What does your dog do while you are out?

Our dog routinely finds stuffed animals and undresses them....... see for yourself.

Happy Holidays!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Mason's 1st Christmas Day Whirlwind!

Christmas morning joy
What is in my stocking?
Grandma Linda
Mom, me, Jamie and Mason

Just thinking about Christmas Day exhausts me months in advance! Since Michael and I started "seriously" dating, we have seen all sets of parents over Christmas thus far. Being Mason's 1st Christmas, we wanted him to see everyone, and vice versa. Mark my words.... this is the last year of this nonsense!
Next year we are hoping to have our house done (well, done enough) to have the family come to us. Here is a run down of our Christmas Day:
Wake up at 6:30, feed Mason, make much needed coffee
drink coffee, open stockings, watch Mason open gifts (which really consists of crinkling all of the wrapping paper!)
Mike showers
I shower
Out the door by 9'ish
Arrive at Grandma Linda's by 9:30, where we proceed to gorge ourselves with sweet rolls, cinnamon rolls, bacon, french toast, guava juice......
open gifts
open more gifts
1:30 pack it all up and drive to Longview
2:45 arrive at my Dad's house
sit, visit, open gifts, take pictures
3:45 take the 5 minute drive to my mom & Gary's ( I know, how funny that they live that close, huh??)
eat some more
open more gifts, take some more photos... well, you get the point
7:45 pm.... we are on our way back home..... our poor dogs have been home alone all day!
Regardless, we had a great Holiday, and love seeing all of our family. I am thankful for the hour nap that I get from Lake Oswego to Longview!

Christmas Eve at Grammy & Grampy Boyds

Karri & Brenda
Uncle Chris & Aunt Jody! Mason thought he was visiting Santa again! ha ha!
Randall & Thu joined us from Austin this year! (Brenda's son & daughter in law)
The Christmas Eve tradition is dinner and gifts at David & Brenda's place (Michael's Dad & step mom). This year Randall & Thu were here to experience "Arctic Blast 2008"! Being down in the Pearl, they were still able to get around and experience Portland's great shopping. This was by far one of the most fun Christmas Eves that I can remember!

Christmas, of course!

This Christmas in particular is quite special due to having our wonderful little Mason. He is in awe of the tree, and if he could just reach it.... the possibilities are endless. This time of year reminds us of how blessed we truly are, rich in friends and family (but not much else!). I hope all of you have a magical holiday as well.
With love,
Michael, Karri & Mason

Swimming!

We finally got Mason down to the MAC for his 1st pool experience. He loves his bath, so we knew the pool would be a good time for him! This pool in particular is kept at 85 degrees, nice and warm for baby!

The Biggest Loser..

Michael and I have been watching The Biggest Loser faithfully this year... mostly due to the horrific woman we have come to know as Vicky. She is just terrible! Poor sportsmanship, catty, immature.... the list goes on and on. Well, last week she kind of fell apart and lost a challenge. I wish I could say that I felt sorry for her, but I would be lying. I don't think that Michael and I have ever agreed on something like this before.

We did, however, find a silver lining in the show. Heba and Ed prepared Turkey Thai Wraps for Bob.... and they looked good. Michael made them last night and they were just as good as they looked! So, I've decided to pass on the goods, hopefully the recipe copies correctly!

Ingredients
• 1.25 lbs Jennie-O Extra Lean ground turkey (1 package)
• 1 head of Boston leaf lettuce
• 1 carrot, peeled and minced
• 1 clove of garlic, chopped
• 1 tsp fresh ginger, minced
• Juice of four limes
• 2 tsp Sriacha chili sauce (tsp! not tbsp! HOT, HOT!)
  
• 1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped
• Garnish:
• 1 red pepper, minced
• 1/2 cucumber, deseeded and julienned
• 2 tbsp roasted cashews, chopped (we bought cashews, and have yet to find them....)
  

Directions
1. Cook turkey in skillet till no longer pink, then transfer to a dish and cool in refrigerator. Remove core from head of lettuce, then wash and dry leaves. Combine next 7 ingredients (carrots through green onions) in a bowl, then stir in cooked and chilled Jennie-O turkey. Arrange lettuce leaves on the outer rim of a serving plate. Spoon turkey mixture onto the center of each lettuce leaf to create wraps. Garnish with peppers, cucumber and cashews.

Exciting!

I finally learned how to jazz the 'ol blog up a bit. Granted, I haven't spent much time researching the art of blogs, but now that I am aware...... it's on!

Florida trip!

Last weekend Emilee (my sister) and I flew to Orlando to visit our brother Nate. He moved there about a month ago after accepting a job at EA Sports. He is the marketing director for Madden Football! Sweet job. He gave us a t0ur of his building~ we got to play in the "ball pit", which is actually one of their conference rooms! I want that job! A great time was had by all, but I sure was ready to get back home to Mike and Mason. Momma's first trip away from her baby~ we both did fine :)

ABC'S of me!

