Clear Skies

We have had almost 2 weeks with little to no rain and it has been wonderful!!! We've been trying to get outside as much as possible while the rain holds off. The skies have been clear enough to see bright white Mount Hood everyday! We have taken several walks along the esplanade and enjoyed some fun Christmas festivities with the Bonjernoors. Take a look:

It's-a-me Mario!!!!!

In honor of Aiden's LOVE for all things Mario, we had a Super Mario Brothers Halloween! Aiden was little Mario, Tiffany was Mario, Jeremy was Wario (Mario's evil twin), I was Luigi, and Justin was Waluigi (Luigi's evil twin). Bam and Rosco were the turtles. We made a huge hit trick or treating!

Laura's Wedding

The weekend of the 17th, I flew home (Justin stayed with the boys) for my college roommate's wedding. Laura and I lived together for 3 years of our college lives and I could not miss out on seeing her I do's! Throughout college I got to know her boyfriend Steve and everyone thought they were a perfect couple. We were all very excited when they finally decided to tie the knot! It was a beautiful ceremony and well worth the long trip! (Whitney, I will be flying out for your wedding someday as well :)

The long weekend was also a great time to visit with my parents, sisters and nephew Graham! Justin and I have been in Portland for almost 3 months so the visits were well needed! We visited downtown Grand Rapids, had a Yahtzee tournament, I taught my mom a few new computer skills(lol), and we pretty much just enjoyed our time together! Unfortunately, I was only home for the weekend and so I wasn't able to see everyone. Hopefully Justin and I will both be home at Christmas for a longer period of time!

Here are the very few pictures I remembered to take, lol.

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our old neighbor Dave's house that he has been restoring for years. looking great!

my dad checking out part of the huge art exhibition that had just finished up.

Nessie in the grand river.

Congrats to the Reschkes!!!

Pumpkin Carving

We carved our pumpkins last weekend with the Bonjernoors! Tiff and I went for more of an artsy approach, stealing ideas we found online. Justin carved in honor of his all time favorite author Hunter S. Thompson. And Jeremy & Aiden worked together to carve a face and some pretty cool flames.

Roloff Farms

At the beginning of October we made a trip out to Roloff Farms in Helvetia, Oregon (about 30 minutes west). This is where the show Little People, Big World is filmed. We had fun picking out our pumpkins, touring the farm, and seeing the entire Roloff Family. It was a great trip, I just missed the apple cider and donuts from the farms in Michigan! Check out the pics:

we arrived early and this was the line!

but we made it in!

Looking for the perfect pumpkins


Justin found his...

and I found mine!

Aiden and Tiff found some too.

Jeremy Roloff giving tours!

Justin and Jermey with Matt Roloff

Their beautiful home!


Amy Roloff coming out to meet fans at the pumpkin patch

Part of the farm

All of us with Molly Roloff and The Roloff Grandparents

Jacob Roloff was guarding the castle.

Justin and I sporting the CMU gear since Amy is also a Central Alumni.

The Bonjernoors Arrive!

So clearly we are not as good at updating as I had hoped for. A lot has happened in the last month and I think we will just try to squeeze in the highlights! Many of you already know, but on September 20th The Bonjernoor family joined us out here in Portland! We are thrilled to have our best friends living close by again. Jeremy is working for Bob's Red Mill (a long time favorite mill of Justin and myself) and we are hopeful that Tiff will soon have a salon position! Aiden seems to be doing great and is eager to start his new school! Gabby will be flying up from Califorinia in 2 weeks for a long weekend visit! It has been so wonderful to have family to explore the city with. Here are a few pictures of their exciting arrival:

they made it!

easy does it...

wow! that Uhaul was packed! I have no idea how they fit everything!

Update on Justin's work situation

I've have quite an interesting 2 week period that I thought I would share. I am teaching in a "behavior" classroom grades 6-8 and I have needed more support in the classroom than I have (1 parapro). My amazing assistant principal (Stacey Sibley) has many connections in Portland and "borrowed" some help for me over the past 2 weeks.

The help has come in the form of Student Behavior coaches and a parapro trainer. They have been incredible, absolutely the best I have ever worked with! And by the way the behavior coaches are giants... so far I have worked with (all former) 2 Dallas Cowboys, 2 New England Patriots, 2 college basketball players, and 1 NBA player! The tallest was 6'7'' and most weighed over 300lbs. Incredible. Many are going to return in November and throughout the year! I'll try to get pictures next time to show how small I have felt these past two weeks.