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.