would at least have a picture of the culprit

Four hours and four milkshakes later... we reached our Hotel to find that is was across the street from the Arch! We got settled in and then talked to the concierge who took one look at us and told us he knew exactly where we should go... The Loop. We hopped on the Metro (oh how we love mass transit!) and walked a few gorgeous blocks to the Loop. When we saw the main strip, I started laughing SO hard. The street had been renamed...

Barack Obama Blvd! HA! That concierge read us like a book. We then headed to the pizza place Pi, and it was INCREDIBLE!

The pizza was absolutely delicious and just looking at the picture right now makes me hungry! Everything was organic, natural and scrumptious... well done Mr. Concierge!

Heading back to the Hotel, we enjoyed another Metro ride. The kids loved it and we of course thought of the Max back in P-town.

Walking back to the Hotel, we enjoyed the fantastic view of the arch. Rob said that his friend told him you could go to the top. We decided that this friend must have been kidding... right!?

Anyway, back in our room (yes this was our view!) we took in the Cardinals game from both the TV and out the window. We would watch the home run on the screen, and then see the crowd erupt out our window. Very cool. And the Cardinals won!

DAY 2

There was a Starbucks in our hotel so we started out the day right. We then walked across the street to the Arch... it was truly incredible! As we got closer we discovered you COULD go to the top!

This is the very base of it...

Under the Arch is a museum reminiscent of a D.C. memorial... which actually the Arch IS a memorial. Anyway, we got our tickets to go to the top and the lovely Arch worker asked if any of us had a problem with heights or claustrophobia... I said no, but thought well kinda?!?

This is why he asked:

This little pod holds five people (barely) and rocks back and forth all the way to the very top of the Arch... crazy!

It's even smaller than it looks like in this picture!

At the top!

This was our view!

In the middle was the old Courthouse that you saw in a picture earlier, the tan building to the right was our hotel.

After our adventure in the Arch, we packed up and headed to the St. Louis Zoo. I usually find zoo pictures a little boring... but I couldn't resist!

Bear faces... I love Justice in this one!

Ok seriously HUGE tortoises... Probably the coolest thing I saw there!

Watching the hippos swim was incredible as well!

We also caught a few smaller elephants playing in the water... I'm pretty proud of this picture... he's even looking at the camera!

The joys of cotton candy!

After the zoo we headed over to REI... which we don't have in KC. It was pretty fun to walk around and dream of all the adventures we will go on one day!

We enjoyed a wonderful dinner at Wholefoods, another store we don't get to go to often enough, and then headed back home.

Amazing trip. Now its time to plan our next road trip!

Our Merry Christmas

2009-12-26T11:30:00.000-08:00

This Christmas, more than others, I felt so blessed. I know so many people that are hurting during the holidays, because of their situations, or because of the pain of those around them. My heart goes out to all of those people, and makes me even more grateful for the simple things in life, like my kids, my husband, our church family, our house, and skype! Here are a few pictures of our wonderful Christmas.

Before the chaos...

Let the chaos begin!

After the gifts were opened, Rob went out to get the paper...

Such a beautiful WHITE Christmas! Later in the evening we went to a friends house where we had our Christmas dinner. This is the view as we pulled our car out of the garage.

Our house enjoyed its first Christmas as well!

Apparently video games can occupy many kids at the same time.

After we left our friends house, (which is a story in its self... let me just say there ARE hills in the midwest, and a lot of snow: Subaru PRIDE!) we drove around a bit enjoying the still beauty of a snow covered city. Once we got home, and put the kids to bed, we enjoyed a nice game of backgammon and a new concoction. I made hot apple cider and added a bit of Grey Goose La Poire... it was amazing! (and yes our alcoholic beverages are sitting on a Bible)

The perfect ending to an amazing day!

Keeping Busy!

2009-12-16T13:43:00.000-08:00

Where to begin... we moved into our new house, but I don't have any pictures because it was a long ordeal! If you haven't already heard the story, I'll summarize it by saying: never get a mortgage through Bank of America! Once we were in, we had a few crazy weeks of unpacking and then it was my birthday! My parents flew out for the week and were able to celebrate both my birthday and Thanksgiving! It was so awesome to hang out with them and show off our new house.

Making their Mamma a birthday breakfast

Birthday lunch at Gates!

Exploring Kansas City

Thanksgiving day, the boys barbecued the turkey so we had time for cards

Very excited, and feeling very manly

Picture perfect and tasted even better than it looks!

How we spent most of our time... Farkle

Their new past time... cross dressing

The next week we were able to go with a friend to see Swell Season! If you haven't heard of them you need to go rent the movie Once and be amazed. It was one of the most amazing experiences I have had. I wish I could share video with you all... oh wait I'm sure you can find it on youtube... and you should!

Last week we had a beautiful snow day! Grace stayed home from school, Rob stayed home from work, and they all played outside! I, on the other hand, enjoyed drinking some hot coffee, reading a book (that wasn't for school) and watched them from the comfort of the warm house.

