TAG... I'm always last :(

I am now doing the tag that Megs and Amy did.... only cuz I liked their answers!

Five North American Cities in Which I'd Seriously Consider Living:
1. Manzanita, OR- my alltime favorite coast spot
2. Eugene, OR (for like the fifth time)
3. Seattle
4. Depoe Bay, OR- only if I could live in Aunt Florence's house though!
5. any suburb outside of Chicago or New York- proximity to a big city.... can you tell I love Oregon?

Five Songs to Which I Know all the Words: I feel like I should say albums instead..
1. any Doors song- thanks to my dad!

2. any Johnny Cash song- thanks to my husband
3. Barbie movie songs, or Hannah Montana songs- thanks to my girls!
4. any oldie song on the classic rock station- I amaze myself with how many songs I know!!
5. Anything that I don't know- I hum the tune- it drives Chris crazy!

Five Foods I'd Wish to Have in Unlimited Quantities on a Desert Island:
1. Peanut butter and chocolate of any kind
2. Grilled cheese and tomato sandwich
3. Salad with ranch dressing
4. chicken strips
5. Stir Fry

Five Chores I Should Be Doing Right Now Instead of Blogging:
1. Megs made me realize that I really need to wash my shower curtains!
2. Cleaning the walls and closet doors, etc
3. anything that doesn't get done on a routine, day-to-day cleaning

4. picking up the outside toys- getting ready for winter
5. cleaning my car- that one never gets done enough!

Five Childhood Friends I'd Love to See Again:
1. my cousins, especially Chelsey
2. Jessica Lux
3. Gretchen Schow (Gooch)
4. Monica

5. Marci

Now, five friends to tag (but please play even if you aren't tagged, and then let me know!):
1. Um- I don't think that many people read my blog, so whoever wants to!
2.

3.

4.
5.

Happy Birthday Christopher!!!

Today is my most wonderful husband's birthday.... he is a wise 36! I sent a hilarious picture of him to our local news channel- they play birthday messages in the morning- pretty funny! His presents were a pair of tickets to a concert that is coming up, a bag of gourmet candy corns from Teagyn, and an awesome remote control helicopter from Calli and Teags. We love you Mistopher Christopher and hope you have a great birthday!!! We're having a party tonight for him, by the way.... too bad you all can't be here!

I thought I would show some pics of our hard work last night also- the girls and Chris did some great pumpkins- and I made two gallons of applesauce!

It's official!!!

Yay!!! Today was a very special day for our family. We went to court and Callista was officially adopted to me. Here's our pic with Judge Watson- he has also been Alyx's judge, so it was nice to see him on a "fun and good" basis. He asked Calli what she thought about all this, and she said she was just fine with it, and very happy to be my daughter (phew!). He asked her about school and her hobbies, and then he asked us some basic questions, and that was that! So, we are celebrating tonight by going to her favorite restaurant, Red Lobster, for all you can eat shrimp. Let me tell you, this girl can eat some shrimp! I love you Calli, and this does not make me feel any differently towards you, but I am so happy to call you mine legally.

Here's some pics of the girls having fun with Marmee- making cookies and being silly. I also put in the picture of Dad, because he likes to assume the position in our favorite chair.... it has become his favorite chair too! Thanks for coming Mom and Dad- this was a really fun visit, and I love it when you come stay with us.

Updates....

Well, there are a few updates to mention today. We just got out of court for Alyx's sentencing, and the final decision by the judge is that she will be committed to Idaho state for an indefinite period of time. What happens first is that she will go to Nampa to be assessed, and from there they will decide where the best facility is to place her. We are hoping this will be in Lewiston, as that is the closest place to us, or in Nampa, which is close to Twin for Marmee and GG. At this place, she will be going to massive counseling and also to school. The whole point of this is to help her get through her behavior issues and work on therapy to help her change her way of thinking. We all have a lot riding on this, and after she is out, we are planning to have her move back in here. Chris and I are really excited for this to be moving along, since juvie is not a good place for her. When she gets out, all your support will be greatly appreciated. We will be doing a lot of family counseling, etc. to get ready to welcome her back home. So, all in all, at least a decision is final and we know what's going to happen. We love Alyx and just so want her to be happy and be a part of our family. She says to tell everyone hi and she loves you all so much!

For greater news, Calli is almost adopted! We will go in front of the judge next week and he will sign her papers, and then that's that- she officially belongs to Chris AND me!!! I'm super excited for this, and it's a really big deal to Calli, so we are going to do a little something to celebrate after wards. I feel so extremely blessed to have all these wonderful little souls in my life, and I am so thankful to have met their daddy- what a wonderful gift to give me for marrying him!

Oktoberfest!!!

OH wow- Oktoberfest was quite the whirlwind!!! A couple of months ago, our friend Chad and I decided to surprise Chris for an early birthday present by taking him to Leavenworth, WA for their annual Oktoberfest. This is a little bavarian town in the middle of Washington- it feels like you were dropped into the middle of Germany though! All the townspeople wear German clothing, all the buildings are German style- even McDonalds... and everyone is there to have a good time- apparently another tradition is crazy hats- there are hat booths everywhere and I hardly ever saw the same hat twice on all those people. All in all, a great weekend getaway with friends, and I think Chris had a wonderful time!! The pictures are of the Maipole- yes, that's how it is spelled- then there was an awesome Christmas store called Kris Kringl- amazing stuff!, and we also took pics of the dancers, yodelers, and Cowbell girls... they were from Munich- very entertaining!