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.