The Orosco's Surprise Visit to Oregon!!!

Some of our closest and dearest friends from California came for a visit during the Christmas break.

We wanted to surprise Paityn and not mention the visit until they showed up at our doorstep. That in itself was not an easy task, but we were all sucessful. There were so many times when Paul and I were talking about things and I wanted to say something, but had to bite my tounge.

We all had a wonderful time together and will never forget this visit!!!!


Alissa and Paityn enjoying the snow


Nick and Paityn enjoying the snow

We were able to show the Orosco's around the area. We took them to Beaverton so they could of course visit the NIKE campus and the NIKE employee store. Alissa was even able to go to 2 of Paityn's "speed and agility" sessions. Most of all we were all able to visit with eachother and the let the kids have FUN!!!!

To check out many more of the photos click here

To check out a short video click here

Our Little ROCK STARS!!!!

This is the kids 1st attempt at their new Christmas present sent from Avo & Papa!!!!!

Rock Band.....They love it!!!

Merry Christmas!!!!

Wishing you all a MERRY CHRISTMAS and a very HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!



God Bless You ALL!!!!

Christmas Traditions:Baking Cookies

Being consistent with traditions is something I strive for. I believe in tradition.

I'm a traditional kinda gal, and I want my daughter and son to grow up rooted in family traditions that they can take with them into adulthood and pass on to their own children. One of my attempts at this has been baking cookies each Christmas. My mother and Grandmother started this with my brother and I when I was very young and now I have been baking the same Christmas cookies every year. It is pretty messy, and there is lots of prep work and clean up, but it is so worth it. We always have such fun. And the results are a yummy plate of cookies for our family and friends and such sweet time spent together.If you've never done this,

I encourage you to try to find the time this year. Set aside an entire day (or 2), make some hot cocoa, pop in some Christmas music, and bake away!!

BOWL-A-RAMA

If you don’t see the Swoosh all over the field during the upcoming college football bowl games, you’re not paying close enough attention.

Nike will be represented in 30 of the 34 bowl games—and half of those are Nike vs. Nike match-ups.

Here’s a closer look at how Nike gear will be put into play:
• 46 of the 68 bowl teams will wear Nike footwear and gloves
• 45 teams will be clad in Nike uniforms (TCU will wear its new NikePro Combat unis)
• 43 teams will use the Nike ball
• 40 teams will wear the Nike eye shield

Bowl madness kicked off December 19 and continues straight on through to the New Year. These are the games to watch (Nike teams in bold, all times PST):
Poinsettia: December 23, 5 p.m. Utah vs. CAL
Hawaii: December 24, 5 p.m. NEVADA vs. SMU
Little Caesars: December 26, 10 a.m. MARSHALL vs. Ohio
Meineke Car Care: December 26, 1:30 p.m. PITT vs. NORTH CAROLINA
Emerald: December 26, 5 p.m. Boston College vs. USC
Music City: December 27, 5:30 p.m. KENTUCKY vs. CLEMSON
Independence: December 28, 2 p.m. Texas A&M vs. GEORGIA
Humanitarian: December 30, 1:30 p.m. Bowling Green vs. IDAHO
Holiday: December 30, 5 p.m. ARIZONA vs. Nebraska
Armed Forces: December 31, 9 a.m. HOUSTON vs. AIR FORCE
Sun: December 31, 1:30 p.m. OKLAHOMA vs. STANFORD
Texas: December 31, 12:30 p.m. NAVY vs. MISSOURI
Insight: December 31, 3 p.m. MINNESOTA vs. IOWA STATE
Chick-fil-A: December 31, 4:30 p.m. VIRGINIA TECH vs. Tennessee
Capital One: January 1, 10 a.m. PENN STATE vs. LSU
Gator: January 1, 10 a.m. WEST VIRGINIA vs. FLORIDA STATE
Papajohns.com: January 2, 11 a.m. South Carolina vs. UCONN
Cotton: January 2, 11 a.m. OKLAHOMA STATE vs. OLE MISS
Liberty: January 2, 2:30 p.m. Arkansas vs. EAST CAROLINA
Alamo: January 2, 6 p.m. MICHIGAN STATE vs. Texas Tech

