Mc "Rob"

Soccer coach... field trip guy...

This fall Rob not only coached Paige's team (again), but he also coached Gracie's team as well. Now this might not sound so amazing, but he also did it much of the time with Crew on his back (in the backpack) and Whitney in the wings. This term it sounded good for me to take classes at night. Good in theory, not so great for Rob. He is the best soccer coach ever - of course - just ask any of the girls or parents from the teams they all love him. While Rob had some down time after his Peacehealth Riverbend job wound down he also had some time to go on a field trip with Grace. It was back to his old Alma Mater at the University of Oregon. They all had a great time, and got to run some laps at Hayward Field. Thanks Rob for all you do. (Our neighbor and good friend came up with the McRob name, several of us have Robs for husbands and my Robs is easiest to distinguish the Mc.)

Family Traditions

Every year since Paige was 8 months old we have made a trip to the pumpkin patch. We loving going to Thistle Down Farms. We take the hay ride out, and we each pick "our" pumpkin.

We hang around the farm and check out the animals, the kids play in the hay maze, we buy produce, their amazing warm, fresh, homemade donuts and apple cider.

Happy Fall Harvest

There is a great little bridge that was a great picture spot. Crew just loves looking at the moose on his boots.

They are good at enduring my endless torment of picture taking...

We all love picking out our pumpkins. Rob equally loves hauling them all over the place for us.

Crew wasn't getting the, "Just one buddy, just one."

This is such a cute little farm. They have so many fun little places to explore.

The Oregon Coast

We recently spent the weekend at the Oregon Coast. We were very fortunate to experience incredible weather (seriously the girls were a little sunburnt). We decided to drive along Hwy 101 on our way home and made several stops along the way.

It was so much fun. The whole weekend was fantastic. I love family time.

Halloween Practice

While I was out of town last weekend in Portland, Rob being the amazing dad that he is got all of the kids ready in the Halloween costumes and took them to our wards Trunk-or-Treat. This is our cute little witch getting ready to go get some candy.


And this is our cute little Dragon, eating some candy.

...and our cat...

...the entire bunch...

...and tinkerbell, of course overwhelmed with joy for candy.

Although I missed out on this evening they were all generous enough to share their spoils with me. I love Halloween, even when its just practice.

Date Night

We recently had a family date night at one of our favorite restaurants, Bepe and Gianni's. Rob got home from work an hour early on a Friday night and suggested the idea and we all jumped on it. It was so much fun. We have always loved to go out as a family. Before we had any children we did it much more frequently, but vowed that even after we had kids we would still continue to do it.



As you can see, we are all happy about it. Well you can't see me because I am taking all the pictures, but I trust me I am also enjoying it. Bepe and Gianni's has delicious Italian food. The kids love the atmosphere because its a little more fancy than Red Robin. They love the bread with Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar. Plus pasta is a dish everyone in our family loves. It was so much fun being out for all of us. We had a lot of fun conversations, no one was complaining about what they had to eat, I didn't have to cook, or clean up. It was a lovely evening out so we even went for a little walk around the neighborhood after. Ahhhhh, we are so lucky to have such a cute little family.

Show me your smile...

Although, not necessarily camera ready, this is what we get when we actually ask Crew to smile. Its very loveable don't ya think?



He is gradually perfecting it. He knows whenever we ask, and he poses, we all laugh endearingly. He is pretty darn cute.

Girls Trip - Victoria

So I admit it. I am pretty spoiled. Not only do I have wonderful friends like Sandi (Brown hair) who happen to work for an airline and love me enough to take me along on trips with her to really great places. I also have a great husband who is always happy to watch the kids for me when I take breaks (I tell him its free therapy). Anyways... Sandi was so gracious and took me and Margaret (blond hair) away to Victoria for a quick weekend getaway. Not only was she able to fly us for free, but wait until you see the hotel she also was able to get us into for free. I think I need a job with Horizon Air.



