Just busy living it

It has been forever since I posted it seems!

We haven't been up to much, just caught up in living the dream I guess.

We had a great Holiday party with tons of friends and food. I cooked up the ham Nick won at the sausage making contest earlier this year. Add on some home made stuffing and it was a hit. Of COURSE my oven would decide to lose its mind and up itself 50 degrees so the ham was maybe...a little dry in spots but the platter was licked clean so I guess all was well.

Nick's cousin Jason and his girlfriend came bearing Gunnar's Christmas gift from their family so that kicked off the season just right. My girlfriend's older boys (Gunnar's favorite entertainment at the party) found the present and were sure to show Gunnar the present opening ropes. As you can see it was not forgotten. Here he is tearing into his third present so far this season. Thanks Phillips':


We were also able to attend a huge bash earlier this week with Gunnar's #1 girlfriend Chella's family. They closed down their restaurant in Welches and put on an amazing spread!

What else? We have all three been passing around a very nasty cold. Gunnar is asleep right now in a humidifier Vick's cloud trying to clear up a bit before another Holiday party this afternoon.

These past two weeks have been unusually dry and sunny. I had to pull the curtains when I put Gunnar down for his nap at 12:30! Bad for the ski resorts but awfully nice for our vitamin D starved souls.

Now some pics of us just hanging out:

Gunnar has really come into his reading genes lately. He went to the library this week with Nick and had a great time reading with a little girl he met there. I am eagerly waiting for him to be able to enjoy all my favorites - Harry Potter!

For all the Granpas reading this blog - his shirt says "Grandpas or bust!". Love you guys!

As with all 1.5 year olds each day is a whirlwind of ups and downs. I snapped this shot of G and his papa enjoying his favorite computer games after one particularly rough evening. You know the routine - I don't want to eat, you don't get to eat and throw in a good measure of crying to boot.

It is this redeeming sweetness that keeps us all going for sure!

Last but not least, the amazing clotheshorses of Brightwood in action. Apparently camo was the theme this day:


Hope all you "virtual" friends and family are doing well and will get a chance to unwind this Holiday Season.

Love you all!

The Londons

The Finished Product

We had a super laid back Thanksgiving this year. Just us and some turkey dog pigs n a blanket for the big day. Nick did have Gunnar's sled already to go in case it snowed. We had beautiful warm weather instead!

Here is the finished product:



And a departing shot of Mr Monster hands on the tractor:

Snow!

This weekend we welcomed our first snow in Brightwood. It was only a couple inches but super wet and perfect for playing in.

Here is G and papa with the snowman we built (that sprained papa's back!):

Wet snow is HEAVY!

Nick had some welding to do and the snow inspired him to get some work done on the cross country sled he has been dreaming up.

His assistant at the ready:


Some general shenanigans:

Damn daddies are fun!

And the frame is done:



Now he just needs to get the frame secured to the skis and we will be ready to hit the tails. I can't wait!

Free For All

We have been super blessed lately by friends looking to offload items for FREE. It all began when the neighbors got new living room furniture so we inherited a love seat and pull out sofa. We put the love seat in the living room and the couch downstairs in the tv room. They are wonderful.

Then we got a call that some friends were going to be getting rid of the oil heater from their home. It was free so long as we took their pair of runner ducks too. Done deal!

Then it got super crazy when anther friend had purchased a new fifth wheel and decided she just wanted the old one gone. Ta dahh we now own a fifth wheel. she was super sweet and hooked us up with the in bed truck hitch and everything. To top it off, the neighbor across the street got so sick of looking at it in our driveway )remember it is a FREE fifth wheel) that he brought his tractor over and grated our side driveway so we have "rv parking". Call the realtor, let's sell this puppy!

Our most recent gift is this beautiful leather overstuffed chair:


As you can see it is a hit with kids and cats alike.

Now who wants our free dishwasher? Pay it forward!

At least for now...

The boy LOVES JIF!

Straight from the jar.

And there he goes. Gotta RUN!

Tricks and Treats

I once again dusted off the old chicken suit for Halloween this year. I totally lucked out and found a little zip up chicken suit at Goodwill so he was my "chicken nugget". A friend hosted a get together so we got to hand out and even hit up a few houses for some candy.

G did a great job of taking candy and putting it in his bucket, but then he would take it out of his bucket and put it into other kids' buckets. Too cute!

Here we are together:


Playing with come of the kiddos:

Nothing like other people's toys!

Flirting with two of his favorite girls:


What, you never seen a chicken touch up her lipstick before?

Catch Up -Tractor Time!

Gunnar has been on a no nap kick which of course means no blog posts. I tell myself I sill do it once he is in bed but that never seems to happen. He is blessing me with a few minutes right now so let's see how much I can catch ya'll up!

After all the flack G received from riding in the Barbie Jeep in Tulsa I was super stoked to find a John Deere ride on for him on Craigslist a few weeks ago. It was a super deal! When I first emailed about it the woman told me someone else had already called but she would let me know if they flaked out. Bummer! However, after the library that weekend I had a missed 503 call on my cell phone. When I called back it was the tractor lady. The original buyer didn't want to drive that far. So G and I loaded up, drove the 3 hour round trip and are now the proud owners of a pint sized tractor.