Last weekend we had the staff Christmas party and the kids looked so cute that I had to take a picture of them.

Today was Grace's Christmas program at school. It was so fun to watch her up there... and actually hear her little voice. It was also really strange to be sitting at my child's Christmas program! After the singing, the kids had a little party in their class and I was able to see her in her school environment. I was also able to see who this Caleb boy is that she is always talking about. In fact, she came home one day and told me they were married. He is just to the left of her. You can't see his face but in the second picture it looks like he is whispering in her ear!

I'm sure I will have more Christmas pictures soon!

Do you ever wake up and think "I'm the luckiest person in the world"?

2009-10-26T12:09:00.000-07:00

Fall-time Fun!

2009-10-24T13:00:00.001-07:00

I love autumn for so many reasons, but this year in addition to the beautiful trees, cool weather, pumpkin spice lattes, and warm scarves, we are having a blast at all sorts of fall activities. First up we had Gladfest. We actually live in a small town within a big city, and so in small town fashion, there is a festival including rides, games, music, and let's not forget deep fried Oreos! We went with a bunch of our friends and had a blast... although it was cut short because we were all freezing!

The funny thing about this picture is that we know all the kids in it! Grace and Justice had a blast going on rides with their friends.

Rob and Justice on the ferris wheel!

Next up was the Renaissance Festival. Now, I have never been to a renaissance festival, and I probably won't go back, but it was rather entertaining. The kids thought it was cool, especially Grace because there were princesses everywhere. For Rob and I and some of the other adults... well I must say it was GREAT for people watching!

A grumpy knight

The cutest little princesses there!

The girls loved watching this weird skit, and then afterward they were able to meet the weird fairy lady and the dragon.

Today was the Boo Bash! Our church puts on this amazing Halloween party for the community. They go all out including pictures, a trick-or-treat village, and a haunted house (which is for the older kids!). The coolest part is that it is all free! Anyway the kids were excited to wear their new costumes!

The bikers from our church dressed up like the people from the Wild Hogs movie (big stretch), and then they let all the kids sit on their bikes for pictures!

Like I said, ALL the kids!

This is Jon all dressed up for the trick-or-treat village. Why didn't you wear that for Ren Fest? Next year??

After all the fun, we enjoyed just sitting down for a bit and watching It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown on the big screens.

Last but not least was the train ride outside. Is it just me or do NHCC parties get better and better?!?

A Beautiful Family Outing

2009-10-01T09:13:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week we went on a little hike in Parkville. It was a beautiful fall day, and we all had a blast!

Getting ready...

I love this picture! I'm very proud of myself for taking it!

I just tell them to smile and then they both do the little head to the side thing :)

A little mommy-son time

Grace took this picture of us... not bad!

Looking back down after he walked up this grassy hill. I want to go back in a few weeks when more trees have changed colors!

One Year!

2009-09-25T06:43:00.001-07:00

One year ago we were saying our goodbyes and packing up the car for a road trip across the country. We didn't know what to expect but we were excited to start a new adventure. This year has blown away any expectations we might have had. Not that everything has been easy and fun, but during the hard parts our new KC family comes to our side to support us. We have enjoyed seeing our parents and even some siblings fly out to see us, and we have appreciated flying back to Oregon twice. I'm beyond excited to see another midwest autumn and enjoy the adventures this next year holds for us!

Here are a few pictures from our latest trip to Portland...

Rob was able to spend his birthday with his dad, his brother, and Portland beer!

You can dress them up but they are still my silly kids!

Portland Love

Grace loves her cousins!

Sanannah! (or Savannah to most people)

Oh the coast!

Precious friends!

To celebrate our one year anniversary we decided to buy a house in Kansas City! We close next month!

Oh and Grace started Pre-K and loves it! Justice really missed her the first few days but I think he is getting used to having the extra mommy time!

I think that catches you all up for now! More later!

