Nintendo and New Friends

Lilah, who is never shy, made some new friends at cousin Corbin's basketball game last weekend. Did she know how to play the nintendo? No. Did she care that the other girls were bigger than her? No. Did she care that other than Tara (on the right), she didn't know the other girls? No. She just climbed into the girl pile and started playing with them. :)

Hey Lilah? The girl on the left looks sad. Maybe you should give her back her nintendo....

The best money I've ever spent

I have been thinking I should make a list of the best money I've ever spent. Here is a start to it:

1. The $8000 something we spent on the Avalon. Now it's depressing we once spent that much money on it, but it has been (knock on wood) a GREAT car for us.

2. The $300 for Barney. I still miss that horse and wish I could have him back. I also wish I could have gotten him sooner than the last two years of his life, but then I probably would have had to pay more than $300 for him. :)

3. $50 for Simon. Enough said.

4. $1 for the bus ride back up the hill after snorkeling in Hawaii. I was too tired and it was too hot to walk up it myself.

5. $30 for Lilah's Johnny Jump-up bounce seat that we hung in our archway. It provided hours of entertainment for her, and I was able to shower without worrying too much about her.

6. $25 for the man who plowed the driveway at the Roundhouse this past Christmas. I would have gladly paid three times that amount.

7. And finally -- $20 (just TWENTY dollars!) for a kids table that converts from a picnac table to art easel. I found it on Craigslist and it has provided hours of entertainment for Lilah and us!

And this is priceless:

So what did we decide?

The end of the week came and went, and Nick and I have decided we are going try give moving to Sisters a try. There are a few minor details (like housing) to still work out, but after thinking about this for such a long time, and from every angle, we think that we really can't go wrong. We've made arrangements for the house in the 'Couv, and we're going to view the first six months over there as a 'trial period'. If we don't like it by the end of the summer, we'll simply move back. If we love it over there, we'll find more permanent housing in the fall.So wish us luck!

Sweet P's latest venture....

In the past, I learned the hard way not to fall in love with someone else's horse, but here I find myself again. :) Sweet P first came into my life after I graduated high school, and I have loved her ever since then. Through the years, she's become a very reliable trail horse, safe kids and husband horse, and has something to teach every rider from the newbee to experienced rider, including myself! She still makes life difficult at times with her strong opinions and random spirited attitude, but I love her all the same!

Sweet P is now learning to drive. I found a high quality harness for a low price in a consignment store, and made a quick purchase:

Now she needs to get used to drag items while I look for a cheap cart. Nick and I are wondering if we could make one ourselves...

I'm also still riding her, and she's still beating me up:

:)

Think Justin Timberlake/SNL skit....

'It's my cat in a box' !!!


Sophie-the-cat has always enjoyed shoe boxes as nesting areas. When I bought L a new pair of tennis shoes, Sophie didn't seem to notice the box was a little small for her. One more case in point that she really is an idiotic cat. :)

When did that happen?

How did we get from here .....


to here?

Job update....

Nick and I left Lilah this past weekend with my parents, and traveled to Sisters to try to figure out whether or not to move there. Bad news -- we don't think our second choice of housing will work. Good news -- I got the job. :)

So Nick and I are working through different possibilities, and we have decided we will make our final decision (of whether or not to move) this week.

Stay tuned!

Heather's Perfect Day....

This past Saturday morning, Nick loaded up Lilah and headed to Corvallis to visit friends for the weekend.

I, on the other hand, loaded up Sweet P and hit the trail around Battleground Lake. It was the first time I had ever ridden Sweet P solo on a trail, and she did great! I'm estactic that she's willing to go down the trail by herself -- (not every horse would) -- and now I can hit trails more frequently without waiting for a trail buddy!

After the trail ride (the first since September), I hung out at the barn, making sure Sweet P was tucked snuggly back in her stall. Like the horse-sick kid I used to be, I even cleaned the stalls of the other horses in the barn just to get more of a horse fix.

After puttering around the barn without feeling the rush to get home, I stopped off at a horse show my trainer was judging. I was able to sit quietly and stare at the super-nice horses, which, for the non-horse people reading this, equates to the same drooling over hot boys at the mall.

Only after several hours of horse-related activities, I came home to a quiet house. I ate a late lunch without having to share or defend it with a toddler, and then took a very long, candle-lit bubble bath with reading material (horse magazines and a critically-acclaimed novel, natch)

After the bath, I continued pampering myself. After a couple hours of further "spa" treatments, I decided I better take advantage of Lilah-free time, so I put myself in a frenzy cleaning the house. I cleaned EVERYTHING thoroughly, even cleaning out Lilah's closet and scrubbing the living room couches!

