civil war

Getting into the Christmas Spirit...

Happy Thanksgiving

We spent a wonderful Thanksgiving day with Lori's side of the family.

Corina ate the most...

Pizza Pizza

Now that Austin is a professional pizza maker, we are guaranteed pizza once a week. Here is a question for you... Why does Papa Murphy's ask, "Have you ever baked our pizza before?"

Like, hasn't everyone on the planet baked one?

Miracle's Do Occur

I was doing some stuff around the house and noticed the vacuum running. I knew Lori was at the store and the dogs certainly don't know how to operate it so I had to investigate.

Grayson was in his room cleaning and vacuuming. The first shot is of him vacuuming out his shoes with the hose and the other is of him just getting the dirt off the floor.

Guess he has turned over a new leaf, or Christmas is coming :)

Hiking Powell Butte

paradise for pets

Turkey Day is a Week Away

Since this is the last weekend before Thanksgiving and a lot of shopping gets done for the holiday over the weekend I thought I would post a picture of a turkey today.

Here is some fun Turkey Talk you may not have known...

• 272 million: The preliminary estimate of turkeys raised in the United States in 2007
• Americans feast on 535 million pounds of turkey on Thanksgiving.
• According the U.S. Department of Agriculture, more than 45 million turkeys are cooked and eaten in the United States at Thanksgiving. That number represents one sixth of all the turkeys sold in the U.S. each year!
• Benjamin Franklin wanted the turkey to be our national bird.
• Domesticated turkeys cannot fly, however wild turkeys can fly up to 55 miles per hour over short distances.
• Only male (tom) turkeys gobble. Females make a clicking noise. The famous gobble is actually a seasonal mating call.
• The heaviest turkey ever raised weighed in at 86 pounds – about the size of a German Shepherd! (But turkeys are normally not used as police animals.)
• A turkey under 16 weeks of age is called a fryer. A five to seven month old turkey is called a roaster.
• The Turkey Trot, a ballroom dance in the 1900s, was named for the short, jerky steps of the turkey. It became popular mainly because it was denounced by the Vatican as "suggestive."
• Turkeys are known to spend the night in trees! (Maybe to escape the Thanksgiving table?)
• Turkeys can drown if they look up when it's raining!
• A turkey's field of vision is 270 degrees--one of the main reasons they're able to elude some hunters.
• The average age of the Mayflower passenger was 32. The oldest Mayflower passenger was 64.
• There was no milk, cheese, bread, butter or pumpkin pie at the original Thanksgiving Day feast.
• Contrary to popular belief, the Pilgrims did not have big buckles on their clothing, shoes, or hats.
• Buckles did not come into fashion until the late 1600s – more appropriate for the Salem Witchcraft trial time period.
• The cranberry got its name because the pale pink blossoms on the plant resembled a crane’s head and neck. The name craneberry stuck, eventually becoming cranberry.
• Fresh cranberries are ideal for cranberry sauce. Cranberries of the highest quality will always bounce! (If you try this at home, please wash the cranberries before eating.)
• President Abraham Lincoln established the original date for our National Thanksgiving Day celebration in 1863.
• President Thomas Jefferson scoffed at the idea of establishing a national “Thanksgiving Day.”
• Congress did not declare Thanksgiving a national holiday until 1941.
• The average person consumes 4,500 calories on Thanksgiving Day. (Now that's a lot of turkey!)(courtesy of 1800flowers.com)
  

Just some food for thought for your Thanksgiving shopping... Enjoy!

Working In The Snow

I had a window job this morning in Government Camp. Between snow storms and rain drops I finally got it accomplished after about 4 hours. I was hoping to get snowed in and enjoy a nice evening by the fire stranded on the mountain. No such luck however.

I drove off the mountain and the minute I got in front of my house my phone rang. UP Railroad calling me to go to Eugene... From window washer to freight conductor in 10 seconds flat...

I am not a big snow lover, but I am actually looking forward to going up and enjoying it a few times this year. Enjoy the pictures.

These three pictures were taken by the homeowner and emailed to me.





Don't try this at home...I am a trained professional. Shortly after he took this picture the snow really began to fall.


This picture is from my phone.

Missed one... ooops

I missed a day.... Sorry

Not everyone loves the trains

I saw this sticker on a semi trailer when I was building my train. It was a trailer that was on my train... I guess the sticker didn't work too well.

Another Hood Shot

Mt Hood Hike

G, Lori and I went to Mt Hood this afternoon for a nice hike. I hope you enjoy the pictures as much as we enjoyed the hike :)

School Picture Time 2008

Grayson's school picture. What a handsome boy, he looks just like me...

Higher Education Opp's...

Lori and Austin spent 2 hours meeting a college planner this afternoon. Looks like the opportunities are endless.... providing you have unlimited resources.