Update on drugs

2009-07-30T10:14:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to give you an update about the last few weeks. This may or may not make sense because I'm on several pain killers and I feel a little loopy. Anyway here goes.... About a week and a half ago I went in to the doctor for a prenatal appointment. I was very excited to see and hear the little booger because I was about 12 weeks along. As the doc scanned my belly with the little ultrasound thingy I saw her face get a little too serious. She said that the baby wasn't measuring large enough and that she couldn't find a heart beat. Right away I knew what she was saying. She left and grabbed another doctor and they continued to look at the baby (in more than one way). The lights were out because they wanted to see the screen better, and then they began to explain to me that the baby didn't have a heart beat, that I had miscarried but my body just didn't know it yet. It all felt like a bad dream. I just kept thinking this couldn't be happening. I'm young, healthy, I've had two healthy kids, I'm 12 weeks I should be past that kinda thing. The doctor gave me a few options but I said I just wanted to go home and let my body deal with it. Luckily (or because of God!) my mom was already scheduled to fly in the next day. It was great to have her around helping me out. The next few days my body started to figure things out and I lost a lot of blood (this next part may be a little too much so to make it sound better I will refer to blood as apple juice [I told you I was on drugs]). I lost so much apple juice that I actually passed out for my mom. I kinda find it funny but it scared my mom so freaking bad. After I came to, I felt much better so it didn't really occur to us that we should go to the hospital. I figured I was past the worse part, and that I would be doing better very soon. The next few days I tried to walk around more, and although I was still loosing apple juice, I felt better. Monday came around, and I had a follow up appointment. Once the doctors finally came in, they gave me an exam and again I saw that serious face and they began talking Dr. talk to each other. Without getting to gory, they found lots of "treasures" that needed to be removed. They did their job and then let me rest for a bit. They still didn't like all the apple juice I had lost (about half my apple juice was lost over the weekend). But they sent me home with some meds and told me the worse was over... but if I lost much more apple juice I needed to head straight to the ER. Tuesday was fine, Wednesday was not. I called Rob at work and told him that I needed some help. We went in to the ER and despite all the people sitting, waiting to be admitted, they let me right in. (I'm thinking I didn't look to good). Nurses continued to check my vitals and doctors came in to ask me questions, but mostly I just laid there and watched TV. Finally someone from OB came in gave me an exam and told me I needed a D&C. At this point I was pretty upset because I had just gone to hell and back and back to hell and then I STILL needed a D & C. The rest went by pretty fast. I signed my life away just in case they killed me (which I told them not to). And soon I was wheeled into the OR. Now I have never been put all the way under, I haven't even spent much time in hospitals other than having my kids. I do, however, love watching Scrubs, ER back in the day, and Grey's is my favorite show. Yeah not the stuff to be thinking about when you are wheeled into the OR. I even told the Dr. about Meredith's step mom dying because of the hiccups. She assured me that was TV and that I would be fine. Yeah I know I wasn't very rational but hey, I was scared. Anyway, they drugged me up, cleaned me out, and that was that. I woke up to see Rob's concerned face, (I think I was acting pretty weird as the anesthesia wore off). I could tell that I already felt better, mostly because during the operation they gave me two bags of apple juice. Anyway they kept me over night gave me drugs and sent me home. Everything went well and (as I knock on wood) I will again say, "the worse part has passed." Now I just need to rest for a week or so and I should be doing much better! Thanks for all your prayers, because while this was extremely difficult physically, it was also very hard emotionally. And THANKS to my church family! I cannot believe how blessed we are to have so many friends around here that dropped everything to feed us, talk to us, pray for us, and just love us. YOU ROCK.

Sorry if this was too much info... again blame the drugs... wooo I feel gooooood!

Father's Day Weekend!

2009-06-24T09:05:00.000-07:00

Our weekend started off with an awesome Friday night! We hosted a house concert in our cozy little home! About 40 or so of our friends came (with 10 or more kids) to hear Rob play some of his new music, Sarah Swenson bless us with her beautiful voice, and Aaron Strumpel blow our socks off! They all have very different sounds and it was awesome to watch them play together!

Warming up...

Rob is the tall one :)

Sunday Rob had church in the morning and then we went for a swim with our Friends. We had a blast hanging out with good company, eating good food, and laughing at conversations that don't need to be repeated...

David, you take a picture this awesome and it will get posted!

Ice cream!

We were all so goofy that day!

Yes thats the ice cream scoop...

Monday Rob had the day off so we were really able to get in some quality Father's Day activities. We started off with a breakfast at I-Hop and then went shopping for Rob's BBQ. While we were out we also found a slip n slide... and I think Rob was just as excited for that as he was for his new grill.

Pretending that playing on a slip n slide is as cool as surfing...

awesome.

Rob and his new Weber... it might look small but this thing is PERFECT! Rob cooked up some chicken on it, and it was AWESOME! Yay for summers when the men do the cooking!

Camping

2009-06-18T09:23:00.001-07:00

A few weekends ago we went camping with a bunch of people from church. It was the first camping trip with both kids, and we had a blast! I'm sure there will be many more trips to come! By the time we got to the lake (only 30 minutes away) Justice was asleep... so we let him sleep and sleep and sleep! Seriously he slept like this for two hours!

While her brother slept, Grace was ready to camp!

Not a bad view!

Finally we woke him up and he was ready to play!

The guys playing "hillbilly golf" or "ladders" I don't know if this is a midwest thing or what, but we've already played it several times this summer.

Campfire time!

This picture is a little fuzzy, but I love how proper Grace looks!

We had a great time, and I think the highlight was seeing all the fireflies! I haven't see them since I was in Europe 10 years ago, and Rob had never seen them! I love it!

Haircuts, Birthdays, and Big News

2009-06-03T13:22:00.000-07:00

Monday was a fun day. The boys went for a hike with a friend, and Grace and I ran errands all over town. I love having one on one time with my kids! One of the errands was to get my hair cut.... well here is my new sassy hairdo...