A is for age: 26. 31
B is for burger of choice: Dungeon Burger from
C is for the car I drive: Volvo Wagon
D is for your dog’s name: Maisy and Brody
E is for essential item you use every day: Sonicare tooth brush
F is for favorite TV show at the moment: 30 Rock
G is for favorite game: Mad Gab
H is for home state: Washington
I is for instruments you play: sadly, none.
J is for favorite juice: grapefruit
K is for whose bum you’d like to kick: I don't have the energy today!
L is for last restaurant at which you ate: McDonald's.... pathetic
M is for your favorite Muppet: the Swedish Chef
N is for number of piercings: 1 in each ear
O is for overnight hospital stays: last one was my C section, 4 blissful days
P is for people you were with today: 2, Nate and Em
Q is for what you do with your quiet time: Clean, usually
R is for biggest regret: Not being as serious about school as I should have been
S is for status: Exhausted.....
T is for time you woke up today: Not sure, I am in Florida and I am not sure what time zone my body is in yet!
U is for what you consider unique about yourself: I would say I am more wierd than unique, in general
V is for vegetable you love: fresh green beans and asparagus and corn
W is for worst habit: wasting time on the internet
X is for x-rays you’ve had: 1
Y is for yummy food you ate today: mocha/peppermint frappaccunio. yummy
Z is for zodiac: Aquarius

Halloween '08

In a year of firsts, we celebrated Mason's first Halloween with our friends the Johnston's. They went ALL out in decorating their house... unfortunately I have no pictures as my camera had a meltdown that day. Luckily I was able to get a few photos from the hostest with the mostest, Monica.
Mason was a sock monkey, along with his trainer, Mike, and mom had to get creative the day of, due to having the flu all week! I was some sort of 80's rocker. Big earrings, loud makeup, I'll do that any day of the week!
The other darling children you will see are Bella the polar bear and Jackson the doctor!

Honest Weblog Award

Honest Weblog Award

I have been prized with the Honest Weblog award by Rebecca Watson

“When you receive the prize you must write a post showing it, together with the name of who has given it to you, and link them back.

Choose a minimum of 7 blogs (or more) that you find brilliant in their content or design. Show their names and links and leave them a comment informing they were prized with ‘Honest Weblog’.

List [if you can and/or dare] at least ten honest things about yourself. And then, pass it on.”


My Honest Weblog Award goes to:

Lizzy

Beth

Becca

Jenn

Christen

Now, to the list of 10 honest things about me:

1. I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up (If only being a stay at home mom paid well!)

2. I love lounging inside on a rainy day.

3. I love the end of February, when we always get that awesome glimpse of summer.....Happy Hour, anyone??

4. My husband is the most compassionate person I know.

5. I am glad my 20's are over. 30's are much better!

6. Motherhood is still extremely overwhelming to me... but I wouldn't trade it for the world.

7. I love living in Portland. No better place.

8. I am terrible at math, yet I work in the finance world... hmmmm......

9. I wish that my Dad would write a biography. He has had such a difficult life, and is still the most generous man you'll ever meet.

10. My niece, Madalyn, is the kindest person you'll meet. And she is only 12. We should all learn from her.

Tuckered out at the end of the party....

Pumpkin Carving at the Chrz Compound!

Thw winning pumpkin! Courtesy of Sarah McCarty!
Hay Ride!

Scott & Ethen McCarty

We were blessed with gorgeous weather yesterday for Lori & Clint's Annual Pumpkin Carving Party. They live on 5 acres in rural Sherwood... and, they have chickens! It is always fun to catch up with old friends and see how big their kiddos are getting! We even got to enjoy a hay ride! Daddy carved our pumpkin for us.

The never ending scarf........

I started this darn scarf a good year and a half ago, give or take a few months. I was certain that I would love knitting, because I don't "sit" very well. I must have a task. Why, oh why, is this taking so long?? I'll tell you: KNITTING IS BORING! I would rather scrub my bathtub........ watch grass grow...... you get my point!

7 months old!

I know that every parent says that time flies... I am here to confirm that! Where in the heck did the last 7 months go?? When did we go from an 8 lb newborn to an 18 pounder? We continue to love him to pieces, which is easy because he is a little sweetpea. He is sitting up, and desperately trying to pull his knees up to crawl. Not a fan of rolling over, which I find humorous. He has taken quite an interest in the dogs and cats... boy, are they in for a surprise once he is crawling!

4 days in Cannon Beach.......

Usually our trips to Cannon Beach consist of eating maple bars, drinking coffee and spending a lot of time on the couch. Don't get me wrong, we still did all of that! We enjoyed lots of time on the beach, as we had gorgeous weather. Mason could barely move because we had him wrapped up so tight! Friday we found our way to the Tillamook Cheese Factory..... excellent ice cream.
We also got to visit with my cousin Alison, and her baby Kaden, born only 10 days after Mason!
Can't wait to go back!

Does a deer poop... in Uncle Gary's front yard?

Why, yes, it does! Last week Mason, Emilee (my sister) and I spent the night with our beloved Uncle Gary. The purpose of the visit was to lay Aunt Mary in her final resting place. Her wish was to have her ashes scattered in the Columbia River, not far from her home in Long Beach, Washington. The next morning, while Mason and I enjoyed breakfast, we enjoyed watching a deer walking through the front yard of Uncle Gary's house. Apparently this is a daily occurrence. Oh, the things that we miss out on living in the city!
You might find the title of this blog odd, but I know that Aunt Mary will giggle when she reads it
Rest In Peace, my lovely Aunt Mary......

I just realized something....

A "blog"'s original intent was for people to write about things... I have just realized that all I do is post cute pictures and little notes.
I will try to actually write something with content next time! I have to thank my friend Lizzy for her blog, as hers actually made me aware of this faux pas!

Duh, Karri!

Mason's first pair of jeans!

This is a picture from my cell phone, so the quality isn't great. I put Mason into his first pair of jeans and nearly kissed his face off, he looks so cute! Who says girl stuff is cuter??

Promise to start blogging more!

Michael is smart and stuff....

That's right, Michael is an official graduate of Willamette's MBA program. 2 long, hard years of homework, group projects and eating at Elephant's Deli finally came to an end. We were just 1 of 3 couples that had a baby during the program...
Congratulations, Michael. We are so very proud of this huge accomplishment!!!

5 months old!

Just a few fun photos of Mason and his friend, Emmitt Bailey. Mike and Kevin sure make cute daddies, don't they??