This picture was taken right outside the hotel. They have the most lovely gardens. The flowers were not only abundant, but so colorful and beautiful. How could you not be in a good mood. Just on the right in the background is a little glimpse of the pool house. We went for a morning workout on Saturday, and I actually went swimming (without kids) and lounged in the hot tub. It was glorious. Not to mention they had a great workout room, and since I wasn't on a time frame I over did it and was sore for 3 days.

This is the Empress. Wow it was unbelievable. Sandi I owe you something serious. Chocolate for life. Dessert every month for a year. Whatever, just let me know. We stayed in the "Gold" section. OMG. We were treated like celebrities. They had this amazing lounge for "Gold" members that had the most amazingly delectable treats. There were just there for us anytime of the day all day, and when they ran out, they would put out more. For me it was pure heaven. Plus we had an amazing breakfast, and Hors D' Oeuvres in the evening. Hors D' Oeuvres, please it was a dinner, and it was good. They had even more desserts out for this...again...heaven.

There was a cute little Ice-cream parlor next to the hotel, and then a quaint restaurant with super yummy food. Ahhhh.

I absolutely loved Victoria. The people were so incredibly nice everywhere we went. The shopping was great and these streets were so cute. Don't I look very relaxed and happy. Free therapy.

Another cute pictures of my friends. This was also taken on the grounds of the hotel. It was pure luxury. There was a girl in the Lush store that asked where we were staying and when I told her the Empress her mouth dropped open and she said wow, you girls stay in style. Yippie, I felt really cool and sophisticated. Thanks Sandi, have I said that enough. It was so much fun.

Little Picassos

OK so this is a little bit of catch up from summer. Paige and Grace enjoyed a full week of art camp. They loved it. At the end they had a fantastic art show to showcase their work. It was so much fun to see their creativity and their hard work.

Boys and Motorcycles

What is it about boys and motorcycles? I mean I like to go for a ride on the 4 wheelers as well, but I don't go balistic about it. For Crew this was love at first sight. He saw the 4 wheeler and weasled his way on to it with some very convincing cries. Then he held on until we absolutely had to go home for bedtime. He loved it. He was very composed and kept his cool and just cruised around with Uncle John and his cousin Ander who is peeking out from the back. They had a great time racing up and around the hill at Rob's parents house. I am sure he would have slept on it if we would have let him. He is a bike magnet for any and all kinds. He already stands on the back of his tricycle and pulls up the front wheel for a wheeley. Crazy little man.

Indoor Picnic

We have had some very strange weather for August. Its 80 degrees with thunder storms and lightning. Whitney got this cute picnic blanket from Grace for her birthday so we decided to have an indoor picnic. Crew has figured out the pros of having 3 sisters. They will do everything for him. It works out well for me to. Although Crew and Whitney are like identical twins he and Grace look an awful lot a like in this picture. Love the diaper :) We are soooooo excited to potty train. A few more months people, a few more months.

Happy Birthday Whitney

Whitney has been excited for an entire year to turn 4. We celebrated together as a family and for breakfast opened presents. She loved her special day.



Paige gave Whitney a Dora Doll. Whitney wanted to have her hair the same and dress in her Hawiian dress to look like Dora. Dora spent the entire day with us.

Strawberry Patch

Going to pick strawberries is one of our family traditions. We do it every year. Its like a treasure hunt trying to find the biggest, reddest most perfect strawberry. It is hard to tell if we ever find it because many of the strawberries end up in someones belly. Each of us has our own bucket to fill up. Paige and Grace get theirs pretty fast, Witney gets about 1/4 of a bucket and Crew wears his like a hat.



As you can tell Crew was so excited to be there. He could hardly contain his enthusiasm.

Whitney spent the majority of the time getting herself water. She drank at least a gallon and then helped everyone else get water to.

Butte to Butte

On the fourth of July our entire family woke up at 6:30am so I could go run in the Butte to Butte. Its an annual 10K run that begins with the first mile being a really long steep hill. It was a really fun race hill and all. The best part for me though was that Rob amazingly wanted to go and see me run with all the kids in tow. They cheered me on at the start and then found me 3 other times along the way. I am so lucky to have such a cute and supportive family. It made the race that much better having them there.

