Another home project completed

Ever since our remodel in 2019, I have been anxious to update our banister by getting rid of the outdated spindles and replacing them with updated balusters.

It may have taken three years but we can finally check that project off the list and I'm in love with the finished look!

 

{T} souvenirs from Disney

Anyone who knows Ty would understand the two souvenirs he came home with...a softy and a puzzle. Yep, that pretty much sums up Ty!

 

{J} WHS Swim Team

Jake was on the high school swim team this winter and he did really well! All season long I heard from coaches and other parents who were surprised that Jake hadn't had club experience based on his performances in every race he swam.

At districts Jake was on the winning boys relay team, as well as the boys team took 1st place overall. Amazing performances by so many swimmers!

{J} & {T} Special Delivery

We have a new piano and it is a BEAUTY!!!

It's kind of crazy that for the past eight years our old, beat up piano has lived in our garage. Despite the condition and location of the piano, Jake and Ty have been excellent at practicing and both have become very good pianists. 

I was so thrilled to finally give them the piano that they both deserve.

{CA} Disneyland

Day 3 & Day 4 of our trip were spent in Disneyland...the Happiest Place on Earth!!!

One of my favorite memories is Jake agreeing to "close the park" with me (he was the only one interested in getting in one more ride after the firework show). He and I ran to Space Mountain as soon as the fireworks ended and by the time we got there the line was about 45 minutes long but we were committed. We waited and waited and waited (it was NOT 45 minutes) and as we were finally within "boarding" the entire ride shut down. We were in shock and weren't sure whether we should leave or continue to wait. We chose the later and they did get the ride back up and running but that made for a very late night.

One of the most disturbing memories is literally getting stuck on It's a Small World. Literally the ride shut down - we weren't moving but that song was still playing!!! We could literally see the exit but we couldn't get to it. In the end they had to evacuate us all boat by boat. Who chose that ride anyway???

{CA} California Adventure theme park

February is the perfect time to take a break from the Oregon rain and seek sunshine. Knowing this, we gave Jake and Ty a "Disney trip" for Christmas and this was our week to go. 

We scheduled two days at California Adventure Park and two days at Disneyland, with Rich's sister, Heather, and her family joining us for one day at each park. It was such a fun trip and having the cousins join us just made it even better. Having the kids a bit older also made it more fun...we learned the value of using the "single rider" line and we took advantage of the kids being old enough to ride solo.

(Jenna, Jordyn, Ty, Nate, Rachel)