He is interested in Pharmacology, who would have known?

Pre's Trail In Eugene

I was on another run this evening along the Prefontaine trail near the University of Oregon. I ran about a 5.5 mile loop. It was a beautiful evening and the moon was coming up along the eastern skyline.

This is a picture if the sun setting. The water is the Willamette river.





The moon is coming up... It looked a lot cooler in real life!


Go Ducks!


What a way to start my day...

I Hate Thieves

I hate thieves...

We woke this morning to find Nick's car on blocks. Here is the most pathetic part to the story. The truck with tires and wheels is worth about $200. So now it is worth even less.

So far we have had an EKG machine stolen out of the back of Lori's car, misc personal items stolen from other vehicles, vegetables stolen from our garden, the neighbors tires and wheels stolen a month ago, Nick was accosted by essex three weeks ago and his backpack was attempted to get taken, the neighbor had a $2500 bike stolen, and now Nick's tires and wheels were stolen last night.

Those are the things in my neighborhood I know about... After awhile you have to ask yourself when is enough enough? It gets pretty frustrating that is for sure.



Looking for crime statistics in your neighborhood? Check out www.portlandmaps.com and type in your address. Go to the crime link... you will probably wish you hadn't.

David Archuleta Has Arrived!

Well the anticipation is over and the long awaited album by David Archuleta, the American Idol Runner Up is finally released. Lori has had an obsession over him for the past several months and has been youtubing him daily... well, maybe weekly.

We ran to Wal-Mart this evening and the clerk told us that one guy came in and bought the whole lot of them, so we went to another store and much to Lori's delight there were five left.

This was one of those times as a husband where you just "go with it." Kind of like shopping for hours in the mall or looking for the right pair of shoes. I learned a long time ago, "when the wife is happy then I am happy."

I got the joy of listening to it all night and would have to say that it is really good. And the best part is that it was on sale for only ten bucks.

I thought I would share one of his best days on America Idol this past season... Enjoy

A Day Off Of School

Grayson and Nathan are roasting hot dogs over the Baja stove... Between rain storms :)

Flowers For my Bride

Fireproof

It has been a day full of love and marriage. It started out this afternoon with Lori, Grayson, and me going to the wedding of Amber and Joshua.

Amber is Lori's cousin. She and Josh had a beautiful wedding and we enjoyed every minute of it.

After the wedding we decided to go to a movie and picked the movie Fireproof. It was recommended by a couple of our friends, and since most movies aren't worth the price of admission we decided to go with the recommendation... I am glad we did.

Not sure exactly what to expect, we entered the theater with anticipation... not to mention $26 "broker" :) Within the first few minutes of the movie we all three decided it was going to be a good one. I would write a review, but the trailer speaks for itself. I would recommend it to anyone who is happily married, thinking of being married, or just plain tired of the whole marriage thing.

It will leave you asking the question, "Have I been the best person God has called me to be?"

Enjoy the trailer and go see the movie. You will be fulfilled.






Even Grayson enjoyed it...

weapher

Grayson's First Dance

Here is a video of Grayson's first dance...

Josh and Amber

Stock Photo

I couldn't find anything to take a picture of today so I used the sample photo in my phone. This is not me, however, I wish it was :)

Looks pretty exciting.

Downtown Shedd, Oregon

Our New Chief

Well, Obama won the presidency. My poll was obviously not in sync with the rest of America, but it was fun none-the-less.

According to the weaphermobile polls, I should have won the presidency...
Well, the rhetoric is over and the people have voted. Barack Obama is now the next president of the United States. I can't wait to see what happens next.

God Bless America...

Takin a break :)

With all that is going on with the election buzz and the fact that we are on the eve of a history making election, I decided to leave the politics to the big news channels, web sites, and newspaper publishers.

We have a lot on our political plates tomorrow so I thought it would be nice to take a break from the stress and anxiety of the political rhetoric and remember to take a moment to just stop and enjoy the day.

Here is a shot from last spring... I hope you take time today to stop and smell the flowers...

The Adorable Connie Talbot

Not sure if anyone has seen this little girl or not, but I would have to say that she is the most adorable, talented, and precious little 7 year old I have ever seen. She was a finalist on the 2007 hit tv show across the pond, "Britian's Got Talent."

You have got to see the video, and then check out her website. If she doesn't put a smile on your face and help you to look at life a little brighter, then maybe you just can't be helped :)





visit her website www.connietalbot.com

sportin' the bling

We took Austin to the mall this afternoon to get his new "bling on yo!"

He got his ear's pierced. That's right... ears. I was a little hesitant to go along with the whole thing but figured that if he is going to spend his own money and wants it done who am I to argue about it. It is far better than a tongue ring or some big ole tattoo.