Phone Photos

We've had lots of sleepy days . . .

Gazing at Mt. Hood every chance I get (which is becoming rather rare these days... you can see the outline behind the 3 power lines, bottom right)

Runny noses and terrible head colds . . .

Crafty Saturdays, making a perpetual birthday calendar. It's useful and looks like art . . .

Box hats and puzzle pieces everywhere . . . (I love that they love puzzles; they are kind of my favorite!)

                  

Flubber making and tea drinking . . .

And taking in the sunny days when they come. 

I am incredibly thankful for my job and these kiddos. Can't imagine life without them actually. 

Trying to take each day in as it comes. 

Until next time . . .

If you were to visit us in the winter...

We would take you on a few hikes on the coast (make sure to bring your hiking shoes... it will be muddy)

We would share several cups of tea at the Pied Cow, or coffee at Stumptown. 

We would go snowshoeing around Mt. Hood... $13 for a day of fun.

We would escape to Seattle, or maybe Canada (I have yet to go... soon, I hope).

We would watch sunsets on the coast, and run on the rocky shore to escape high tide. Hannah K can tell you all about this. :)

I'll be honest, Heath and I don't do a lot of exciting things during the winter. It's usually cold (40-50), rainy, and mildly windy. Winter activities are a little out of our price range, and we don't own chains for the car. 

Most of the farmer's markets are closed January through March, and the Saturday Market is the same. 

But, this allows for soooo much more quality time with us!!! We (meaning I) love a good coffee shop. Exploring Powells is the best. Breweries are plentiful and provide great samplers. You can walk around with us in the rain... without umbrellas. That's right, no umbrellas. 

There's plenty of good food. We have great friends. We enjoy card games, puzzles, having fun. 

Have I sold you yet? 

We also enjoy exploring coastal towns. Like Canon Beach... home to Haystack Rock, which can be seen in the opening scene of The Goonies.


We would have a lot of fun. I can promise you that.

Until next time.

Tire Swing

This was a good day. 

Our first vineyard wine tasting, a picnic lunch, tire swinging, and movie watching. 

I remember laughing a lot that day. Appreciating my relationship with Heath, having our money stretch farther than normal (we had several groupons), and loving the beauty of the Northwest. 

We haven't gone to many other vineyards since. We'll just have to change that this year. . .  though I don't think any of them will be as cool as this one with the tire swing. 

Heath is coming with me to work tomorrow. I always love those days because we get to have a "trial-run" of how we'll work together as parents. It's usually helpful and always a lot of fun!

--Tristan and I were discussing what we could do with Mr. Newton on Friday. Eventually, he asked me if we had kids, implying that he wanted to have a play-date with them too. I replied "No, not yet". To which he responded, "Well. . . I can be your kid, Katie! I can stay with you guys 3 days a week, and with mommy and daddy the rest. I just love you four so much!" (referring to his mommy and daddy, and Mr. Newton and I) Ha! Tristan definitely makes my days interesting.--

More on nannying and the kids later. I honestly feel like I have kids, and just get to have quiet dinners and full nights of sleep. You know, it's the perfect equation really. ;)

Did you know...

a. Cherry trees have started to bloom here. Unfortunately, it's the beginning of February. The weather has been unseasonably dry and warm... not that I'm complaining, I'm just hoping our spring and summer flowers and berries will come in as they should.

b. Speaking of berries, my favorite thing to do up here is go berry-picking. Whether I'm with the kids, a friend, or by myself, I seem to find a lot peace at the farms. I am thankful for the farmers who work so hard to provide quality, reasonably priced products ($1.50 per lb. of raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, or marionberries).... mmmm I can't wait for June. (I tried to freeze several pounds of berries this summer, but I ate all of them before they could make it into my freezer.)

c. I've taken 11 baths within the last 6 days. Let's just say I've been a little under-the-weather, but I'm finally getting better!!! Heath hasn't picked up this terrible cold yet... keep your fingers crossed.

d. Putting together my mom's book for Christmas was one of my favorite things. Receiving emails from her friends (really, I consider most my friends too!), reconnecting with people I hadn't talked to in years, and being reminded constantly that we are loved and supported was an immense blessing. thank you for contributing.

e. I chose to focus on three activities for the new year. Running, Reading, and Cleaning. I recognized I wasn't very intentional with my alone time last year for many reasons, so I wanted to concentrate on things that would make me feel better and be better. Reading is my favorite thus far. I'll be running a 1/2 marathon in July.

f. Kisses from Katie was such a beautiful story. I literally couldn't put the book down. It made me aware of the types of things and people Heath was surrounded by during his time in Africa. Loved it, highly recommend.

g. I'm a non-fiction kind of gal. I don't mind if it's heavy or sad, I just want to be able to understand the majority of what I'm reading :) Got any suggestions for me???

h. Trinity (2 yrs. old) and I were talking about our nearing play-date today, and I asked her if she was excited about playing with Ellie... "No thank you, Katie. I just want to be with you. You's my favorite."

i. Most of you are probably aware of this already, but I am a Pinterest fan. I'm on pinterest more than facebook for sure. The creativity and visual interest bring me in every time.

j. Heath is awesome. How lucky am I to have such a sweet husband who works to understand me and grow with me. I am really thankful for his strength and love for me.

k. Tristan refers to Heath as "that big, tall, silly guy". The kids love Heath so much and they've only been around him a handful of times. I guess they think he's pretty great too.

l. I am currently reading The Happiness Project. A friend gave it to me to read one year ago. I was not in a place where I was capable or ready to hear it's message. Now, I am pleased to say that I am capable and very ready to work on being happy and growing daily. And that feels good.

Obviously I've missed writing on this; I have more to say, but I don't want to scare you away. I'll have letters m-z another day.

What brought a smile to your face today?