Oct 28th 2009

Liz plays in Advanced Orchestra at her middle school and we scored a very exclusive invite to the FIRST concert of the year.



I think at one point, we were ALL taking pictures/video. I think Jason watched the entire thing through his blackberry's screen ;)



Lookin' good Liz!

Oct 27th 2009

It's pumpkin carving time! Shamara and Derek invited their friends Larry, Christina and their daughter Jayden, over to carve pumpkins.



Liz didn't carve a very big opening to get her pumpkin guts out. Dig Liz, dig!



Jayden was everyone's little helper. She insisted she knew how to clean pumpkins properly - here she is helping Shamara. How nice of her!

Oct 10th 2009

Family dinner at the in-laws!

From L to R: Grandpa Wally, Jason my Pop-in-Law, Sandy the Moms-in-law, on the phone is Sista-in-law Amber (yes, we share the same name) who I have yet to meet, then we've got Sistas-in-law Shamara & Liz, Shamara's husband Derek to whom I am deeply connected as we're both GINGER KIDS, and Grandma Lois.



Poor Moe-Moe wasn't able to get in on the family portrait, so he got an extra special photo with me. Isn't he cute?

Oct 8th 2009

In Lincoln City, Oregon. A lovely little beach town.



MASSIVE spider Derek spotted while walking to the beach - click to enlarge (if you can HANDLE it)



Shamara and Derek said we could eat lunch at Moe's. I started flipping out, thinking they were taking me to Moe's Southwest Grill since I LOVE their burritos. It turned out to be a seafood restaurant, even the salads had seafood. After being seated we decided to eat somewhere else... so we literally got up and left the table after ordering our waters. What-evs.



Foggy day at the ocean. We were only out for a few hours, it was pretty cold by the water. Derek attempted to catch ocean fish while Shamara and I had a Photoshoot. After she edits my imperfections out (Oh hello Mr. Zit on my chin) I hope to post my favourites.



On the way back to Salem. Ta-ta for now Oregon Coast.

Oct 3rd 2009

Enjoying the heat of the fire at one of Shamara's friend's house.



Sistas!

Portland Day 1: Sept 27th 2009

We left Seattle at 11am and took the Amtrak train to Portland Oregon. Check out our fancy-pants hotel room at "THE NINES" booked on Hotwire for the low low price of 80 bones/night!



Met up with the old "in laws" for dinner at Henry's Restaurant. Mama Thornton to the left, big daddy-o Jason in the middle and lil' sista Liz on the right.



Hey, it's Shamara and Derek! Looking fine as always. These beautiful people will be my hosts while I stay in Oregon.



Family Photo : Take 1



Family Photo: Take Two. That's better. Well, for Shamara at least.



We (I say "We" but really, Derek) got lost in Portland heading back to the hotel after dinner. There are so many 1 way streets here, which aren't usually that big of a deal, but there are also a LOT of streets where you're not allowed to turn either left or right. A tad frustrating for the driver, I'm sure. I had fun in the back seat, not sure how Derek felt with my mom and I chanting "U-EY U-EY U-EY" in an attempt to get him to both 1) break the rules of the road and 2) give us a joy ride.

August 3rd 2009

August long weekend! So glad to have today off work - spent the day outside once again, reading, swimming and playing with Dooley. I'm already a hundo-pages into my book World War Z, which is shaping up to be quite the read.

I was in the sun way too long, from 11am - 4pm so I'm pretty burnt on my legs. YES I WORE SUNSCREEN. Bah! I can't win. I'm either really white or Red Lobster style. It sucks being an Irish Rose.

After my day outside I retreated to "the cave" aka my basement to clean house. I cleaned up my living area (yes, Sheila if you're reading this , I said MY living area), bathroom and bedroom. Everything is now spic and span!

I've just started watching Dollhouse. I love me some Joss Whedon and even though I hated Eliza Dushku on Buffy (only because she was so damn evil) I'm liking her in this role. *LIGHTBULB MOMENT* - My sista-in-law Shamara (aka @shamaras on twitter) looks JUST like Eliza!