That night a few of us girls went to JP wine bar for Jessie's birthday. I simply love this place! It has an awesome atmosphere, great food, wonderful wine and even good coffee.

Abby had a wine flight... so they all came as a sample... she didn't drink four full glasses of wine at one time... fyi ;)

I passed on the wine (kind of a bummer) but had a great latte

This is the cheese flight with three different cheeses and everything you can imagine to eat with the cheese.

Yay for the girls getting out once in a while...

and having a little fun...

You might have picked up on it... but I didn't have any wine because I am pregnant! Rob and I found out last week that we are expecting our third little baby! We are so excited! Since the first two were so close together it seems like a blur. Now I'm thrilled to do it all over again (I've even been excited about my nausea... I know weird). I'll be sure to keep you all updated and post some belly pics once a start showing!

Just in case...

2009-05-22T10:56:00.001-07:00

... you forgot how cute my kids are...

Fun in the Sun

2009-05-21T14:08:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I took the kids to a friends house and we all went to the pool. There were 3 of us moms and a total of 6 kids ages 4 and under... fun! I had it pretty easy since my kids are slightly older and more self-sufficient... although the babies were super cute floating around!

Here is our group... minus Grace and myself

Such a little stud.

She was actually able to "swim" by herself which made her scream with joy... and a little fright

Before we went to the pool I decided to give Justice a haircut... look at that face!

After all that pool fun we came home and took naps. Then we were able to pick up "Daddy" and get frozen custard. It is becoming a very regular outing for two reasons: 1. Sheridans is amazing. 2. We are budgeting our money and it only costs us 3.65 for a fun family outing.

Those are the free "kiddie" cones!

After our little treat we came home and Rob barbecued some chicken (with Gates sauce) and we ate dinner outside... ahhh what a great day!

Mother's Day

2009-05-13T07:48:00.001-07:00

I downloaded these pictures days ago and I was going to wait to post them when I had time to write about them. Well I don't really have the time or energy now... I need to be writing a paper right now... so enjoy these pictures and use your imagination to narrate.

My Amazing Mother's Day 2009

(although I missed my own two mothers!)

We saw this on our way home from the restaurant... at first the little baby was nestled in his mother's feathers and then he got out and went on a little walk... perfect.

50 years!

2009-05-02T07:11:00.001-07:00

While Gram and Pops were here, we were able to celebrate their 50th Anniversary with them!

How cute are they?? We all went out to dinner at the Hereford House, and had a great meal! It was amazing to hear about the best and worst of their 50 years of marriage. Honestly, it made me love Rob that much more as we will celebrate 5 years this summer and look forward to the next 45!

It was a perfect night!

The Run

2009-04-28T11:57:00.000-07:00

After nine weeks of anticipation and training... WE DID IT! Our four mile Trolley Run was a success!

Here is our group eating an awesome breakfast after the race... I'm calling us

"The Officially Unofficial NHCC Running Club" New members always welcome!

The Butler's (thanks for breakfast!)

Jessie and me (How do you look so cute after a race Jess? You kinda suck)

It was such an awesome day! I came home on a post-race high. It felt so good to accomplish a goal, and to add to it, I just finished my first two classes at Avila University! It was a big weekend for me. I was so exited to take this week off, and just sit and be lazy because I had one week off of school, and I just finished my race. The funny thing is, these last few days its just been the opposite. I ran this morning and it felt great! Yesterday I went over to campus and picked out my classes for fall. I just finished these great goals I had set for myself, and now I have new ones already!

On a total side note... another big goal was completed a few weeks ago... Justice is totally potty trained! He just decided one day and hasn't looked back! YAY!

Lake Pictures

2009-04-16T18:42:00.000-07:00

Easter Weekend

2009-04-15T14:00:00.001-07:00

We have had one of the best weeks! Rob's Grandparents (Gram and Pops) came into town the week before Easter and were able stay here while we celebrated Easter. The kids just love them and don't want to leave their sides, and I think Gram and Pops have had a pretty good time with the kids (wink wink). Anyway here are a bunch of pictures of all the fun things we did for Easter...

Justice wanted to do puzzle after puzzle with his Great-Grandpa

Hamming it up as usual!

Notice the yellow die everywhere? Yeah Justice spilled it after the first egg... as I cleaned it up with paper towels, Pops told me to wrap up a few eggs in the soaked towel... and what do you know, we ended up with several yellow eggs!

The little stinker kept closing his eyes... too cute

working so very hard

Getting ready for the egg hunt at church

Seriously, she can't just smile?!?

A little face paint

Petting zoo...

Yeah all of this was at church... they know how to put on a sweet event!

oooo candy

All cute and ready for church

Watching a movie with Pops

Our awesome Easter dinner!!! I was so proud of this... although I could never have done it all without Gram... she is awesome!

On Tuesday Gram and Pops moved their motorhome out of our driveway and up to Smithville Lake. Last night we played in the sun, ate steak, and roasted marshmallows over a fire... I just can't imagine a better week!