Seven of the eight teams in the major bowls will rock the Swoosh in the following games:
Rose Bowl: January 1, 1:30 p.m. PST OHIO STATE vs. OREGON
Sugar Bowl: January 1, 5:30 p.m. PST FLORIDA vs. Cincinnati
Fiesta Bowl: January 4, 5 p.m. PST BOISE STATE vs. TCU
Orange Bowl: January 5, 5 p.m. PST IOWA vs. GEORGIA TECH

The BCS National Championship game will be played in Pasadena at 5 p.m. on January 7. Texas vs. Alabama. Either way, the winner will be a Nike team.

Compliments...

Learning to genuinely accept a compliment - takes some training. Usually when I'm complimented I debunk myself. Compliment: Wow this is a great dinner! Me: Thanks, I should have put more salt in it. Compliment: I like that shirt! Me: Thanks, it helps to cover my ass. There's really no reason to put myself down. I've got learn to accept these accolades with gratitude.

One thing I can say though, is when someone praises or flatters me, it does make me feel good inside, boosts my self-esteem up a notch for the day and lasts on through the night and into the next day. Usually I float on the words until something brings me back down from my buttered-up high. These lauds to my self-esteem come in all different ways. The spoken words, kind smiles and bear hugs are saved in a special compartment of my heart. The written emails or notes are filed under a folder called 'nice notes'. On down days, I access these files to remind myself that I am groovy, my actions do make a difference in people's day to day lives. Compassion, heart-felt goodwill and putting in my all into everything, no matter what, always feels satisfying. And when that is sensed by others, and relayed back in a compliment of sorts, it just encourages me to love myself and to keep on keepin on.

Maddux’s BIG Performance!!!

Perfect pitch, stellar stage performance, and a voice from heaven may have rightfully earned Maddux the title of “the cute boy” but it’s also boosted his confidence (not that it was suffering to begin with) and strengthened his determination. And he is clearly vocalizing his desires…



Maddux is endearing, he’s full of spunk, he obviously has flair (perhaps he was switched at birth) and he certainly has a following of fans that want to see where he will take this forte.

Friday night was the night that Maddux made his “BIG Performance” at the Baptist Church in Newberg. Maddux and his classmates sang their little hearts out.

NIKE Uniform Builder…

I have been tasked with building team uniforms for Paityn’s 12A softball team, so I of course asked Maryanne and Tracie to assist.

Having the luxury of working at one of the best companies in the world, people often ask me for help with certain things. I enjoy helping out whenever I can and will always put forth the effort.

MaryAnne, Tracie, and I all agreed that we would like to see NIKE uniforms on the girls this season. I was able to find a uniform builder and play around with some examples. We ended up coming up with two different uniform ideas, both of them would also include a “home” and “away” color scheme.

1. Tackle twill button down vest with stock bottoms. Stock would consist of Black pants with white piping for the “home” and white pants with white piping for the “away”. The top would be “full” custom with tackle twill logo and numbers.
2. The second option was full custom – all the way. The jersey was a button down vest with tackle twill logo, numbers on front and back, and also embroidery. The “home” bottoms would be black with white piping with a green mesh insert and the “away” pants would be white with black piping and also have a green mesh insert.

We presented both options to the coaches and guess which one they picked……option #2, Full Custom. (honestly that was my pick also)

Now the fun begins to start the ordering process and of course fundraising like crazy…

Yearly Santa Party!!!

When the Willoughby’s lived in California we would host a “Santa Party” every year at Christmas time.

Each year a dear friend of ours (Brian), a neighbor and volunteer fireman would play Santa for us. Parents would pre-wrap a Christmas gifts with their child’s name on them. They would deliver the gifts to me secretly. The day of the party I would take the gifts over to Brian’s home, he would shove them in Santa bags. We normally had approximately 30 kids each year, so our house was full and cheerful. Santa usually showed up 30 minutes after all the kids had arrived at our house. The kids would be playing and having fun, Santa would ring the doorbell and all the kids would stop immediately what they were doing and run to him. I would have a chair set up for him and he would call each child up one-by-one to have them sit on his knew and tell him what they wanted for Christmas.

