3rd Annual Wiley Krautfest

Last night the Wiley family had their annual sauerkraut making party. Good food, good people, and lots of fun.
It was an extra exciting year, as the Moore boys all came home with trophies. Dan's trophy was for being the M.V.P. of the night...he helped peel the outer layer off of 800 lbs. of cabbage, and cut the heads into 1/4 's . Chris and Nate were acknowledged for their hard work with both taking home the 'Mini Kraut Masters' award. These boys happily worked and helped throughout the entire party. While all the other kids were down tearing up the Wiley's basement, Chris and Nate were glad to be lifting, hauling, and pounding cabbage.

Finally, the bottom of the box that the 800 lbs. of cabbage came in. Time to take a break!

And the best part....we just roll the wagon home for the night with our new batch of Kraut.

We've got sauerkraut coming out our ears, but how could we not partake in this fun tradition? We're happy to share our bounty. Just ask.

2nd Grade...like father like son

Oops! I meant to post this one, too. Dan found his 2nd grade photo and pulled it up on the computer, with Christopher standing next to it in comparison. Crazy how much they look alike...especially with those fantastic second grade teeth!

lame

Yep...that's me. lame. I have not posted anything on here for a month! Here are a few photos taken off of my i-phone that somewhat capture the past few weeks in our world.

I didn't land a full time teaching job this fall, but I did get hired as a substitute in my old district. I have been doing a long-term sub job back at the school where I taught last year, so that has been great! This position has been extended an extra week, so I will finish up at the end of October.
Since I am a full time worker-bee, G'ma came up and spent the day with the boys while I had a teacher work day last week. She even spent the night and we hit Kruger's Farm bright and early on Saturday morning.
Well, would you look at that? A GATOR sticker (the same one Dan has on his car) on a FORD FLEX at Fred Meyer. This car should be ours...or at least the owner should be our friend.

It's soccer season! The boys have been playing soccer this fall. They're good!

Raking leaves out front. I love fall.

Grandma buying goodies at Kruger's. The caramel apples were divine.

I will try to be better.

Clyde the Horse

This is Clyde. He lives at the curb next door, and I can see him from my kitchen window.
I sure wish that we still had a horse ring at our house. Somebody probably removed it years ago, not knowing how cool it would be in the future.

First Day of school~through the years.

Vernon Owls through the years....

Pre-K

Kindergarten

Grade 1

Grade 2

 Grade 3
It was nice that they were not too nervous for the first day of school.
They both agreed, that they are kind of like the mayors of the school....lots of teachers and kids know them~they don't have a thing to worry about.

Bye-Bye, Summer.

Ah, Labor Day weekend. It's always bittersweet...the end of the lazy days of Summer, and the start of routine and school. I have to admit~I'm a sucker for the latter. We spent the weekend being quite lazy in the warm sunshine. We could hardly pry Christopher out of the hammock.

The view looking up.

Camp out in the backyard. Chris, Nate, and Dan slept under the stars on Sunday night.

The boys got new bike riding boundaries, and they were beyond thrilled. They were both beaming from the pride of their new independence, because two rocks and old jeeps just wasn't cutting it anymore for these soon-to-be 2nd graders. They can now go from our house, down the street, through the whole alley, and come back around on Holman. For them, it's kind of a half block loop. For me, it's just another example of how fast they are growing up.

Of course, the final stretch to the house always turns into a race. That's what brother's do.

Family Beach Trip 2012

It's how we always wrap up the summer~the annual beach trip to the Oregon Coast with the Slater/Cotter/Moore families all in one house. This year we were at a house in Lincoln Beach.

Lunch outside in the sunshine.

Feeding the seagulls. Such pesky birds, but it sure is fun to have them come right up and take the food out of your hand! Big seagull taking off with the bread from Aunt Susie. So exciting!

The view of the beach from our house. Kids could roam and play for hours.

Cousin art project. They all decorated t-shirts. One of these kids was not real pleased with his finished product, so he's hiding it. Can you guess who?

A classic Depoe Bay hot spot....Jordy's candy shop (since 1942). Each of the cousins got to choose 10 taffy pieces for their little bag. Decisions, decisions. Thanks, Uncle Mark!

Looking over the harbor at Depoe Bay. Exactly as I remember it from 35 years ago.

My dear brothers, Uncle Greg and Uncle Mark.

Dinnertime! We always eat well at the beach. Each family takes a dinner for one of the nights. Pork Tenderloin, Fish Tacos, and the grand finale....Sookie's ribs (Claudine's first go at the recipe on her own) and they were delicious!

Hot tub time! Always a crowd pleaser, even in this ghetto shed.

Chillin' on the deck with some cocktails. There was one more Moore along on the trip this year~Susan's boyfriend, Jared. He tolerated us well. We like having him there, too.

The Slaters.
Catie looks just like Claudine, Will looks just like Mark, huh?

The annual 'cousins on a log' photo.
Chris Catie, Will, Nate, Grace, Caroline, Ella.
These kids love each other so much.
Beach play! Nate bats the cycle with the ladder ball game. He was mighty proud of himself!

It wouldn't be a beach trip without a few rounds of Down-Set-Steal. We taught Jared the ropes and he was all over that game.

Beach bonfire the first night. Nothing like sticky marshmallows in the sand. mmm

Big excitement. Uncle Mark found a fish that washed ashore with no eyeballs. All the cousins came running to check it out. Back it went into the sea with a big fling into the air.

On Saturday G'ma and Uncle Greg drove over for the day, and as a family we decided we would spread G'pa's ashes into the Pacific Ocean. It was a beautiful, sunny day, and Mark, Susan, Greg, my mom and I went down the beach and set his remains free. He rode a big wave out, and we all said goodbye in our own way. It was as lovely as that type of event can be.

We had one final beach campfire that night. It helped us all feel like closure was set in motion on a sadness that defined this summer. We miss you, dad. We'll see you next year in the sand~or in the water~or in the breeze~wherever you may land around us.

summertime happy hour

4:00::Monday afternoons::neighborhood friends::lots of freedom::everyone is happy!

Granddaddy and Nana visit from Florida!

Granddaddy and Nana came to visit. It was great to see them. The last time they were here the boys were 3 years old!

On Saturday, we went on a driving adventure. We headed East out of Portland, and our first stop was Joe's Donut Shop in Sandy, Oregon. A must-stop for anyone heading up to the mountain! Since we wouldn't all fit in my car, we borrowed a zipcar for the day. We had a Toyota Sienna named Shania. She was a great ride!

Timberline Lodge at Mt. Hood was our second stop. What a beautiful day!

Down the mountain to Trillium Lake Campground where we showed Granddaddy and Nana where we love to camp.

We stopped for lunch in Hood River at the Full Sail Brewery, then loaded back into Shania for the final stretch home. We made one last stop at Multnomah Falls.

Nate and Granddaddy playing some catch in the backyard. What a great summer day! On Sunday we stayed home and G'ma came up from Salem with a big ol' salmon that we grilled for dinner. mmmm! Nate and Chris harvested some green beans from the garden for our meal.

A highlight of the day was the impromptu piano recital that we had for the grandparents. They were treated to some of the classics: Camptown Races, Honeybee, Deck The Halls, Old MacDonald, Mary Had A Little Lamb, Cuckoo!, and maybe 1-2 others. Gotta love the grandparent paparazzi on the couch.

Sentences

It's the best consequence for rotten behavior. Because they hate it so much.
Yep, we're talking old school sentence writing. Just like Bart Simpson or students in a one room school house in 1913.
Name your offense...we've got quite a collection!