Almost April?

2009-03-29T07:09:00.000-07:00

I usually wait until I have pictures to post, but I think if I keep waiting for pictures I won't post again for months. This month has flown by... I know I know everyone says that about every month. But seriously lets recap March: Grace turned 4 while my in-laws were in town. I started school that same weekend. I've been taking two intensive classes which sucks up every free moment. I run three times every week. My brother and sister-in-law came and hung out with us for eight days! While they were here we had several days in the 70's. Now I have several inches of snow in my yard. Crazy.

Next month is going to be just as busy but I'm looking forward to it! I'll finish up my two classes! I have two races I'm doing, one with Rob and one with a friend. Rob's Grandparents will be here for Easter. And hopefully we will be spending many days outside with the kids!

Also I am hoping that by the end of April Justice will be fully potty trained! Do you understand what that means? I won't have to change any more diapers! After four years of diapers being a part of everyday life I'm very excited to put that season in the past!

Birthday Party and Other Random Pictures!

2009-03-06T13:38:00.000-08:00

Monday my baby girl turned 4! We had a big birthday party for her, and all her little friends came and played pin the crown on the princess, and ate cupcakes, and helped her open the presents they brought for her. It was all too cute!

The birthday girl and her daddy.

The one thing Grace said she wanted at her birthday party was marshmallows...

Justice enjoyed this.

Just helping her out!

Waiting for one of her presents...

One of her friends' dad made an amazing doll house! Grace loved it!

As soon as it came out all the girls ran and got dolls so they could all enjoy! The boys used it as a garage for their cars... so awesome!

We brought out our gift... a BIKE... but I think she like the house better... (thanks David.)

Later that night we opened more presents from the family.

Sporting her new ballerina outfit the next morning.

Cuddles and coffee with Grammy and Papa during their quick visit.

These are a few pictures of when the kids were sick... it was so sad, yet still really cute.

Several weeks ago...

My mom and I enjoying KC's finest: Gates BBQ

Justice wearing a sweater my mom made him for Christmas and a hat that I knitted and was very proud of because it turned out so stink'n cute!

Alright there is a few pictures... now you are all caught up!

Oh my, oh my, oh my

2009-02-17T11:47:00.000-08:00

My mom just sent me some pictures from her time out here. I must say my almost-4-year-old is making me a little nervous... check it out...

Yeah... and this was all within about 4 days... what does she think she gets paid for these pictures or what?

Busy Having Fun

2009-02-11T07:58:00.001-08:00

This has been a good winter! We have had fun exploring our new city and enjoying time with family! Rob's little sister was just out here and we had so much fun with her. Here are a few pictures of the craziness...

Megan and I enjoying classic KC BBQ...

Rob and I enjoying a little romantic moment... ignoring kids is the only time we get together.

Megan took a cute family picture of us... but now I realize that I don't have any of her with all of us... that was silly.

Just a few weeks before Megan came my mom was out in KC MO. It was FREEZING the whole time she was here, but we still had a great time. We built nice warm fires and knitted like crazy, that is when we weren't playing Candyland, Phase 10 for Kids, and Hi-Ho-Cherrio. And of course, Grace had to take some silly pictures on the computer with Grandma!

Hair Chop'n and Potty Train'n

2009-01-20T07:31:00.000-08:00

Last night Grace said that she wanted "small hair like Mommy" I normally don't do everything she asks, but since I'm the one that has to wash, brush, and do her hair... I agreed. She stayed up past her bed time and we cut off almost 8 inches of hair! I was afraid I would regret my decision, but she loves her "small hair" and so do I. Rob wasn't home, and when we walked in the door he immediately saw all her hair in the garbage, and I heard "Baaaaaaaaabe, what did you do?" He went in to check on his sleeping baby, and agreed she looked just as cute as always.

We've also been working on potty training, and I can't resist posting a picture of my little boy and his froggy potty. I'm very excited to be done with diapers! I feel like it is one of the last steps in moving from the baby season to the kid season of life. And it is a transition I welcome!

Who Is Your Barista?

2009-01-14T05:58:00.000-08:00

It's no secret that our family runs on coffee, and so our kids learned at a very young age how to play barista. They bring us soy lattes, americanos, and the occasional doppio macchiato. However, this day I got a surprise with my latte... and ended up with the best picture ever!

Seriously, I'm pretty sure I have the cutest, most creative kids ever! In other news, as much as I love staying home with my precious little baristas, I'm heading back to school in a few weeks. Before we moved, I had been going to school for the past year. While the last few months off of school have been a nice break, I'm very excited to be heading back to the classroom. School is a huge part of my life... not that it is that spectacular, it just keeps me sane. It gives me something to do for myself, you know, something other than laundry, dishes, and laundry. It gives me a reason to get out of the house and have intelligent conversations about the world outside our four little walls, a world outside of Cheerios and Mickey Mouse. The best part of it all is that I get to do something one day a week and still be at home the rest of the time!

