Halloween Fun with The Kneipp's!

There is something to be said for finding a man who shares your passion for Rock and Roll and has a penchant for performance.

I give you our version of "Headbanger's Ball" - Halloween style...enjoy.

Boo!

HAVE A SAFE AND SPOOKY

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Wordy Wednesday - Worth it, I Promise!

Most Wednesdays I am content to just share a funny picture or two. Today, however, I need to shake things up a bit.

The following video is one that I saw on "Oprah" recently. It really moved me and got me thinking about life, love and priorities.

Imagine for a moment what our world would be like if each and every one of us got up everyday with the single purpose and goal of making life better for every person we came in contact with.

Everyone - our spouse or a teacher. Our children or a grocery store clerk. Our parents or an angry co-worker. Our neighbor or a stranger. If we met everyone with kindness and empathy, would we make the world a better place? It seems to me that we would.

I hope you enjoy this story as much as I did. It is amazing what one little boy could do - with no words.

Blogging the Old-Fashioned Way

The definition of a blog is as follows:

Blog: an online diary, a personal chronological log of thoughts published on a Web page. Typically updated daily, blogs often reflect the personality of the author.

When I started writing my blog, the purpose was to share our life with friends and family who live far away from us. I never really gave a whole lot of thought to any other purpose. It has worked well in that regard.

My blog has also become a place where I can “vent out” some of my thoughts and feelings on such items as current events, politics, personal growth, etc. I recently read a little article online entitled “Blog Etiquette” and realized maybe I should be re-thinking those aspects of my blog.

The article pointed out that what goes out onto the Internet is here to stay. Forever. With printers and scanners, what you say in 2008 could very well follow you until 2088. And that can be scary.

However, I try my hardest to “think before I post”. And lucky for me, I have the added check of knowing, if nothing else, my Mother reads this blog. (Or at least the first few lines of each post) She serves as a sort of “built-in censor”. Because if I don’t want my Mother reading it, chances are it shouldn’t be in my blog.

I have read many a blog that violate this simple rule. There’s an entire underground blogging community out there of stay-at-home mom’s who blog every last detail of their lives. I have learned way more than I needed to about random SAHM’s sex lives, in-laws, exes, brushes with the law, etc. I cringe when I think of the information that they are putting out there falling into the wrong hands.

The funny thing about the Internet is that it mirrors real life in so many ways. Although it may feel like an anonymous, shielded environment, it isn’t.

Have you ever been sitting in a restaurant and started to gossip…only to check yourself before you get too far and do the “whisper-talk, peek over our shoulder and check out the other booths to make sure no one who knows anyone who knows anyone is nearby” move? (Don’t lie. You’ve all done it.)

Well, the Internet doesn’t have such a feature. It’s all in your mind. The connections between people are murky and you can never be aware everyone who may read your words. Who may be hurt or influenced by your decisions of what pictures to post, what details to share, what attitudes and beliefs may offend. You just don’t know.

On the other hand, I refuse to have my on-line life dictated by what other people may do, say or feel. I usually am a very open-minded person and I hope that I have developed an ability to listen to various opinions and thoughts and give them careful consideration if they are presented in a rational manner.

And yes, that’s a back-handed jab at Sarah Palin supporters. ;-)

Which brings me to my final point. When the personality of a blogger tends to be sarcastic or caustic, a lot can get lost in translation. This is my official, one-time-only apology for anyone I may offend with a misinterpreted phrase, comment or out right joke. If you ever question my real intent, just ask me. Chances are I can set the record straight and clear things up.

In the meantime, I am going to continue on my merry way. Blogging when and how I want to. But always keeping in mind, if I have anything nasty to say, say it near the end of the blog. Chances are by then my Mother has grown bored and moved on.

Crazy Hair Day!!

Wordless Wednesday Times Three

Random Sunday Thoughts

I have been having a hard time getting started on a new blog post because I am all over the board on topics I would like to cover. In the interest of getting some thoughts out of my noggin' and shaking out the interesting things, I am going to share some random thoughts.

(Please note: All pictures included in the follow post will be random as well)

Enjoy and Happy Sunday!

1) I LOVE playing with new software for my computer.

2) I can't wait to see Sarah Palin on SNL tonight. (We have it on our DVR)

3) Fall is my favorite season.

4) Why is it that when we all have the opportunity to sleep in, the kids are up and the crack of dawn (or before), yet when we have to get on the road early, the kids sleep and sleep and sleep?

5) Would it really make a difference in production methods if everyone stopped buying regular eggs and switched to "cage free" eggs?

6) The Washington State Cougar football team is an embarrassment this year.

7) I am going to be 38 in less than a month. I have hit my peak looks wise and there's really no point in trying to achieve greatness anymore.

8) I am lucky I scored Mitchell when I did. (See Item #7)

9) Halloween cannot get here soon enough! I believe we are more excited than the kids are!

10) Why does time go by soooo slowly during the week and speeds up 10-fold on the weekends?

11) Will my Mom and Dad still be reading this list at this point, or have they become bored already and moved on?

12) Who the h*ll is reading my blog in the Czech Republic?

13) I hope the scumbags who stole our credit card info and charged over $600 for education software get what they have coming to them.

14) I love my new-to-me Jeep!!

