Holidays 2010

Lets see...it has been a while since we did any updating so here is a quick look back at the holidays of 2010. Christmas we spent with Jon and his family. We all went to a cabin 4 days before Christmas and had fun playing games and playing in the snow. The cabin was near Mt. Rainier so we made a few trips up to the snow. We returned to his parents house for Christmas Eve and then woke up to a wonderful Christmas morning of presents and family. (Dec 2010) From left to right: Katelynn, James, Lauren, and Auntie Bri. This was at the base of Mt. Rainier where we went sledding. (Dec 2010)

Getting dinner ready! Thanksgiving at Steve and Carole's house. Lots of fun. Lots of food! (Nov 2010)

Family photo overlooking the Columbia Gorge. It was cold that day, very cold. (Oct 2010)

Lauren and Katelynn at the Puyallup State Fair. (Sep 2010)

We took a little family trip to Multnomah Falls in the Columbia Gorge last Saturday (May 15th). It was a great weekend and we had to get out in the sunshine. The girls didn't get much of a nap that day...you can see it on their faces. The falls was just beautiful and worth the drive to see it. Jon and his little girls :) He is a good daddy!

Smile! ...or not...

Our Day at the Zoo

Once a month the Portland Zoo does a $2 Tuesday so we thought we would brave the rain and go see the animals last Tuesday (April 13th). It was worth it! A lot of the animals were out because the weather was cooler and we got to see sea otters, sea lions, polar bears, lions, monkeys, giraffes, zebras, hippos, elephants, and some exotic birds in the huge aviary.

Usually on $2 Tuesday the zoo is packed because schools take bus loads of kids for field trips and it really is a "zoo" trying to get around and see all the animals. Because it was slightly raining the day we went (it cleared up later), the crowds were few in number so we had a wonderful time. We were there when the gates opened at 9am and stayed long enough for the sun to come out and warm up around 12:30 and then we headed home for a late lunch.

There is a new exhibit for Africa and it includes Lions, it is really cool!

Katelynn sitting on one of the bronze statues in front of the Lion exhibit.

This picture was toward the early afternoon and the lions were sunbathing after the rain showers that morning. Look at the mane on the male and the beautiful coat on them both. Amazing!

This is toward the end of our zoo trip so the kids are a little worn out and ready to head back to the house for a nice lunch and nap time. You can see it written all over Katelynn's face :(

I thought this picture was striking with the white and black against the green of the grass. Beautiful animals!

Video of Lauren looking at the sea lions. It was so fun to watch her watching these big animals swim around and around. They would swim next to the glass and circle around in a loop, so I took her and we stood right in front of where it would rub against the glass. We could see it so well you could reach out and almost feel its nose, whiskers, belly, and flippers. They are big animals! It was really cool.

~{ UPDATES }~

It has been brought to my attention that we have been neglecting our blog...lets just say we took a 3 month vacation...but rest assured there is plenty to catch you all up on...so, look for updates coming soon...here are some teasers...



Sarah celebrating her 30th birthday with some free ice cream and friends at Red Robin on a "Girls Night Out" {February 2010}




Lauren the Jell-o monster...


We had some nice weather a few weeks ago and here is Lauren playing outside at a neighbors house {March 2010}



Katelynn turning 4...going on 14!! {Febryary 2010~ the date stamp from our camera was off . It really was taken this year.}




Jon is busy at work so I don't often get him in the pictures...I'll try a little harder.

From our Family to Yours.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!
We want to wish all of our family and friends a very Merry Christmas from our family to yours.

We hope you have a fun, safe, and joyful Christmas with your loved ones.

Love The Rogers Family

Jon, Sarah, Katelynn, & Lauren

~{Happy Holidays}~

Thanksgiving was a wonderful time to spend with family. We went to Jon's grandparent's house in Haines, Oregon and met up with other family there to celebrate and have a wonderful Turkey Day. The food and company were both wonderful, what more could we ask for :) Kathy, Jon's mom, pointed out something ...why does it take hours to prepare such a wonderful meal but only minutes to eat it?

With Thanksgiving out the back door and Christmas coming in the front, it is now officially "legal" to listen to Christmas music. Although, I have to confess I started a few weeks before Thanksgiving, I even used it for my workout music a few times :) I love the feeling of the holiday season and the happiness that everyone else seems to feel too! We are having sort of a "homemade" Christmas this year which will be nice because it's not really the amount of money that was spent on the presents that counts, but the love and effort that went into making each other happy.

Happy Holidays to you all!

Love

Jon, Sarah, Katelynn, and Lauren

Kids!

I told Katelynn we were going to go swimming at the YMCA today and this is what came marching down the stairs and announced "I'm ready to go MOM!"

If you can't tell, those are brown snow boots (from two years ago...just a little small) with furry trim on the top and fuzzy little pom-poms. The other key thing here is that her suit is on backwards. That's right! We are in the middle of November and she wants to walk over to the YMCA, which is next door, in her swimming suit and snow boots. A girl after my own heart!