Brian also played Santa for the Hilmar firehouse and we would normally have our Santa party the following weekend. Which meant that he would normally bring something to also give out to the boys and girls, some sort of goodie bag that was left over from the firehouse party. Usually oranges, candy canes, and some small toy.

When we first moved to Newberg I was so happy to be invited to a soon to be neighbors house for her Santa Party.

1. Because me kids could still be involved in a tradition at this joyous time of year
2. And secondly, because I can sit back and enjoy the party.

The 2009 Santa Party was smaller than mine, but just as fun. All the kids thoroughly enjoyed themselves and appreciated the gifts they received.

What is in a Name?

Maddux’s pre-school teach is pregnant.

She told us the wonderful news towards the first few weeks of school. Mrs. Jenny is a very special person and Maddux cares for her and I can tell she cares for him.

We have been watching Mrs. Jenny’s belly grow, I am just so happy it isn’t me….

Monday I dropped Maddux off at school in the morning. The weather has been so cold lately that he is all bundled up. Beanie cap (with his beautiful curls peeking out), jacket, and of course his favorite UGG boots (just like sissy’s).

Mrs. Jenny walked up to us and told us quietly that she found out she was having a “boy”!!!! I was so excited for her. You could just see it in her face, how happy she was to tell me. She then asked if she could name her son Maddux. I said…YES!!!! There are so many different ways to spell Maddux, that hopefully she will find the right one.

Mrs. Jenny told me that she has never been as close to a child as she has been to Maddux. She always tells me what a great boy he is and is a joy to be around. That is always a little puzzling to Paul and I since we thought he would be in the principles office everyday.

Maddux is Welch and means: Good; generous

My Little Cowboy!!!!

Maddux has started pre-school and every morning he wakes up and asks me….mom, do I get to go to school today?

I didn’t think his pre-school would have pictures, but to my surprise….

They had a photography company come in and dress the kids up in different outfits.
1. Fighter pilot
2. Cowboy
3. In a Tuxedo

All the photos were absolutely beautiful of out “big boy”, but I could only choose one. I obviously chose option #2 – Cowboy.

Hunting for the Perfect Christmas Tree

Thanksgiving leftovers have been finished off, the Christmas decorations are coming out of storage and we are about to start looking for the perfect tree to fit underneath your tree topper.

This year the entire family went to “Hunt for the Perfect Christmas tree”. Finding the perfect tree took us all in about 5 minutes this last Saturday morning.

The Smith’s came to Newberg to search for their Christmas tree also. They met at our home at 10:00 AM. The weather was so cold outside. The crisp beautiful blue sky allowed the frigid cold air through. We all decided before we left the house that we wanted to go and cut down our trees. Both Maryanne and I will only allow Noble Firs in our homes, so being up here in God’s country that should be an issue finding the perfect tree.

We had also heard about a local produce stand that had nice looking trees that were reasonably priced. We all thought we would attempt to find 2 perfect trees first and then if we were unsuccessful we would give the produce stand a try.

The first place we stopped was Jorgensen Tree Farm. I had noticed the farm during the prior weekend wine tasting trip. We pulled up and parked. I noticed there were a bunch of pre-cut Nobles and then Douglas Firs as far as you could see. Both Maryanne and I jumped out of the cars, found our tress and we were back in the barn drinking hot cider and eating cookies with the kids before anyone came to ask us how we were doing. They had really nice looking trees and they were cheap.

I have since sent 3 other families to there farm…..

Two Words!!!!!!!

Civil
War



It is Civil War Day......
6 p.m. PST Thursday. Autzen Stadium. Eugene, Oregon.

GO DUCKS!!!!!

Watch this......
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hrjpe1VCNg

Weekend of Wine Tasting….

In Oregon, specifically in Yamhill County, Thanksgiving weekend is the weekend to go wine tasting.