15) Internet stalking is just another way to say, "I love you."

16) There's only 6 days until I leave for the "Girl's Getaway Beach Trip"! Woohoo!!

17) I hope I am not going to the "Girl's Getaway Beach Trip" with my arm in a sling because of my shoulder injury.

18) My shoulder hurts.

19) It doesn't matter how many times we go through it, I can still never figure out how to seat everyone at our table so we all get our wishes...Mitch by me, Lexi "opposite" me, Tucker by Daddy, etc., etc., etc.

20) Overall, I have a very blessed life and I am grateful for all my friends and family who care enough to READ TO THE BOTTOM OF MY POSTS!!

Love to you all - Veronica

Wordless Wednesday

Anniversary Video - Almost 4 Months Later!!

Super Silly Sunday

It's amazing to me how much of our personality is developed at an early age.

Pumpkin Patch 2008

Another Fall Family Tradition is in the books - "Pumpkin Patch 2008" was a rousing success!! The kids had a blast, as did my parents and Mitch and I. We went to Joe's Place Farm in Vancouver, where we have been going since Lexi was 7 months old. In some ways, today felt like we had gone full circle.

Here's a timeline and some little memories from the last 6 years - hope you enjoy!!

The First Time

October, 2003

Lexi Noodle was just a baby! She was so cute and we were so excited to get to be doing some of the fun stuff - with a kid!! It was the inaugural year of the "Wheelbarrow Shot"!

Lexi & Mommy and Lexi & Daddy

Year 2

October, 2004

Ah yes....year 2. The year I was pregnant with Tucker, just off of bed rest for long enough to walk the pumpkin patch for about 15 minutes. I remember having some BIG contractions while we wandered around. Yuck. Plus, I was the size of a small Orca whale.

Good times...good times.

Year 3

October, 2005

We had twice the fun this year!! Tucker had joined the fray and it was good times all around!

Year 4

October, 2006

Another good year. Not a whole lot new to report. Both kids were really into things this year. The only other item of note would be that it was our first Halloween in Washougal.

Oh yeah. And we didn't get a "Family Shot" because Tucker kept running off. Little menace.

Year 5

October, 2007

Barf.

No. Really. That's all I remember is how nauseated I was. I think I was only out of the hospital a few days before we went. The corn maze just about did me in.

It would only be a few short weeks until I broke my ankle. Tanner may be the cutest baby in the whole wide world, but he was in fact, trying to kill me. Pumpkin Patch 2007 was a dark, dark day. :-(

Year 6

October, 2008

And that, my friends, brings us full circle. No big huge pregnant belly, no toddler who won't sit still, no nausea...just cute kids, good clean family fun and a wonderful memory that we all will cherish for years to come.

I have said it before and I'll say it again - I CANNOT WAIT for the year when they are 16, 14 and 11 and I make them jam themselves into a wheelbarrow so that I can get my picture!

Now that will be a moment to capture!! ;-)

In truth a family is what you make it. It is made strong, not by number of heads counted at the dinner table, but by the rituals you help family members create, by the memories you share, by the commitment of time, caring, and love you show to one another, and by the hopes for the future you have as individuals and as a unit.
- Marge Kennedy

Wordless Wednesday

We can't believe he's 7 months old!

But, we're not as shocked as he is!!

Our little pumpkin is 7 months old today! Hard to believe that it's been that long since I was in so much incredible pain...which I will remind him of every chance I get!! OK...not really. I'm just not "that type" of mom. ;-)

Tanner is doing great. He is sitting up by himself and trying to attempt to roll over every now and again. He is loving hearing himself "talk" and has taken to randomly screeching as loud as he can - scaring me in the process! He is eating lots of baby food, but after a rough go at the Cheerios, we laid off and gave him a break on the solids. Hopefully it won't be too long until he gets the hang of it!

He still naps twice a day and continues to be a champion sleeper at night - usually in bed by 6pm (shut up Pongon's!) and up again around 7 or 7:30am. We are SO LUCKY in the sleep department. (Unlike the pregnancy department...I think we all would agree we TOTALLY SUCK at that! And again, by "we", I mean me! ;-)

Well, that's all the bragging I have for the little guy today! He continues to be the light of our lives and we firmly believe that he may indeed have hung the moon. Someday he'll talk and all that will go out the window, but for now, he's our perfect little dude. :-)

Applefest 2008 - Hood River, Oregon

We added a new fall tradition to the line up this year - apple picking in Hood River, Oregon. We loaded up all the kids and went for an hour and a half drive to get the same apples that we could have gotten at the Camas Produce Market.

Why? Because, as Tucker would say, "it's a babenture"!

The weather was dicey in beginning, but we hit the orchard for picking at just the right time - between rain storms! We even got to see a couple of rainbows - We picked a couple of bags of Honeycrisp apples and then pulled the rest from the already picked bins outside of the market.
We ended up with 80 pounds of apples...which I thought would be more than enough to make our applesauce for the year. However, upon canning them all up today, we only ended up with 21 quarts and 1 big batch of apple butter. Next year we will have to remember that we will need 160 pounds!! Oh my...
I highly recommend this "babenture" for anybody who enjoys apples and beautiful fall weather. :-)

Wordless Wednesday