Oh the Holidays

2009-01-06T07:28:00.001-08:00

This was such a great Christmas season! We had so much fun exploring Kansas City and finding fun things to do with our kids. The big train station down town was set up with beautifully decorated trees and lots and lots of model trains. There was also an enormous tree with a train the kids could ride.

Above is Union Station and a family picture that actually turned out! I think this would have been our Christmas card if I would have sent one out ;)

We also had fun playing in the snow with our kids! I'm sure we will continue to enjoy this the next few months.

Here are a few pictures of Christmas morning...

The last picture is after we got back from Oregon, and the kids are wearing the sweaters my mom made for them... so cute! And yes we went back to Oregon for Christmas, we actually flew back on Christmas day! We had such an amazing time with family and friends... we were enjoying ourselves sooo much that we forgot to take pictures :( I'm so mad at myself, and if any of you have pictures of our time in Oregon please share them with me!!!

Not an exciting blog...

2008-12-17T14:54:00.000-08:00

I was bored today so I took pictures with my computer... I realized that most of the previous pictures have shown the wood paneling.... which is awesome by the way. But really only one little corner of our house has the paneling, it just happens to be the corner our computers face. Anyway, here are a few low quality pics of our living room ready for Christmas.

Rob had to have a train go around our tree so we put Justice's train tracks around it.

My favorite decorations are our stockings. My mom knitted them for us last year and I LOVE them!

We always have red pillows... but I can pretend they are Christmasy...

To My Mother:

2008-12-16T16:40:00.001-08:00

I know it's not Mother's Day, but I still have to right this "love blog" for my mom. Many people say that they don't want to be like their moms, but I truly hope I can be just like mine. Everything I did today was because of my mom and years of watching her. This morning I did some cleaning wearing those cheesy yellow rubber gloves. They make me think of my mom because her hands would would get soar from doing too many dishes. I'm not sure why exactly, but I know that I have the same issue so I have to wear them just like she did. A lot of my day was spent knitting which is one of my mother's favorite hobbies. I'm not even sure how to knit exactly, my hand just do it on their own from watching hers over the years. I took a brake from my knitting to make fudge, a great holiday treat. My mom's is the best hands down, pure simple goodness. Mine didn't turn out quite as good, even though I use the same recipe, but it still makes me think of her. Finally, I just finished making pizza, homemade crust and everything. My mom makes the best pizza and was one of my favorite meals growing up. I am so thankful for the way my parents raised me. But I am even more thankful for the way my mom seemed to pass on all the little things, all the thing that she did everyday, and that I now do everyday. Mom, I love you! I can't wait to see you next week!

The Simple Things of Life

2008-12-12T07:36:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving and Waking up to Snow

2008-11-30T06:07:00.000-08:00

We had a great Thanksgiving in KCMO! We had several invitations for Thanksgiving meals and even though we couldn't say yes to all of them we felt so loved! We ended up spending the majority of the day with a family that has two little kids and a lot of French influence... its kinda a long story and I don't want to post their life story on my blog... anyway we had a traditional Thanksgiving meal with a little French twist at the end including good wine and super yummy cheeses. After we all stuffed ourselves, we went on a nice walk to gear up for pie and coffee.

Well, first the boys had a little nap... and then we had pie and coffee.

Here is Grace playing with their youngest... she liked having a baby around. After the man of the house made us all lattes we all sat down and played a sweet game named Jungle Speed... seriously my new favorite game and all you Oregonians watch out because we are getting this game and playing it with you over the holidays.

Food time: As most of you know I've given up eating meat, so this Thanksgiving I was determined to make good food. Even though I didn't make a full meal, I practiced making some old and new recipes so one day I can have a full vegetarian Thanksgiving meal.

This is the salad I brought over for Thanksgiving. I've made it many times because its beautiful and amazing!

The day after Thanksgiving we hung out with some other friends all day. For dinner we had some leftovers from the day before and my newest creation... roasted acorn squash with wild rice stuffing! I also made sweet potato pecan bread and pumpkin pie with ginger whipped cream... ahh so good!

Here's the kids taking it easy, and yes Grace is dressed up like Batman.

That was our Thanksgiving... and the only thing that could make this holiday weekend better... SNOW! It snowed a little yesterday but didn't stick. However, when we woke up this morning the ground was covered! Here is our cute little house bathing in the first snow of the season!

It looks good in white! I'm sure we will run out and play in it later so more pictures will come!

My 25th Birthday

2008-11-25T11:01:00.000-08:00

I had a pretty low-key birthday. It was my first one away from all my family which was a little sad, but Rob's parents were out here and were able to celebrate with me. For my big 25th birthday, I wanted one thing: time to hang out with my favorite person in the whole world... My husband! After church the two of us took off without kids (thanks to his parents) and had a great day. I realized later that we didn't take ANY pictures, so to describe my day, I stole some pictures from google...