My parents came up and spend Thanksgiving with us and it was a beautiful day. We decided not to have a traditional Thanksgiving day meal. We had a standing rib roast, garlic mashed potatoes with gravy, fresh green beans with lots of garlic, bread, and a family favorite (well Maddux and myself) pink salad…which is cool whip, cottage cheese, pink jello mix, and fruit. We all enjoyed the meal and had a great day watching a lot of football, looking at the BLACK FRIDAY store adds, and relaxing with the family.

Friday I ended up going to Wal Mart at 4:30AM. I was able to pick up a couple gifts for each of the kids. I hope they like them!!!! I know Maddux will because he is such an easy one to buy for, but Paityn on the other hand is getting a little more picky with her older age…. Then I had to take Paityn to her hitting practice at 9:00 AM; we were there approximately 1 hour and then came home to an extremely full house. The Hanson’s were over for Bloody Marys and breakfast. Brett, Hunter, Brooke, and Skylar ended up staying and watching football with us all day.

Saturday is when the real fun began….WINE TASTING!!!!!!

The northwest portion of Oregon wine country is celebrated for its cool-climate grape varieties, including Pinot Gris, Riesling, Chardonnay, and especially Pinot noir.

This year we had a much larger group with us. There were a couple neighbors that wanted to go around with us. The Starling’s (Chris and Christy) and The Rerick’s Joe and Shelly). Normally the group is just us, my mom and dad, and my brother Michael.



We only had tome for 3 wineries, so we had to pick good ones…

1. Ken Wright Cellars -Located in rural Carlton, Oregon, Ken Wright Cellars is devoted to showcasing the inherent quality of selected vineyard sites. With a clarity and breadth that is unequaled by other varieties, we believe Pinot noir best expresses the character of these sites. Rather than stamping wine with a varietal trademark, we see Pinot noir as a vehicle for conveying the aroma, flavor and texture of the location in which it is grown.

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2. Shea Vineyards - Founded by Dick and Deirdre Shea in 1996, Shea Wine Cellars is a producer of world-class Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, all made from fruit grown on-site at Shea Vineyard. Shea Wine Cellars was a natural outgrowth of Shea Vineyard which was first planted to wine grapes in 1989.

The 200-acre vineyard property lies at the heart of Oregon's Yamhill-Carlton District and supplies fruit to some of Oregon's and California's finest wineries.

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3. Bergstrom Wines - Bergstrom Winery believes that winemaking begins and ends in the vineyard. The winegrowing process must be a natural one, respecting progress of the growing season, harvesting the fruit by hand only when it has reached physiological maturity and allowing a fermentation to take place that is driven by the vineyard's indigenous yeast strains. We believe that Oregon Pinot Noir must have purity of fruit that can only be achieved through non-industrial, artisan winemaking



All three wineries were spectacular this year, but the company was better. I wasn’t sure about going wine tasting with that many people in our group, but we honestly had a good time and would like to plan another outing soon with them.

Willoughby Family Photos

Check out the Willoughby Family Photo Site on Shutterfly...

Click http://thewilloughbyfamilyphotosite.shutterfly.com/# to view - Enjoy!!!

We Often Wonder Where Our Children Came From

When they are persistent, determined and athletic or coordinated we wonder if they were switched at birth. When they argue and refuse to concede or cooperate we speculate that siblings have influenced their behavior. When they are particularly challenging we assume that we unknowingly and unintentionally bestowed irreparable damage based on our naïve, fly-by-the-seat-of-our-pants parenting. When we are utterly befuddled by their behavior we question if they are aliens from outer space.

When they are downright naughty we blame each other’s inherent personality traits.

When Maddux ran from the room crying and seeking solitude in his bedroom where he could contemplate the cruelty of his misunderstood little world – ruefully refusing unauthorized entry, preferring to allow his emotions to flow uninhibited in seclusion (all a reaction from having a remote control seized from his curious little hands) Paul suggested I would be better equipped to deal with the emotional struggles currently overwhelming our three year old.