Even with the crazy house-cleaning, between the trail ride and bubble bath, it was a perfect day for me!

Christmas Videos

Here are three videos from Christmas -- Simon trying to make it to the front door of the Ohouse, Lilah opening a present, and Lilah's new favorite thing to do at the Ohouse. Enjoy!

Christmas 2008

Merry Christmas Everyone, from Lilah-the-grinch

(well, can't say I don't blame her....)


As I type, the last of the Christmas decorations have been packed away, all the holiday sweets are gone, and Nick has just finished taking down the lights. I am sorry the holiday season has come and gone, and I'm already looking forward to next year's Christmas (especially with Lilah)!

Our Christmas got off to an early start thanks to an impending snow storm. We originally planned on spending Christmas Eve with my parents in Beaverton, then spend Christmas Day in Parkdale with Nick parents and my parents. With another snow storm predicted, however, Nick correctly determined it would be best to get out of town before it hit. So, with very little warning, we quickly celebrated "Christmas Eve" Tuesday night with my parents and sister Michelle and her husband Bryan.




Daddy helps Lilah open the first Christmas present


Yep, this IS the best shot I got with a squirmy-wormy toddler!


Mom & Dad got each other the same gift : Electric Razers. What every married couples needs....

Mommy helps too!

Ever wonder what your dog is thinking?

Lilah makes friends with Auntie Michelle's cat (Simon was very scared of this cat)

Then we drove through a blustery/icy gorge late Tuesday night, and watched it snow in Parkdale all day on Christmas Eve day. Nick's parents had about 4 feet of snow -- plenty of snow to chill our wine:

During the snow storm, we ventured up to Auntie Karen's open house and got together with family for a couple hours on Christmas Eve day:

Lilah and Katlyn play together!

Somebody help us! Both our Mommies are gone!!

Lilah liked to hug Katlyn. Shortly after this picture was taken, we had to pry Lilah off crying Katlyn, who was a little scared of Lilah-style hugs.

On Christmas day, Daddy got to open the first Christmas package:

Lilah opens her stocking:

The Tyrrell Jrs on Christmas morning, '08

Then we opened presents:

Lilah no longer needed Mommy or Daddy's help opening gifts

And shortly after this picture was taken, we lost power for a couple of hours thanks to the snow! We stayed warm with the wood stove, with Nanny Tanny even preparing to make Christmas dinner on the stove. Luckily the electricity came back on before she started cooking!

Lilah now helps Simon open his presents:

Uh, that's a lot of snow......

After opening presents, we went outside to shovel & play in the snow. Nanny Tanny made a sledding run:

while Lilah tries to feed Simon snow

The day after Christmas, we braved the snowy roads and headed for the Roundhouse for extended Christmas time with the fam. We were the first to get to the Ohouse, and this is what we found -- 3 feet of snow -- more than ever at the Ohouse:

Nick and I couldn't get the truck into the driveway, so Nick prepared to start shoveling (which is a lot of shoveling). Since Lilah needed a diaper and lunch, I waded through the snow with her on my hip. :)

As Nick began to shovel, a man stopped along the road and said he'd clear for $25. The man probably smelled opportunity on us city-folk, but Nick immediately said deal. (Honestly we both would have paid twice that amount to get it cleared) So the man came back with his bobcat:

This guy got a lot of good business that day -- while he was clearing our driveway several other people were stopping along the road and asking him to do their driveway as well!

Lilah enjoyed watching all the commotion from the window while she ate her lunch:

The rest of the family arrived shortly thereafter, and games immediately broke out!

Ah-hah! I finally got a picture of them both looking at the camera!

Two of the five dogs (yikes!!) get pooped out with all the activity:

Yes-sirree, Lilah's a chip right off the old block....

Ahhhh.... It was a great Christmas, followed by a nice New Year with friends. I am working on posting some Christmas videos soon! I cannot believe it is JANUARY now...

Wishing you all a happy and healthy 2009!

This morning, Lilah pointed to something on my night-stand. I asked her if she wanted her pacifer on my night-stand. In response, she said a very clear "No" and continued pointing.

Since this morning, she has used the word "No" in an audible and correct context at least three times, and it's only 3pm.

This makes me think of another favorite word of hers:

Uh-oh.