Cheerleading

The girls did cheer camp. They loved it. Suprising? No. They love their dancing so this was par for the course. They were adorable doing their routines. I am glad they had a great time.

Lance Armstrong watch out

So the Tour de France started 4 days ago and as you can see our whole family is ready for it. These are Robs biking clothes. The kids all wanted to try them on. Crew has on the bibs. He looks a little more like a wrestler than a biker, but we are hopeful he will grow into them.

Getting ready for summer

Rob took this picture. I thought it was hilarious. With the start of summer also came the start of swimming lessons. Crew is not taking them yet, he obviously has to learn how to open his eyes with his goggles on before he figures out how to do it in the water.

Haircut for Paige

It was time wasn't it. Paige decided at long last that she wanted to cut her hair. So I grabbed the scissors had her stand in the shower and cut away. We sent the cut ponytail off to "Locks for Love" and then took Paige in to a professional stylist to even out my unprofessional job. The results are adorable. She looks so cute, and as a mom with 3 girls it makes my mornings go so much easier.

Tagged...!

OK so apparently it is my turn to be tagged and then tag you. So be warned it will be coming your way. Now don't blame me, because I was tagged before I tagged you from my friend Melissa a.k.a lulu the baker. Cute name Melissa I like it. Here we go rules and all.

#1 Link to the person who tagged you.

#2 Post the rules on your blog

#3 Write six random things about yourself

#4 Tag six people at the end of your post

#5 Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog

#6 Let the tagger know when your entry is up

Here are six random things about me:

#1 I am completely obsessed with food. Not just I like it, or I like it a lot, but obsessed. It is mainly related to things of the sugar, sweet, chocolate variety, but I am not biased food in general will do. Now a lot of people think they understand when I say this, but really you can't possibly. It is what I imagine happens to people that are addicted to alcohol or drugs and I don't say that lightly. I can eat a Costco size bag of peanut m&ms without blinking. Yes my stomach hurts after I finish, and yes I don't feel well for a little while either but thats not the point. I can and I often do eat it. I don't have a gage that tells me to stop or that I am full. I kind of have a bottomless pit. I can keep eating when everyone else has long since been done. Its really not funny. I don't know how to stop it, and I wonder if I would if I could. I mean sure its probably bad for my health long term, but I haven't taken the time to figure out how, I guess I haven't wanted to know. I love, love, love junk food. I "really" go many days with only eating junk. Its what I think about when I wake up. I say to myself, "OK" I am not going to eat anything bad for me today. And then 1:00 rolls around and I grab a bag of ghiradelli chocolate chips and polish them off, or bake them, which brings me to #2.

#2 I love, no wait, I LOVE to bake. I love measuring out all the ingredients, I love turning on my 6 qt stainless steel kitchen aid and hearing the whrrrr of the blade against the ingredients. My babies all fell asleep to this sound. I love to knead any dough I have to stick my hands in, I love to go to the grocey store and buy, buy, buy flour, cinnamon, sugar, cream (especially cream). Seriously though it really relates to #1 because I LOVE to eat dough, and batter. I'm not a dough or batter snob either, pretty much any dough or batter will do. Yes I know about raw eggs, but I DON"T CARE. It tastes good. I make brownies and cake not for the end result, but for the middle result. My husband would come home and say, "What is this in the pan?" He couldn't tell they were brownies or a cake because usually they rise more than a cm from the bottom of the pan. Ahhh baking I love the smell of freshly baked cinnamon rolls, bread, cookies, pastries, mmmmm this is making me hungry. There is just something soothing about creating something that looks, tastes, and smells so delicious.

