apple day

It's tradition to go to an apple orchard or pumpkin patch every fall, right? So we do, creating memories and snapping photos. Today I remebered that when I was a kid, my mom always added one other stop on the fall foliage tour: the cemetery. She calls it "grave stomping" and to this day recommends it a something fun to do. We were not visiting any grave in particular, just loitering over the deceased (RIP) because of the pretty leaves there. We have lots of family photos of my mom, brother, and I perched on someone's final resting place. I actually have no idea who took the photos, which is scary. I will try to dig one up (ha!) and scan it for your viewing pleasure.

We are getting excited for Halloween! I am helping out at the preschool party on Wednesday, in part so I can check out Robby who Nori says she is "going to marry". Apparently, he is really small and laughs really weirdly, she finds it charming. She wants to say "I  love you" in  sign language to him, but she is too embarrassed. I suggested she wait on the romance and learn how to write all her letters first. Tomorrow we are going to carve pumpkins - stay tuned for pumpkins that look more or less exactly like the ones last year! 

we are not up there

Nori might make a run for it...



apple princess



she enjoyed feeding hay to the goats...and a little pug dog



girls and goats



who is supervising this kid?



Happy Henny







Oregon Trail

Back from the Pacific Northwest after a fabulous four days in Oregon!! I feel rejuvenated and ready for real life again. Spending too much time writing all about my trip and worse yet, proofreading, would just take away this relaxed feeling so please settle for the highlights...
 


Friday: Great flight in to Portland, Ford Taurus with ambient pink lighting, gut bomb at Pine State Biscuits, discover exactly what it is Andy does for his job and apparently it's showing Todd where to stick it, create new water ballet routine in hotel pool, dinner at A Cena with friends.

Saturday: Breakfast at Helser's on Alberta (my Great Grandma Dorothy's maiden name was Albert and her married name was Helzer, weird huh?), shopping in Alberta and Pearl neighborhoods, Sandi &  Justin's wedding at Vista Hills Winery, pajamas, Cherry Garcia with Missy on bed.

Cheers to Mr. and Mrs. Long!

not sweatpants, for once

cute shoes

Mr. and Mrs. Cherry Garcia

"Suck it, Todd"

the ceremony

Luther dudes in ties

Sunday: Jake & I begin our solo adventure by taking the Oregon Scenic Highway along the Columbia River Gorge, lack of preparation does not stop us when we go hiking at Multanoma Falls with no rain gear or proper footwear, almost "ski" to our deaths on the muddy slopes, obtain unexpected moisturizing mud mask on bare feet while hiking, hot bath at awesome modern B&B, pizza at Double Mountain Brewery, read Room, fantastic book by Emma Donahue.

The Gorge

basalt cliff formed by volcanic lava

It was all very Twilight ( Team Jacob)

beware the spray

Like Hwy 61 on crack

Monday: Devoured breakfast of egg burritos with homemade salsa and guacamole, plus pumpkin, blueberry, and huckleberry scone, attempt to drive to the top of Mt. Hood, turn back when we hit a snowstorm, hike at Tamawanas Fall in gorgeous fresh snow, continuously yell "scoot bears" to keep predators away, shopping downtown, nap, core yoga class, spicy meal at Thai House, sleep.

Mother of two in bridge collapse over icy river

No bears here

stumped

just an ordinary hike in Gorgeousville

Hood River

I think we were pretty hardcore. Time away with Jake reminded me of Way Back When (1995-2008) when all we did was hang out with each other for twelve.years.straight. This is in sharp contrast to current day, lovingly entitled, Girls Just Want To Have Fun (2008-present), when time alone is scarce. A major THANK YOU to Grandpa Steve and Grandpa Liz for babysitting Friday-Tuesday for us so we could get away. Please give them a round of applause. And a beer.

bad ass

Sunday quickie

We did not do the Zombie Pub Crawl this weekend. After raiding Aunt Jill's closet for heels to borrow, the girls and I took Dorothy to the vet on Friday (note to self: leave baby at home when going to the vet) where Dorothy was diagnosed with a classic case of Itchy DooDoo after several weeks of relentless chewing. Her treatment involves antibiotics twice day for four weeks and baths with medicated shampoo three times a week.  Of course we are thrilled.  Jana came to town one night so we made the most of it by going out to Barrio alone to talk and dine followed by hot chocolates at Caribou (Tyler, if you read this we had raw broccoli and green tea). Jana's daughter, Adira, is two months older than Henny, but she stayed in Iowa with Jana's parents. We missed seeing her!  The rest of the weekend involved playing toys, sticking and resticking Halloween window decals on every surface of the house, errands, cleaning, cooking, and packing for a night in Austin for Grandpa Dick's funeral and then our mini vacay next week to see our friends Justin and Sandi get hitched. And you?

closet napper

Hen-bo-ben is a climber

Just like in 1998

love some dog hair in my tub

Did I mention the shampoo has to stay on for 10 minutes?

Grandpa Dick

Jake's Grandpa Dick passed away on Thursday at the age of 87. He lived amazing life as a Husband, Dad of four, Grandfather of ten, Great Grandfather of three. He was war vet, teacher, award winning baseball and basketball coach. He will be very missed!

you again?

dancing with Daddy to music not appropriate for children

Just got back from watching the marathon which has become a fall tradition. It brings back lots of vivid memories like when Jake ran it in 2004 (the year, not hours), in '07 hot & humid, avoiding families with babies since it fell on the day after our failed adoption (thank you, God!!!), Nori's 1st time spectating in '08, my first wave of pregnancy nausea which hit during the marathon in '10, last year when Jake took the girls alone so I could sleep, and this year watching both my little girls dancing to the tunes courtesy of Macalester DJ Club.  Like everyone else who watches, I wonder if I could do it and sometimes get sad that I have been dealing with different injuries/ailments for so many years that prevent me from being me as active as I would like to be. If dealing with chronic injuries was a sport ( ice, PT, Aleve, rest, acupuncture, doctor appointment, call insurance company, whine), I would win first prize, suckers.

cutest one year old in town

future marathoner?

G&G are in town working on their new house

trying to break in the fridge to look for "something cold for our tongues"

It is the month of unexpected expenses as we had  buy and install a new dishwasher, have major repairs on the Accord, take Dorth in to the vet again, and our boiler broke down and got red-tagged. Luckily, we have 4 space heaters and are no strangers to frosty temps indoors. Yet, fun was had this week with dance, Kinderflips, 8 hours of hard work which resulted in a clean basement ready for construction, a visit with Nicole & Owen, lots of new hand-me-down toys/clothes from Cousin Mekensie, and visits from Papa Bill and Grandma & Grandpa.

Me? Oh nothing, just watching the Octonauts while eating a sandy and wearing a cloth diaper.

She has her father's nostrils

The girls have been priceless lately, loving and fighting like it's their job. Henny is smart as can be and has become a real cling-on whenever I am around.  She asserts her needs and gets what she wants, even if Nori has it. Nori's imagination can entertain her for hours, but most games focus on love, mommies &babies and even little sisters.

work it

Seltz Girls 2012

memorable fall moments

happier times

P.S.  I caved and bought my first pair of skinny jeans. In related news, I also bought my first pair of Spanx. Jake &  I are looking forward to a trip to Oregon in less than two weeks to whoop it up West coast style which probably consists of daily lattes, nature hikes, dinners out, and early bedtimes. At least that is what "whoop it up West coast style" means to me, Wikipedia may not agree.

Asian Minnesotan fusion