Loosen that belt

Our first Thankgiving in our new home! Everybody was in charge of something which made mom a happy mom.

Now you see it...Now you dont...

Becky made Nana's 2 favorite stuffings...Sausage Stuffing and Raisen Stuffing...yum! Too bad mom lost the recipes that Nana gave Becky over the phone. That's ok, it gave us another excuse to talk to Nana several times in one day!

Audrey is our apple princess. She picked, peeled, cored, cut, and spiced the apples for this masterpiece!

What's Thankgiving without pumpkin pie?...Compliments of Pastry Chef Celeste.

Sophia made the cherry pie...dad's favorite. She added the smiley face for fun!

Taylor's last game

Last Saturday we went to my Nephew, Taylor's last college football game in Puyallup. He plays for Linfield College in McMinville, OR. All of my side of the family were there and we had a lot of fun tailgating and cheering on Taylor. He played a great game against Pacific Lutheran University...45 to zip!

Becky and Dad...Beck didn't want her picture taken at the tailgate party before the game.

Grandad, Uncle Carl, and Uncle Clint

Nani and Gran

Aunt Dana, Aunt Sandrine, and her mom, Mary-Paul.

Sacia and Natty...lovin'cousins!

Tailgate cousins...Sacia, Elise, Lauren, Celeste, Margot, Sophia, Natty, and Audrey
We got the Linfield Cheerleaders to pose with the girls.
The Man of the Hour...we are proud of you, Taylor!

The Dessert King

We love it when Uncle Steven comes to dinner! He always brings the yummiest desserts. This time we got to have Aunt Dana join us and then they stayed over night. Last Friday, uncle Steven got a treat of his own...

The evening started out with a little Kung fu fun, bandana and all...and then turned into a spa night for Uncle Steven. Don't ask how one morphed into the other...the pictures say it all...
Moisturizer...good for the complexion! I'm not sure if Uncle Steven's expression is due to the over indulgent make up artists, or to the septic smell they had to sleep with all night (we didn't know our basement septic was having big issues until that night! Sorry guys!)

Day 3, no school=day at the zoo!

Snoqualmie River Flood Nov 2008 008, originally uploaded by are_bee_en_zed.

It was nice to have a day off of school for the kids for Veterans Day, Tuesday. Fun to have a second day off Wednesday due to the severe flooding in our area. But, day three...we had cabin fever! So, off to higher ground at the Zoo in Seattle. The rain has finally stopped and the Snoqualmie River is slowly receding. I guess we traded in Pennsylvania "snow days" for Seattle "flood days!"

Rockstar on Youtube

I once thought Oliver would be a Paleontologist because of his love of dinosaurs as a boy. Sadly, that phase passed as he got older. He has always had a gift for drawing, so I thought maybe he would be an artist. His love of all things artistic now includes not only pen and brush, but pick. He has become quite good at the guitar, and amazes me. He recently sent me this video he posted on YouTube, and I got his permission to add it here. I'm not so good at posting links and videos, but here is my Rockstar... Watch out Santana and Van Halen...http://www.youtube.com/oliverderosier

Never too old for love

Last weekend Tim and I attended my Aunt Cec's wedding in Medford, OR. I have to say, Cec (my dad's sister) is my favorite Aunt. She has always stayed in touch with me. So, when we received her invitaiton, we definitely wanted to be there. We dropped off Audrey on down in Portland at their cousins' house (Becky stayed at home), and then continued down to Southern Oregon. At several points in the evening Aunt Cec was blushing like a sweet, young bride. That is what I love about my Aunt...always young at heart. She and her new husband, Wayne are now in Tanzania on their honeymoon, riding motorcycles and riding on hot air ballooons. Heck, I wouldn't be surprized if they get some bungie jumping in too (seriously...I am not kiddding about this!) We got to catch up with my cousins and see my dad and Lois too.

On the way down South we stoppped at the town I was born in, Roseburg. Looks a little different now. At this point I was excited to take a few pics of the "Welcome to Roseburg" sign, but realized the camera batteries were dead! Thank goodness for cell phone pics. We had lunch here at McMenamins which was the old train depot, turned restaurant.

To be, or not to be

To Be: Celeste, as Frankenstein's BrideTo Be: Audrey, as Flapper

To Be: Sophia, as BalleriaNOT to be: Natalia, as Natalia

(Mom tried and tried to get her to "be" something...but to no avail...no costume this year. Oh well, there's always many Halloween's to come...