#3 OK so if you don't know me you might be wondering about what I look like. Well along with an eating disorder/obsession I also have one for working out. Maybe I should have put this one first. I think this obsession ultimately wins out because if I am really training for something I will make myself do a sugar/baking fast. The longest has been 4 months. I love to run, I love to bike, hike, climb, lift weights, do the elipticle anything that involves a great workout I love. I love feeling completely exhausted where I can barely move my arms or my legs because they are so worn out they don't function anymore. It feels great. I ran a 10K today. I thought I was going to puke on the mile uphill because I ate 2 donuts yesterday for lunch, but it still felt great. I love to run, and run, and run and run. I am not fast, but I can go forever. It is my stress reliever, my vice, my coping mechanism, and the way I deal with my eating obsession. I don't know if I run to eat, or eat to run, but either way I love them both.

#4 I love babies. If you know me at all you will know this. I can't walk by one without making some ridiculous sound. Alas this is why I have 4 of my own. Being pregnant kills me or I would have 10 at least I am sure. I love them. I love to hold them, kiss them. I am immune to their crying. Trust me. My first had colic for a year screaming often all her waking moments, but I still had more. I love love love love babies. My friend Heather let me watch her 3 week old and I almost cried I was so excited. He would have probably slept the whole time in his car seat but NO WAY, I held him while I played wii with his big brother. My baby is 19 months now and I don't care I will hold him until he is 5 if he lets me, or until my hip breaks. There is just something about their sweet gentle spirits that I can't get enough of.

#5 I am really scared of heights. This is something I try to keep on the down low because I love to rock climb, hike, and mountain climb. So the two don't really mix. Its absurd I know. I didn't really understand until I met my husband Rob. He took me rock climbing for our first date and thats when I knew this is the man I am going to marry, I loved it. Then we started to go all the time outdoors and the first time I had to repell off a 90 foot cliff I swore I was going to die. I am fine once I am off the edge and scaling down, but I can't make myself move off the end very well. I have learned to not look down, and I close my eyes and take deep breaths when I need to. Rob on the other hand is crazy, crazy, he runs off the cliff facing forward (Austrian repelling) and runs down the cliff. He has issues.

#6 I'm a news junky. I love the news. Newspaper, online, TV, however I can get it I will take it. It really interesting to me. I like to know what is going on everywhere with everyone. hmmm I wonder what that means about me....anyways I really love to watch CNN, PBS, Fox News,Katie, Larry King, Anderson Cooper, GMA, whatever. If its news worthy I will take it. I love sportscenter, ESPN I, II, etc. News News News.

Now on to the tagging. Happy times people Happy times.
- Brooke Cottle (love ya)
- Laura Church (miss you)
- Susie (I hope we move closer to you)
- Margaret (my amazing blogger friend and workout buddy)
- Ashley (whats up)
- Lanie (lets get together soon!!!)

Mine

Our little Crew said his first 4 letter word today. MINE. We all laughed really hard. Really it wasn't his first 4 letter word rather his first 4 letter word that we regret him learning at such a young age. It was incredibly clear and very distinct. Mine, as in, "Don't touch, get away, I'm not sharing". Its actually suprising that it wasn't his first word since he is the 4th child, but other things like dog, ball, car, bike all seemed more important for his vocabulary. We are grateful. He is pretty cute and convincing as you can see, however, I am sure at least with all of us the charm will eventually wear off when he is grabbing my sunglasses (I am already on my 3rd pair this summer thanks to Crew), or the wii remotes from the girls.

Stephenie Meyers, "The Host"

So way back in May I skipped school to go with some girlfriends up to Portland to Stephenie Meyer's book signing for her latest release, "The Host". We are all a little bit smitten with her Twilight series (http://www.stepheniemeyer.com). Although I felt a bit guilty going without Margaret, we had a very interesting crew going. Jen with her -had surgery 3 days before including installing several pins into her leg, brought along her mom and really good friend who I can't remember her name. Brooke with baby Ethan, pregnant Kristi and Kristine, and me. Thanks to Jen's pain and suffering we had the entire front row. It was such a great time. Stephenie is a talented individual, entertaining speaker who is passionate about her characters and loves what she is doing. She was a gracious host and asked that those with injuries (JEN) and with babies (BROOKE) get to go through and have their books signed first.