We had an amazing lunch at California Pizza Kitchen. The funny thing is that neither of us had been there, and we were laughing because we moved to MO to eat something Californian... anyway they had some great veggie pizzas and salads! I also had a Pina-Colada because... well it was my birthday and I felt like it :)

We spent the afternoon and evening shopping at the Plaza... it is a really cool area of downtown that proves that I don't live in Kansas!

While shopping, I got sweet Uggs! They look just like this and they are super warm... because I do live in Kansas City...

After our shopping, we went to reVerse for dinner and drinks. This place was very cool and would have felt like Portland, except they were playing a football game on a big screen. I'm not sure I get the whole, watch TV while you are in a classy restaurant... but I'm new to this whole Midwestern thing. In any case, I had an amazing time relaxing with Rob!

While we were out, the kids (with the help of Grammy and Papa) made me a cake. Last night we lit the candles, and the kids sang to me... and that moment was perfect. It really is the simple things in life that are the best!

Sunday Morning

2008-11-16T08:06:00.000-08:00

Our church has three services, one on Saturday night and two on Sunday. The kids and I have been going on Saturday nights (Rob leads worship at all three), which leaves Sunday mornings a time to relax and have fun.

This is how we spent this Sunday morning:

I played with my new makeup... its Everyday Minerals makeup, totally natural ingredients and really affordable... seriously look it up because I love it! (I'll explain Grace's look in a minute)

Justice did a puzzle in the sunshine... in a diaper... yes he still wears diapers, he's only 2!

Grace dressed up as a "Police Officer" Yeah... I'm not sure I get it but I'll walk you through it. This Police Officer is sporting a sleeveless sweater dress with fashionable lavender snow mittens, a baby boy's fisherman's hat, and a furry scarf tied around her waist. What? You have never seen a Police Officer look like this?? huh weird, thats what they look like in KCMO...

Oh and these are all her police poses...

Well that was my morning... now I need another cup of coffee...

What a Day!

2008-11-05T09:22:00.000-08:00

Before I even begin, let me something my mom used to tell me: If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.

I am so moved by what our country did last night. Our country, young and old, looked beyond race, name, age, and chose an amazingly qualified, inspiring man to be the 44th President of the United States. I cried through his speech last night, and this morning I watched a clip of an old speech by Martin Luther King Jr., a speech we all know, and I cried and cried. This is an amazing day. I know that the next four years aren't going to be perfect, but I also know that this country will not ever be the same! It doesn't matter who you voted for, this was a huge accomplishment for our country. A country that from the beginning thought you had to be a white man to count for anything. I hope we can continue to come together as a nation and encourage our soon-to-be President. He isn't perfect and this will be a tough four years, but the weight of the county is not on his shoulders, it is on all of ours. And YES, WE CAN!

Four Blogs in One

2008-11-04T10:33:00.001-08:00

I'm not very good at keeping this updated... so here is 4 blogs in 1!

(1) Today was a beautiful Fall day, sunny, a little windy, and seriously 70 degrees! I took the kids to the park with some of our new friends.

This is the little girl that after one day Grace said, "she is my best fwiend"

The park is beautiful! Seriously, there is nothing like a Missouri Autumn!

(2) NHCC (our church) had a Halloween party the weekend before Halloween, and it was so fun. There were games, trick-or-treating, costume parades, and even a little train ride.

They liked the s'mores

We are too cool to dress up... can't you tell...

Grace was SO excited to see Snow White! She was beyond star struck. She slowly walked up to her and gave her a hug, it was so stinkin cute!

More food...

Here was the little train. The kids loved it, but being an over-protective mom I kinda freaked out when they went out of sight... and there were no seat belts... but like I said the kids had fun!

This was actually Halloween at a friends house. They had a party and we all took the kids trick-or-treating.

I was pretty excited to go also... it was my first time! Yeah, I'm such a rebel Dad!

(3) A few weeks ago, Rob and I came home from something and put the kids to bed. I was sitting on the couch on the computer and I heard something drop down from the ceiling. I looked over by the TV and saw this:

Seriously, it was huge! At first, from a distance, I thought it was a frog! But when I got closer I realized it was some sort of grass hopper... er green... something... I don't even know!

(4) We have really settled in to our home. This last weekend we got a new couch for our living room, it is awesome and super comfy (our other couch is cute, but not so comfy). Also I feel pretty good about the kids rooms. The walls are still pretty bare but they look cute.

Here is Grace's room... well some of it, her room is really big!

Wow, well if you read all of this you must really love us... or you were just bored... or both. Thanks anyway!

Ahh Politics

2008-10-22T19:27:00.000-07:00

I have been, unfortunately, joining in a few political conversations. I'm sorry I can't help it... I like to talk and I get really frustrated by closed mindedness! ANYWAY I just wanted to say real quickly that I am a political agnostic, "when your head is in the game, but your heart and hope are not." My new church did a great little series on politics and this is what I came away with. You can check it our here if you have a few minutes: http://www.politicallyagnostic.com/

That is all, November 5th cannot come soon enough...

A Great Evening!

