the chain

Remember when you were in second grade and your classroom was all decked out in construction paper chains and you would count down the days of the school year? One of these chains now hangs under our calender and we are counting down the days until Thanksgiving. Yes, when I should have been studying or doing anything else more productive, I cut up strips of construction paper (in Fall colors, of course) and glued together this little chain. It has become our nightly ritual to break off a piece right before we go to bed. We look forward to it all day.

This either means that I really am meant to be a teacher or I haven't gotten past second grade.

my bubble

There is a special little feature in the wii version of Super Mario. If you are playing with a partner and your character dies, you don't have to start all the way over. You come back in a bubble and shake your controller until you float over to your partner who pops your bubble and gets you back in the game! If you don't have a wii or have never played Super Mario you probably have no idea what I am talking about, but this is the best way I can describe what my life feels like right now.

I feel like I have been living in a bubble...watching life happen down below me, desperately trying to shake my way back into the game. Unlike my little Mario character, my bubble is filled with work, homework, dirty dishes, and laundry. Lions and tigers and bears..oh my!  Trevor is in my bubble too, which is the only thing that makes it OK. Other than that I have no idea what is even going on in the world! Yes, I did vote and yes, I still shower. I have just been so overwhelmed lately. This feeling has been manifesting itself in one of two ways: 1) I don't sit still (except for the other night when I let Trevor give me a back rub. I sat still for that.) or 2) Inaction. My husband knows this all to well as there have been many occasions when he has come home to find me in the fetal position. The latter is becoming more common. The boy hasn't eaten a proper meal in weeks...thank goodness it's almost Thanksgiving.   

A lot of things are about to change for us, we just don't know exactly when. 

In other news: Prince William is engaged.

I hope this bubble bursts soon.

Linnea and Minnesota

One of my best friends came to visit from Minnesota. She just had to marry a guy from Minnesota. It's a good thing I really like him or I might be extremely bitter, instead of only slightly.

Trevor and I have done our best to convince them how much better it is here in Washington. I mean what do you really have, Minnesota?! Snow and Brett Favre. And which would you rather have: harsh winters and flat, boring prairies or luscious greens and beautiful mountains? Me and Trevor in the flesh or me and Trevor over skype? I rest my case.

 Of course, this isn't completely fair since I have never actually been to Minnesota. I'm sure there are a lot of positives...I just don't care to come up with any. We just miss our friends so we will keep doing what we do best...manipulate and harass them until they cave.

We were very cool in high school.

Here we are now. Still very cool.

I do think the Minnesota accent she has acquired is pretty cute.

I'm a sucker for accents.

the apple harvest

This weekend we drove over the hill and through the woods...or more accurately: down traffic-jammed I-5 and into the gated community to Grandma's house for her annual apple harvest. My Grandma's poor little apple trees had a rough year and didn't produce nearly enough apples for us to turn into pie and cider...so we had to buy out Safeway's supply as well.
My parents and sister were visiting from Spokane and my good friend Megs had flown in from Denver. They may not have come JUST for the apply harvest, but I think it was a pretty good bonus.

Just a few of the many pictures from our apple photo shoot.

Sometimes I can get a little camera crazy. I may have snapped at my husband once or twice, as well as taken away photographer privileges from my dad. I need cute pictures, doesn't anyone understand that?! I already feel sorry for my future children.

Someday, Trevor will be happy to have all of these smiling, happy memories and he will overlook the fact that I dragged him through the trees to the the cute wooden fence (that you can't even see), punched him in the arm, and threatened him to smile nice. See, happy memories.

And then the apples turn into this, and everyone forgets my neurotic picture taking behavior.

Miss you already Mom, Dad, Holly, and Megs.

a very important letter

It's official. I am going back to school.

A little old lady once told me I have kind eyes and would make a great teacher. Welp...that is good enough for me so starting in March, 2011, I will be takin' my kind eyes to the Master in Teaching program at Seattle University.

Teaching has always been a dream of mine, or at least a thought that I could never quite get out of my head. There are a lot of things that I am not good at, but I am good with kids. I love kids. I just love them in all their silly, dirty-faced, snot-nosed glory.

I am extremely blessed that my hubby supports me as I trade in my paycheck for student bills. He even supported the $80 rock kit I had to buy for my summer Geology class. And by rock kit I mean a box of rocks...for $80. I would have preferred a new pair of shoes. He has also put up with a lot of extra emotional breakdowns as I balance a full-time job, certification tests, prerequisite classes...all while I try to keep our little family fed, healthy and happy. It has been a little crazy as our life's game changes, but We know it will all be worth it.

I can only hope that one day all the kids will be requesting Mrs. Osborne's class!

a welcome change

It's October. It's time to get cozy. I love that I get to start bundling up and wear boots and scarves. Oh how I love scarves. I love that I get to start wearing slippers and drink hot chocolate. I love having something baking in the oven while I'm curled up on the couch reading as my husband watches football. I love extra blankets, popcorn and old movies...cozy cozy cozy.

I have started decorating for the new season. And by decorating I mean adding a few Fall accents here and there. I am not the kind of person who will go outside, chop down some branches, collect some pine cones and fashion together a center piece. I tend to be over-the-top about a a lot of things....elaborate, artsy, nature decorations are not one of them. The most important additions will be the far-to-many perfect amount of new candles that all smell like Thanksgiving and make me feel very cozy. Are you sensing a theme?

This weekend I did pick up a few things to Fall-ify our home a bit more.

Our weekend also included a trip to Barnes and Noble. As a couple of literary nerds, we find ourselves there quite often. I could live in Barnes and Noble. There is nothing like a brand new book to stick your nose into.

This also has the makings of more cozy.

fun on the farm

Trevor and I didn't make it to the fair this year. I really wanted to go. I have the best memories of my family and I going to the fair when I was younger..OK high school and college too. I'm a sucker for tradition and any place that will deep fry a candy bar.
Luckily, I have a wonderful Aunt who has her very own mini farm and who will make me fair scones with homemade jam. She and my Uncle had us over to play on the farm. My cute and sporty Grandma came too.

All the goats loved me. Or they loved the carrots I was holding. Either way, I felt very popular.























Trevor made a new friend.

I wanted to take this little one home with us. I hear urban goats are all the rage.