I cautiously considered the underlying connotation of his recommendation.

I am emotional. I wear my heart on my sleeve. My feelings are easily bruised. I shrewdly allude to my annoyances and I clearly convey my anger. I stew until I am emotionally exhausted and I resort to emotional isolation until I am ready to forgive.

Yes, I do understand Maddux’s emotional turmoil.

But I am also ruthless.

Feeling battered and defeated after arguing for hours with Paityn - this girl who is relentless, persistent, stubborn and genuinely loves to argue simply for the sake of arguing and has mastered the art of wearing down her opponent to the point of submission – I pondered my options as I watched Paityn stomp through the house justifying her actions, reiterating her stance and negotiating her privileges.

I casually indicated that Paul should go deal with his daughter.

We know all too well, but often refuse to admit, exactly how these children came to be.

Speed and Agility

Last night was Paityn's last Dr's appointment with Dr Forcum. Her ankle is now much better and healing very well. She is young and strong. Dr Forcum is very pleased with the way Paityn’s ankle is healing and gave her some additional exercises to do to continue to strengthen not only her ankles, but her calf’s and knees. Both Paul and I are very happy with care Paityn received and hopefully continue to play softball for many years without further injury. She has been cleared to begin exercises, so off we go.....

Tonight was Paityn's first "Speed and Agility" session.



Tracy (Paityn's hitting instructor) and close family friend, found a "Speed and Agility" class for her to attend while her softball team is taking a break before they begin Winter Workouts. Both Paul and I think this would be a great way for Paityn to learn more about how to stretch correctly and get warmed up before hitting the field to play ball.

I personally don't know much about Speed and Agility since I swam and played water polo, but Paul on the other hand is much informed about this subject. I am anxious to learn as much as I can.

Tracy mentioned that there are only 4 other girls currently signed up for this training. The Lakeridge High School (Lake Oswego) softball girls coach, one of the Lakeridge High School softball players, Chelsea (another girl that Tracy works with), a 12 year old, and Paityn. The small size and personalized attention was great, especially for Paityn.

I was a little late picking up Paityn and of course had to hear about that the entire way there. Paityn was very nervous, she kept telling me that she really didn’t want to go and wasn’t feeling well. I kept trying to tell her that everything would be fine and for her to give this class an opportunity and don’t judge until you have gone through one session. I think I hit every red light going to The Spot Studio Fitness. By the time I finally located the gym we were about 10 minutes late. I felt horrible, but didn’t want Paityn to know that. We walked in and Paityn says to me….mom do you have water for me? Oh crap…I forgot water for her. I said no, but let me go in and get you going and I will go find a store. Thankfully Lucretia had set water out for the girls.

Since Paityn missed the warm ups and the first exercise she had to jog a little then she joined right in with the rest of the girls. They started out with push-ups…4 reps, 30 seconds with a 15 second rest in between. Sit-ups, calf rises, burpies, quick feet, and a couple exercises with a 5 pound ball. The ended the workout with a cool down and a couple stretches.

When Paityn was finished she came over to me with a big smile, I asked her if she liked the workout and she said, “YES”. She told me that it wasn’t at all what she thought it would be and enjoyed learning the correct way of doing the exercises. I was a little worried about her ankle, but she said it didn’t hurt at all.

Little does Paityn know that the was probably the easiest of all the 8 workouts she will be completing……

Calamity "Susie"

I was simply strolling through Safeway, contemplating my options for dinner when my brain and my body became two separate entities, each one disastrously confused without the appropriate direction from its necessary counterpart.

I started out carrying a basket stocked full of PowerAde but during this moment of undesirable brain stem failure I briefly remember the basket detaching from my grasp and begin a catastrophic ascent into the air while I, on the other hand, was heading rapidly towards the ground in what was bound to be a painful face plant. Despite the basket’s initial flight, it eventually made it’s own descent, falling just short my head (now firmly planted on the grocery store floor) sending PowerAde’s rolling down the aisle and producing an enormous thud that brought innocent bystanders to gawk at what initially summoned thoughts of an earthquake but turned out to be a women lying stomach down, flat on the ground, arms and legs spread wide, and PowerAde’s trickling out their last remaining contents as they rolled all around me.