2008-10-21T19:00:00.000-07:00

Tonight was a great night in KCMO! We had some friends over for a yummy stir-fry and let the kids run around and play. The men folk went to a meeting which left us moms to hang out and laugh at our silly kiddos. It was really a normal night, which was GREAT! It feels so good to be making good friends and just living life with others! I'm looking forward to getting to know more people and make deeper relationships with those I've already connected with so far.

Finally... The Road Trip

2008-10-16T07:46:00.001-07:00

Our road trip started out in Portland, Oregon at 6:30 am and ended a few days later in Kansas City, Missouri at 2:00 pm. Total time 55 1/2 hours! Not bad with two toddlers in the car. We made our stops pretty short and our nights in hotels were short as well... actually we lost an hour each night so our nights were even shorter and I guess our total time was actually 53 1/2 hours. Anyway not that any of that really matters :) here are some pictures!

First thing first, drive-thru Starbucks!

This was a quick stop in La Grande, OR

No better way to say goodbye to Oregon than going to Safeway and looking at pumpkins...

Being silly in the car while I drive through Idaho, easily the most boring part of the trip!

We stopped for dinner in Twin Falls and found a little Idaho surprise... beauty!

Seriously... Idaho's secret

We stopped for our first night in Ogden, Utah and after one day on the road we had a LOT of dead bugs on our car! At one point we thought it was raining but is was only the sound of bugs hitting our poor car!

The second day we headed through Wyoming which was surprisingly beautiful!

Even though it is apparently the beef state, I didn't see any cows but I did see all kinds of landscape.

I thought Nebraska was pretty cool too, I'm not used to seeing such a flat horizon.

Our second night was spent in Nebraska, and in the morning we caught an amazing sunrise!

On our third day driving, we made it to Missouri!

I was pretty excited!

And so was Rob...

The kids were pretty tired from the travels, so once we were in our house, they took it easy!

I hope you all enjoy the pictures! We had an amazing trip, seriously even more fun than I thought it was going to be! Although, I'm not eager to drive back anytime soon, so from here on out we will be traveling to Oregon by plane!

Say goodbye to white walls!

2008-10-14T11:33:00.000-07:00

Rob and I stayed up until 3:00am painting the house and it was sooo worth it. We couldn't get started until the kids were in bed and so it made for a late night. Also our living room, huge dinning room, and one of the hallways all had to be done so it was a BIG job. I have lived in an apartment for the last four years and have been surrounded by white walls... well no more! Also our rugs came today! Our little house is looking so nice! Here a few pictures of our living room... hopefully I will get pictures taken of some of the other rooms soon.

The top picture shows the color better! It is a nice warm light tan that goes well with all the wood and brick in the house.

Now I'm going to post this fast before something happens :)

So I Suck at Blogging

2008-10-13T11:34:00.000-07:00

We have been in Missouri for almost two weeks and we have been crazy busy... but I haven't posted anything... sorry. I tried posting a blog last night with a bunch of pictures on it and there was an error and I lost all my work. I was too pissed to do it all over again, so I didn't. I did post some pictures of our road trip on myspace.

This is where I need your help... please tell me there is an easier way to upload pictures on blogspot. The one at a time thing takes forever! And then I can't seem to rearrange them on the blog... anyway let me know and I'll be able to post more exciting things :-)

One Apartment, Two Steel Boxes

2008-09-23T08:53:00.000-07:00

Alright, our apartment is officially empty, and I suppose officially not "ours" anymore. All of our earthly possessions are packed into two "relo-cubes" that will be traveling across the country to this little place called Kansas City, Missouri. It took a lot of work, (did I mention we lived in a third story apartment?), and we are so thankful for all the people that helped us out! I wish I had some pictures of all our furniture and boxes filling the place, because no one thought it would all fit into the cubes. No one that is, except Rob... and he was right! Everything fit perfectly with a little room to spare. Today I am a little soar, but I'm ready to tie up other loose ends and start planning the details of our road trip.

This is Rob's Grandpa who was so helpful packing everything up!

We were very tired, but we did it!

Saying Goodbye

2008-09-17T19:29:00.001-07:00

As we plan our trip, pack up our house, we also have to say goodbye to many people that we care about. Earlier this week, I spent a whole day with one of my closest friends. We played, we talked, we ate, we lost a turtle, (its ok the turtle came back) and we ate some more. It was just a great day, and I wanted to share some pictures.

They learned about dirt and worms

We had coffee and scones

My cute little kiddos (above... not the cute blonde one below)

They love this little bed... but Justice was left out eating gapes by himself.

The Start of Blogging

2008-09-17T19:29:00.000-07:00

My family is moving to Kansas City, Missouri in about a week and a half where Rob will be a Worship Director at a church. We are very excited about our new adventure but understand it will be hard for our family and friends. I decided that we should start a blog to keep in touch with everyone from home. I will try to post pictures of our move and of our road trip all the way to KC-MO (it's K-C-Mo for all you Oregonians).