Oregon Trip

Nathan was asked by Walsh to go down to the Career Fair at OSU to recruit for the Seattle division in Corvallis this year, so Jake and I decided to go along and see some friends. We stayed with our friends Libby and Joe (below is a picture of Jacob relaxing watching Survivor on tv at their house). We had a great time, we went out to Nate's all-time favorite restaurant Big River in Corvallis where he can get his favorite meal and favorite dessert. Libby and I went to the fabulous new spa in Corvallis, 7 Stones where she works at, for a wonderful pedicure (thanks again Libby)!

I had to drop off and pick up Nate a few times around campus for the Career Fair, and it was surreal being on campus. Seeing all the students walking around with their backpacks, hurrying off to class, cars circling parking lots hoping to find parking. It feels so long ago that I was in their shoes, and unbelievable that I was back on OSU campus with my husband and my son.

Joe and Libby's two dogs, Bell (on the floor) and Wyatt (on the couch) - Jake had fun playing with them.

Libby, Jacob and I went over to my old work, OSU Federal Credit Union in Corvallis to visit some friends. It was great seeing everyone! I miss all of you!

On Friday, before Nate, Jake and I headed down to Eugene, we stopped off in Philomath to meet up with some friends for lunch. Here is Jacob with Carri's little girl, Lily (2 months older than Jake).

We went back to Jackie's work after lunch, where the kids got to play with toys and a doggie.

Lily, Carri, Jackie, Jess, and Jacob

It was great to see all of you, it was wonderful to catch up!!

(and Bryan too)!

Jacob crashed out in the car on the way to Eugene

Hanging out at Great-Grandma Abby's

Jacob found the piano at Abby's house, he enjoyed rockin' out!

And no grandma... we do not want a piano for Christmas!

We went over to Jerry's Home Improvement Store in Eugene to visit Grandpa Bill where he works. And of course, it was the weekend the store was having a HUGE tool sale (we were in the store for 2 hours) and we are now proud owners of a table saw. Don't even ask how we loaded it into our car... plus the stroller, plus the pack-n-play, plus the highchair, plus the luggage, plus Jake's toys, etc...

Grandpa Bill and Jacob

Jake kept stealing my dad's pens out of his apron, he found it quite funny for some reason.

Then we spend a few days at our friends Matt and Sara's house. (I liked this picture of Jake having some lunch at their house for some reason). Matt and Sara are in middle of remodeling their home, they are doing some very eco-friendly things, like recycled paint. For those of you that know Sara, you know there is no other way! Great job guys, you are an inspiration to all of us.

We went out to dinner at a Brewery one night for dinner in Eugene and we participated in trivia night and we did awesome!!! We got second place out of maybe 23 teams or so. I think our secret weapon was Jacob, he was pretty good at the political and sports questions, since that's all he hears about these days! Hahaha.

Sara and I also visited a local gallery in Eugene that was celebrating dia de los muertos (day of the dead) a Mexican holiday to honor and celebrate loved ones who have passed. Sara teaches high school Spanish and encourages her students to experience the culture outside her classroom, so we went and checked out the gallery before her students do. It was very moving, makes you wonder what your loved ones would display on a table that would describe you.

On Saturday, we took a walk with Matt, Sara and their dog Billie and met up with our friends Melissa and Cary at a park. Jacob had a great time, he loved all the attention, and he got to go down the slide with Cary and Mel over and over and over again!

Jacob swinging with Sara

Awwww... holding hands... they are so in love. Okay, really, they were lining their feet up to start a contest to see who could swing the highest. I think Matt won, but in all fairness, he is taller.

And awww again... Melissa pushing Cary... hey, shouldn't Cary be pushing Melissa....

Jacob wishing he was taller.

Would you like a leaf?

Aunt Mel and Uncle Cary bought Jacob an early Christmas present! This great red couch that Jake is standing on (he doesn't quite understand the concept yet) and it folds out to a bed as well. It's so cute, thanks Melissa and Cary. And yes, we had to fit in the car with the table saw... it was about the size of a basketball when Nate shoved it in the car, but it's okay now, it was not harmed during the process.

Lounging

Aren't they cute?

Aunt Sara and Jacob

And who is in control of this remote for the television?!?

That's right, ME!

Going out to dinner on our last night in town (Matt even sacrificed the Duck game on tv - we thank you Matty)!

Pumpkin Patch

My mom and I took Jacob to the pumpkin patch this year with some friends, Marshall, Nan and JP while Nathan was hunting with some friends in Eastern Washington this weekend. There is so much to do at the pumpkin patch, unfortunately, Jacob isn't quite old enough - maybe next year. They have monster truck rides, bouncy land, haunted woods, and flash light corn mazes. But we were able to check out the farm animals and experience our first hay ride!

Jacob having some lunch (with his 9 1/2 teeth)! Yummy corn on the cob.

Hmmmm.... which one do I want? So many choices!

Mom... I want THIS one!

Jacob and I picking out our pumpkin this year.

Jacob and I last year, what a difference a year makes. My little baby is such a little boy now.

Jacob posing this year behind the pumpkin at 13 months old.

Jacob posing last year at the same pumpkin at 1 month old.

So long ago!

Kisses!

