Logan's Christmas Letter

Logan got to meet "Santa" the other day. He did so great, just walked right up to him and had a nice conversation. So different than his mother who would scream and hyperventilate at the thought of sitting on Santa's lap... This evening I transcribed this letter for Logan: Dear Santa, My name is Logan. For Christmas I want a new Thomas train, a freight car, a red freight car, a purple dinosaur, a yellow dinosaur, an orange dinosaur, a mad orange dinosaur, cars, Doc the Hudson Hornet, racecars, new trains, new trucks and a bear. Love Me (Logan)

We put the letter in the mail box and I explained how the whole process worked (the mailman, the north pole, etc) He was very intrigued!

Halloween....a bit late

I know it's almost Christmas and I haven't posted the Halloween pics! Here are some cute ones of Logan and Kaylee. Logan was an explorer for Halloween. He had a great time trick or treating with Kaylee and handing out candy at my dad's house. He was so cute, he'd go up to people's doors and knock and at the same time say "I'm knocking on your door." I guess just so there was no confusion. Then he'd say "More candy, please." At least he said please. He said Trick or Treat a few times, but mostly just asked for more candy. He really "got" the concept of Halloween (weird as that concept is) this year, but the next morning asked if we were going to ask people for candy again. He thought (hoped) it was an every day occurrence.

Funny Kid Story!

Logan is so funny...Whenever he doesn't get his way I say, "That's the breaks, kid," because that's the annoying response my dad always gave me. Logan usually screams back, "That's NOT the breaks." Anyway, last night he made a big mess out of his dinner (which is not at all unusual), I said, "Why do you make such big messes, Logan?" He continued smearing food on his placemat and said, without looking up, "That's the breaks, mom." It was both absolutely endearing and a little annoying. :)

My Little Goofball

Logan loves to take my kitchen utensils into the tub with him (hey, free bath toys!) and the strainer is his favorite. He told me that it is his "helmet to keep him safe." He's so funny!

Updates

Our garden has been a huge success! The corn and onions are beautiful and delicious.

Logan got his first pairs of "big boy" underwear. He likes to wear them on his head!

Aaaahhhh---I've been so busy the last few weeks, I haven't had a spare second to update the blog! I don't have the time or the energy for any witty remarks, so I'll just upload pics. Enjoy!

Packwood Trip

We decided to take a trip a few weeks ago to Packwood. I moved away when I was 8 and I've always missed it. We rented an awesome cabin and did a little hiking. Logan's favorite part was the pool. They have a great toddler pool that was just his size. He even kept his water wings on, which was miraculous. It was HOT, but a good time was had by all.

Ostrander Creek

It's hard to believe this serene creek can wreak so much havoc in the winter! We took Logan down to look for crawdads on one of the super hot days. Lots of fun, no crawdads...

Can You Bake Cookies in a Car?

Yes, yes you can! I read an article on the internet that said you can bake cookies on your car's dash if the weather is 100 degrees or above. Hmmm...fresh baked cookies while I work? Heck yeah! I ran to the store on my lunch break and picked up the pre-made chocolate chip cookie dough and grabbed my cookie sheet from home. Three hours later...warm, fresh dash cookies! My car smelled like I imagine heaven would smell and I had delicious cookies! It was a day full of WIN!! Also, since the cookies were cooked fully by solar power, the calories didn't count....being earth-friendly=no calories. Right? And, yes, I will go to bizarre lengths for cookies.

Fun with the Girls

We just love our girls! We let them out at night to chase bugs and run around. They don't mind being picked up or petted and they love to hang out in Grant's doghouse. He sniffs them, but never harasses them or anything. They aren't too sure about Logan, but he sure loves them. They are giving us 2-3 eggs a day, which is awesome. Fun times at the Engkraf Farm!

Zoo Pics

Logan had his first trip to the zoo a few weekends ago. I didn't get very many pictures, but rest assured, he had a great time. He liked the polar bears a lot, they were very active. We had some fun in the petting zoo until the goats started to nibble at my shirt. He got very protective and screamed, "Get away from my mommy! No, no goats!"

4th of July

Yeah, I know it's almost August. It took me awhile to catch up. Check out my holiday themed chips and salsa!

Fishy fun

Brian took our neighbor John up to Castle Lake for a hike and some fishing. As you can see, they were successful. Logan and Grant tried to help clean too. Logan likes to say, "My Daddy fishing." We'll have to get him a pole soon!

Got Rant?

I can't contain my disdain any longer. I am so done with the "Got ___" campaign. Sure, "Got Milk" was cute in its inception 15 years ago. It's not so much the milk ad thing that incenses me, it's the myriad knock-offs that have cropped up. Not that these ubiquitous duplications are anything new, I just happened to see one the other day that was the proverbial straw that broke this camel's back. I was behind a local roofing company's truck and there it was, in HUGE vinyl letters on the back window.... "GOT ROOF." Got roof. No question mark. No nothing. The glaring lack of punctuation aside, the entire premise is preposterous. As a statement, it's stupid. As a question, it's stupid. As a whole, it's stupid. I suppose the whole slogan became such an ingrained part of our culture because you can add it to anything and have a ready made ad pitch. Daycare? Got Kids? Veterinarian? Got Pets? I get it, it's simple, it's to the point. But it's ANNOYING. Let's move on. It's poor grammar, people! Won't someone think of the children?
/rant

Our First Egg!!

Yay! The chickens (well, one of them) is finally starting to earn her keep. Brian found this cute little egg in the coop yesterday. It was sitting out in the sun, so we're not going to cook it. It's still in the fridge though, we just love it! We call it Eggbert. Ok, I call it Eggbert... Hopefully there are more to come!

Just Chillin'

I wish I knew what he was thinking about sometimes...

We Meet Thomas the Tank Engine!

We took Logan to the Hood River Railroad to meet his obsession, Thomas! He got a choo choo tattoo, played with trains, went to a petting zoo, ate pizza and rode the train. He had so much fun, we can't wait until Thomas comes back next year.

Me and My Buddy

A fun day at the park with mommy.

Mt. St. Helens Graduation Trip

I just finished a 9-month Leadership Academy that I took through my job. It was a great experience and I learned a lot. For our "graduation" we got to take a tour bus up to Mt. St. Helens and visit the revamped visitor center at Johnston Ridge and Hoffstadt Bluffs. Even though I've visited there several times, we stopped at a few places that I had never been. It was a really fun trip and I got some pretty pictures. I'm now a certified leader, I have the piece of paper to prove it!

"Moth is to Flame..."

"As Logan is to Dirt" That could be on the SAT analogies section. Thank God for Spray n Wash!