An Early Christmas present

A few years ago (like 5?) we got an old table from some friends. Brent did some work on it and wa-la, it looked like it does in the photo below. It was a great table, but after we moved into our new home, we found that the table was a tight fit. Also the wood veneer we used was started to peel up in some places. And i've always dreamed of having a farmhouse table with benches. So the table underwent a second makeover. This time Brent actually cut the whole table down the middle lengthwise and put it all back together. I don't really know everything he did, I just know that I lOVE it! See bottom pic for final product.

My invisalign story

I can't believe i'm posting this picture, especially after Claire told me last week that I have a lot of nose hair. Leave it to your 4 year old to get up close and personal.
Well, last week I received my first invisalign tray. Invisalign is like "invisible braces." My teeth have been shifting a bit and I have some wonky teeth, so I figured why not? Let me tell you, I was regretting my decision last week. The trays fit so snugly that the first night I was in tears trying to get them off. I finally gave up and went to bed hungry (you can't eat with them in) Then I found that the tray was cutting into the bottom of my tongue, so I spent two days trying not to move my tongue and talking like a crazy person. I am happy to report that I can now get both trays out in a minute or less! And the pain under my tongue is gone. My teeth are sore, but I am trying to focus on the end result. The picture below shoes the "buttons" that they put on my teeth, they help keep the trays on and put pressure on certain areas so the teeth can shift. I've been pretty self-conscious of them, but as my brother-in-law Kelly said, "they are hardly noticeable..they just look like you have some stuff stuck in your teeth." Luckily I know he was kidding, right? I'm hoping to take some pictures along the way so I can see the progress. only 11-16 more months to go...

The Tree hunt

Last year around this time, we were reminded that we now longer lived in the Christmas tree capital. All of the sudden I was expected to fork out 30-50 dollars for a tree I would have paid $15 for the year before. Luckily we found a place to cut down our trees for only $10. There is a paper company in the area that owns a lot of land and for $10 you can get a day pass and go cut down a tree. So I convinced all of the family to join us. The tree's are always slightly charlie brownish...but that's part of the charm, right? Our tree this year actually turned out pretty great, although it's big!
Below: We like to give our kids things like saws and knives to play with...
Logan proud of his tree conquest
Claire loved Christmas tree hunting. And loved it even more that her cousins were there.

All done!

Thanksgiving in Oregon

This year we spent Thanksgiving in Oregon. I always look forward to heading home. As we were driving I kept saying things like "look how green that field is. it's like green velvet." I'm sure Brent got tired of my comments, but he put up with me. It was great to see all of my family. One of our highlights was going to the indoor waterpark in McMinnville. The kids had a blast and I went down so many waterslides I left dizzy. Brent and I also took advantage of no sales tax and did most of our Christmas shopping on black Friday. It's so nice to "almost" be done. The weekend went by way to quickly, before we new it we were heading back to Idaho! I have to give another huge thanks to Birch and Sara for watching our dog while we were away!!

Cupcake wars

This year we had our second annual Ditto Family cupcake wars. Claire and I made Oreo cupcakes and Mayan chocolate cupcakes. I tied for first place with my Oreo cupcakes. Although the mayan chocolate cupcakes were my absolute favorite. I love anything with a cinnamon/chocolate combination. Now I have to start thinking of next years cupcakes so I can retain my spot as co-winner.

A few more halloween pics