Jacob had always given kisses (to anyone) he went from nice kisses when he was little, to open mouthed, sloppy kisses later, then onto kisses that turned into biting when his teeth started coming in. Since we have gotten back from Tahoe, Jacob has been in a mommy-mood. He has given me so many bear hugs and kisses over the past 2 days, I have lost count. About every 15 minutes, he stops what he is doing, and runs over to give me some loves. He now understands the word "kiss" if Jake is across the room and I say come give me a kiss, he runs over with his little lips puckered and plants one on me, it's ADORABLE - and I can't help but get a little teary eyed...

Lake Tahoe Trip

We had an amazing opportunity to take a trip to Lake Tahoe last week (a huge thanks to Aunt Lisa)! My Mom, Darel, Nathan, Jacob and I stayed for a week in Squaw Valley - home to the 1960 Olympics in a beautiful condo at the base of the mountain, where the ski lifts were right out our front door. It was an awesome vacation, very relaxing and we had a great time. Again, I didn't have my camera, but luckily Darel had his camera with him, we were able to capture some of our vacation. My mom, Jacob and I flew out of Seattle into Reno airport, while Nathan and Darel drove down with all our luggage (and numerous Jacob items) so we didn't have to rent a car. Mom's poor Lexus got to meet some very interesting hunting roads on the way down, many dirt roads that turned into highways along the way (hey, it's the way the GPS told them to go). Needless to say, the boys took I-5 all the way back home. This was Jacob's first plane ride and he did GREAT! No crying, he loved looking out the window and thankfully, both flights were not full, so we had an extra seat for him - which he thought was pretty cool.

Here is the village next to our condo, most of the stores and restaurants had strange hours because it wasn't peak season yet. The weather was warm for the first 5 days we were there, then snowed the last 2 days. We would love to see the area covered in the snow, but it was great to be there during the non-tourist season, especially with Jacob. Thank goodness there was a Starbucks in the Village, only open from 7am-5pm which is unheard of in Seattle, many are open 24 hours. I think the most money we spent in Tahoe was at Starbucks throughout the week!!! Good old Chai Teas and Latte and Mochas!

We took a drive around Lake Tahoe many times, it was so beautiful. We spent a lot of time in Tahoe City and South Lake Tahoe. The houses were amazing around the lake... what a life!

Okay, so I can't stand this picture of me, but it's one of the only family photos we captured on this trip. I seem to always be behind the camera lens!

Jacob has been walking now for 2 months, but now he is running everywhere. It's difficult to keep up with him. Between running, a higher elevation of 6,200 feet and traveling, he slept great the entire week. Honestly, I was a little nervous on how Jacob would be a week away from home, but he was incredible, hardly cried and kept us entertained and laughing constantly. He was a lot of fun and I wouldn't hesitate to go on another vacation soon (hint, hint)...

While driving around Lake Tahoe, I wanted to take a detour to Fallen Leaf Lake. We weren't sure where the lake was, but after a very long narrow windy road, out in the middle of nowhere, there is a beautiful lake with incredible log cabins around it. A very seclusive area, I would recommend the drive to anyone!

We stopped at a park in Tahoe City

Jacob has been into handing his toys to anyone who will take them for months now, and then proceeds to take them right back (as if he just wanted you to see them, not take them). Now, he hands anything and everything to anyone. You can imagine all the lovely things you will find in the outdoors - so most of my pictures of Jacob are of him handing things to someone. And if you put them down, he then hands them right back to you - acting offended you didn't keep his precious items.

I wish we had gotten better pictures of Jake sliding, he absolutely loved it! He would laugh all the way down the slide.

We had a full kitchen in the condo, but we went out to eat a few times. Here we are at River Ranch, we also ate at Jake's in Tahoe City which was really good (Jake eating at Jake's, hahaha - I know, it's late and I'm tired).

We took a hike up to Eagle Lake one day, which is about 8 miles from South Lake Tahoe. It was a lot of fun, especially for Jacob. It was about 1 mile to the lake and at a steady incline, so it took some time, but we had a great time.

We made it!

We also saw a bear looking for some food (don't worry, he wanted fish, not us)!

Taking a walk along the waterfront, Jacob wanted to get out of the stroller and have some fun. As I am sure I have mentioned, he is a very independent little boy, refuses to hold anyone's hand and runs the exact opposite way you are trying to get him to go. But it's just so adorable to watch him run across the grass!

We drove back to South Lake Tahoe on one of the snowy days to try and take the Gondola ride, but it closed due to high winds. Here is a picture of Emerald Bay (right across the road from Eagle Lake Trail). This is the only part of Lake Tahoe that has froze over. Here is another fact I found interesting: 1.4 million tons of water evaporates from the surface of Lake Tahoe daily, dropping the lake level about 1/10 of an inch. Pretty interesting...

It became extremely windy on our 6th day at Tahoe, what a huge difference from the nice calm water and weather we were used to when we first arrived.

Unfortunately, on the plane ride home, my mom and I had to hang out at the airport for awhile before our flight. We found a place out of most of the foot traffic to let Jake run and run and run some more. There were lots of slot machines by our gate in Reno, every 10 minutes, the theme song from Wheel of Fortune would come on (Jake's 2nd favorite show) and he would stop running and dance, it was hilarious! He made a lot of friends on each of our flights, he is very friendly and of course, loves attention. On our flight home, he actually fell asleep for an hour - I guess all that running really paid off!

He loved this bear in the airport, I think he wanted to take it home with him.

We had a great family vacation, it's amazing how quickly a week goes by when you are having fun.