While I lay on the floor in utter disbelief I was desperately trying to piece together the last few moments and figure out just exactly what went wrong. Horribly embarrassed by the growing audience I began to laugh hysterically and peeled my face from floor, stifling my desire to wince from my battered body and my bruised ego had me momentarily contemplating feigning a mini-stroke as an excuse for this less than graceful descent.

A Safeway employee was no doubt by my side in a matter of seconds (this whole episode is most likely captured on their security cameras and now floating around on the World Wide Web) covering all the bases should I choose to sue them from any lasting injuries – I’m not sure you can sue for damage to the ego but if you could I would most certainly have an air tight case.

I giggled my way throughout the remainder of my shopping trip, hanging my head low, sidestepping anyone who may have seen my spastic fall, and carefully avoiding the aisle where a mass PowerAde clean-up was still underway. With just enough food to get me through the evening I was eager to make my exit and leave all my embarrassment behind.

Almost forgetting about my mishap I loaded my groceries onto the conveyor when I overheard the cashier mention something about giving wholesale prices on cases of wine. As I approached the register to pay I inquired about their discount on wine. But before the cashier could answer I heard the voice of my Safeway’s ambassador, who so quickly came to my rescue, “I am not so sure you should ever consume alcohol. I am frightened to think about what damage you would do after witnessing your face plant in aisle 7. I think you should focus on some basic balancing maneuvers before you add wine to the mix!”

I think I will steer clear of Safeway for a while.

I made a mental note to stick to shopping carts (there’s no way those wheels are going to leave the ground and a cart could quite possibly assist with my balance should my brain ever again decide to abandon my body).

I have to remember to ask my doctor about this malfunctioning brain stem that periodically sends me scrambling to regain my balance (and I am talking about flailing arms and floundering feet) where I inevitably end up precariously positioned in a face plant, sprawled out flat on the floor.

BOO!!!!

Happy Halloween

This weekend was filled with so many exciting things.....

Paityn wanted to stay in Newberg to celebrate Halloween with her friends. She stayed Friday and Saturday nights at the Hergert’s home. Paul and I dropped her off before we left town. She was able to spend time with one of her best friends and do girly stuff….















Paul, Maddux, and I drove down to Eugene to spend the night with my Mom and Dad for the weekend. Paul and I were actually able to go to dinner Friday night, just the 2 of us…..we were able to have adult conversation, a glass of wine, (beer for Paul) and good food.



Maddux as my DUCK (in honor of the Oreon Duck/USC Trojan football game)












Saturday October 31st – Halloween was a FUN, FILLED, FANTASTIC day!!!!!!

1 – Paul and woke up at 3:30 AM to start getting ready…
2 – Trace, Josh, and both there boys came by at 4:00 AM for Bloody Mary’s and meet so we could all drive together…
3 – We drove down to Autzen Stadium to get in line to park for tailgating before the Duck/USC football game…

4 – The gates opened up at 5:30 AM and we parked the cars, walked over to the opposite side of the stadium and there is was…..College Game Day…

5 – College Game Day was in Eugene for the #10 Oregon Ducks/#4 USC Trojans football game…most importantly Kirk Herbstreit was in Eugene…

6 – Paul and I walked around and took in all the sights, it was cold, rainy, crowded….so much fun to be there!!!


7 – Since we had to leave the car there, I called Dad and he was able to drive down and pick us up and drive us back to the house…
8 - Once we arrived back home, that is when I had to begin cooking…breakfast, lunch for Maddux, and of course tailgate food…
9 – About 12:30 PM we headed back to Autzen to begin tailgating…we had to enjoy in all the festivities…



10 – Paul and I were able to take Maddux around to trick-or-treat there while we tailgated…it was Halloween!!!

11 – We started heading into the game about 5:00 PM, the game started at 5:30 PM…



12 – DUCKS WIN, DUCKS WIN, DUCKS WIN!!!
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