Waves on a Beach

Have you ever had one of those days or weeks where you have feelings of gratefulness wash over you like waves on a beach. They keep coming, one after another, calm and peaceful and even strong and more direct at times. I have been experiencing those waves lately...or maybe it is that I am recognizing that they are there, calm and refreshing. I don't think these thoughts of thanks are Thanksgiving induced...although not a bad idea.

The most frequent thought I found myself having is my thankfulness for a healthy body. The more I take care of it, the more I realize how wonderful it is to feel good, healthy and active. And it seems the more proactive I become in taking care of "me", the more aware and sensitive my inner spirit is to what my needs are and the needs of those around me are, which in turn motivates me to continue to be healthy.

It just feels great to be healthy!

~Sarah

Halloween Birthday Girl

Lauren turned 1 on Halloween and here are some pictures from her first birthday. We wanted to be near family so we spent the weekend at Jon's parent's house near Seattle,WA. We got to celebrate Lauren's birthday and Katelynn's first real Trick-or-treating.

I made two cakes, a chocolate covered cake just for her to get into...the chocolate frosting for the MESSY factor, and I made another two layer cake just to try my hand at making "fancy" cakes...It was a lot of hard work! But it turned out cute and worth my time :)
This is a little book Lauren absolutely LOVES. We saw it at a US Born Book party. There is a little mouse that you slip through the slots in each page to follow the cute little story about the "Mouse in the House". She squeaks and squawks when you read it to her because she likes to see the mouse pop up in the next page :)
Cute little dress from Grandma Rogers.

Lauren's little Ladybug cake.

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY LAUREN :)

Look for Trick-or-Treating pictures in next post

Two new family pictures!!

Check out the two new pictures just below of our little family of 4. We took some similiar pictures in the same spot almost a year ago. Sarah was still pregnant and Katelynn was 2 years old, my what a year can do!!!!

My Little Family

My little family

Above pictures taken Oct. 10 at a park

along the Columbia River,

Washington side.

Pictures taken September 26, 2009

The leaves are starting to crunch and the air is a little brisk in the morning...fall is here! I'm excited about warm apple crisp, snuggling up in a cozy blanket to watch movies, hot chocolate (herbal tea is more my style), PUMPKIN PIE, and sleeping with socks on :)

Lauren will be turning 1 on Halloween...I can't believe that a year has gone by so quick!

Here is a video of our little "Lou" from today.

HAPPY HARVEST!

Pictures of Lauren

Here's some up to date pictures of our little's one, Lauren that so many have been wanting to see--Grandma especially!! So loves that thumb so much. I tryed and tryed to keep that thing out of her mouth but no good. Enjoy!!

Katelynn is our little jumper. She just wanted to jump and jump so Sarah strapped two pillows on her with her belt and Katelynn went wild.

On Memorial Day we went down to a lookout point that over looks the Columbia River Gorge. The building is called "Vista House" and was built in the very ealy 1900's. We are on the Oregon side of the river, the other side is Washington.

These are my girls! Lauren loves that thumb and is almost a year old!! Halloween is the big day!!

Family Hike

A few weeks ago our little crew took a Saturday afternoon hike to a beautiful place called Bridal Veil Falls located in the Columbia Gorge just outside Portland. We picked this hike because it is only a mile and just right for little legs (i.e. Katelynn) to make it without having to be carried. The woods were beautiful and it was a sunny warm afternoon...ahh, summer :)

I saw these tree leaves glowing from the sunlight shining through them.

It was cooler in person :)
Katelynn sitting on the observation deck by the falls. She is such a sweetie!

Jon packed Lauren and she loved being out side. She is 9 months and doesn't have much hair. She has been called a boy several times despite being dressed in pink...
(Jon was quite the pack horse, pretty handsome and muscly)

Katelynn and I at the top of the hike looking at the falls.

It was a pretty place to spend our Saturday. We are looking forward to other hikes this summer.

We have found various other places to make our weekend trips to around our area and it has been very rewarding. Just this last Saturday we found a really nice paved path through a dried stream bed or gully and took our kids for a stroll, Katelynn's favorite part were the ducks we saw swimming in a pond by the path.

So far this summer has been treating us wonderfully:)

More family adventures to come soon!

All Dolled Up!

Just wanted to show you all what I made this weekend. Teryn, a friend of mine has a little girl Katelynn's age (Claira) and she has made lots of fun little outfits like this for her, she let me borrow one of the little dresses/cover-up to make one for Katelynn and this is how the first attempt turned out.

Katelynn blowing kisses.

Lots of fun...and a cute little girl!!

This was easy to make and just right for the hot weather we have been having. I also made this little skirt for a birthday gift for for Claira because we missed her birthday back in June. I have other projects in the works so stay tuned :)
Those skirts and dresses aren't as cute as this little face, Katelynn {Kiddo} and I had fun "playing" in my make-up... what a darling.