He is still a bit big for him but that is good since he is growing like a weed. A few shots of it in the house:

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Living on Tulsa Time

The whole family packed up and headed to the midwest this past week. It was a wonderful trip with of course not enough time. Some of the highlights:

Waiting for the bus to PDX:


Entertaining ourselves during the layover in Denver:


G's first time on a boat. Thanks Pop Roy!
Leaning over the edge is always the best view:

Of course you have got to drive:


And fish:

The Fraziers came to town and we got to play in the kiddie pool at their hotel. Cousin Carter was a pro:

My girlfriend Virgina was kind enough to open up her home for a high school reunion of sorts. It was soooo much fun!
Here is G and V's daughter Meira playing in the deer corn:

The ladies love that corn! Gunnar and Keira:

Taking full advantage of the Gleason girls' Jeep when it was free:

On Friday night we had dinner at Chimi's with our old high school friends sans kids:

It was very touching for so many to take time out of their busy lives to say hi.
The purpose of the trip was to see family and there was a ton. My eldest brother Doug and his amazing wife Wendy were kind enough to open up their home for a family gathering. Here are some of us:

G and his great grandma Bess:

Gunnar and Bess went for a ride around her nursing home and it was a hit for all involved. Check on the frenchie on G's shirt from his grandma!

Gunnar and his 2nd cousin Tristan:

Tristan knows all the fun places to play.


We love you Tulsa friends and family. Now come visit!

Pumpkin Patch!

A couple weekends ago G and I took advantage of a nice weekend day to hit the pumpkin patch. I have never done a northwest pumpkin patch before and was blown away by the extravagance. And we didn't even go to one of the "biggies". We went to Liepold farm and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

We went on the hay ride:

Gunnar's favorite part was that he got to sit next to a doggy on the wagon.

They had those cutouts you can take your picture with and since it was just the two of us, this is how it went:


Hilarious! I think in that last shot you can really tell that his eyes are trying to change to hazel.

Obligatory pumpkin shot:

Nighttime lovies

Every night after bath time Gunnar like to go snuggle with his animals while I finish cleaning up the kitchen and getting his bottle ready. Friday night I guess Truck was feeling extra giving as he actually held still for the lovin' long enough for me to snap a few pics:

Well hello doggie:

I LOVE YOU!

In the kitchen

With fall upon us and a garden going to seed I have been cooking and canning up a storm.
My girlfriend was kind enough to give us some tomatoes from her grandpa's garden so last weekend I canned those plus the excess beans from our garden.

Then I tackled some recipes from my new favorite blog Smitten Kitchen to help with the additional excess from our garden.

The roasted tomato soup with cheddar toasts has been my favorite dish so far.

The herbed summer squash and potato torte was also yummy.

And then there were the apple pancakes. Delicious and a huge hit with Gunnar. That boy loves his breakfast foods!

That recipe sparked my inner baker so this morning I made the Pioneer Woman's buttermilk biscuits. They didn't turn out as pretty as the picture in her cookbook but they were amazing. Light but durable.

We topped them with the blackberry jam Nick made and some strawberry preserves from the neighbor. Add on a side of sausage patty and it was a hit!

Better hid the chickens!

No deer yet this deer season but Nick "shot" this coyote trucking through today.

Bag it to go

Proof that papa will always be more fun than me. He and G devised the "baby in a bag" swing last week:


Wow! He can't get enough of it. Of course, he is getting to be such a big boy these days that mama's shopping bag is now on it's last handle.

More Peas Please

I tried a new easy peasy recipe for split pea soup and it was delicious. I have always enjoyed split pea soup but figured it would be too much of a hassle. I mean what the heck is a ham hock anyways? I found the recipe for "Emeril's split pea soup" in my Martha's Everyday Food magazine and it was a snap. Beans, veggies, broth and hocks into crock pot and 6 no hassle hours later it is done.

Mr picky of the pickies even loved it. He ate two big bowls with about a 50% spoon to accuracy ratio which is really good. Washed it down with some peaches and it was a p-pleasant meal.



I searched online and could not find the recipe. If anyone wants it just message me and I can email it to you.

The Good Books

I have finally managed to resume one leisure time activity post Gunnar. Reading! I was at Target and took a minute to browse the book selection. Boy there was a ton out there I have been missing out on. So I jotted down what look good and got to ordering from the library. There have been some hits and misses but so far I have really enjoyed:

Half Broke Horses by Jeanette Walls. I loved her book The Glass Castle and this one was just as good. Apparently I am not alone as as Times Review seems to agree. In Half Broke Horses Walls assumes the voice of her grandmother to tell of her adventures as a pioneering pioneer woman. She breaks horses and bucks tradition in this wonderful memoir.

Keeping with the cowgirl theme I read Ree Drummond's Black Heel's to Tractor Wheels. I am a huge Ree fan and her tale of unexpectedly falling in love in Oklahoma does not disappoint.

G and I swung by the library this morning and I am getting started tonight on A Widow's Story by Joyce Carol Oates. I have been a fan of hers for many years and can never resist when I see her name on a book cover. I'll let you know how it goes.

Got a waking baby so I gotta run.

River Excursion

After the Nicky's event we went down to the river. The weather was extra humid and warming up and the fog was really neat.


And of course all that fun made G quite thirsty: