Folding Laundry Fail...

Hi Everyone! I'm getting a little bit of a late start blogging this week.  I had such a fun weekend! I got to go out with the Hubs to a fun party, and had just enough relaxing. I can't post pictures of the party because, we were hanging out with a few of our favorite people from Portland City Hall, and I have a "no pictures of public officials" policy. Ha! They weren't doing anything. It's just out of respect for the people in public positions and their staff. :)  It was a great time though! Then I spent Monday hanging out at home doing laundry. Ugh! I can't stand folding laundry! Example: 

This is my laundry room... 

(Notice the laundry on the counter)

This is what comes out of my laundry room...

(Yikes! I took this picture with my phone.)

  

Grumble Grumble Grumble.... Look at this laundry pile!!! Every time I procrastinate folding laundry like this, I swear that I will NEVER do this again!  Let me say it again... I hate folding laundry. It's not that I hate washing laundry. I just don't like stopping and standing in one place to fold for 30 minutes, and I can almost think of anything that I would rather do. I stay on top of it for a while, but then I'll have a busy week or something. This is when it ends up getting completely out of control, and we are digging through baskets of clean clothes looking for shirts and underwear. Then when I finally can't take it anymore... I take it all out into the living room, and dump it on the couches to fold. Only now instead of it taking 30 minutes, it takes over 2 hours! (with constant interruptions from a 3 year old) Geesh! When am I ever going to learn!!  This cycle has to be broken, so I am now pledging to to random people of the blog-o-sphere. "I Betsy will now fold as I go!!!"   How do you manage staying on top of your family's laundry? Do you fold as you go? Do you have a "laundry day" every week?  I would love to know!

             ~Betsy

Friday Faves

Hi Y'all! Here are a few things that I have been loving this week. I hope you all have a great weekend!!

Plain Fat Free Greek Gods Greek Yogurt + Hidden Valley Ranch Dips = Snack Heaven!

I recommend eating this with whole wheat pita chips, but you decide. :)

Dear Santa, This year I want these compression calf sleeves for running. Thank you!

The Waves.  

With all these rainy days in Oregon; it feels good to let the hair go wavy! 

This hair color. 

Deck the Halls...

Hi Y'all!!  I haven't written in a few days because life has been busy this week! Phew!! Not much exciting going on, just busy days. The holidays are coming, and I have been doing a whole lot of online holiday shopping instead of blogging. We celebrate Christmas in Idaho with the Hubs' family. This means that holiday shopping for the kids has to be done online, because they are too old to get away with stashing presents in the car anymore.  All gifts to be wrapped and placed under the tree on Christmas Eve. I LOATHE wrapping all gifts at one time. I am not a good wrapper, and it just takes forever.  It's really fun the next morning though!!

All though we celebrate in Idaho, we still put a tree up at home because it's really fun for the kids. Oh, and because I L.O.V.E my our tree! Some people like to fill their houses with different themed trees. Example: My sister has 4 (yes 4) Christmas trees in her house this year! Not me. I like to have one tree that I  can perfect over the years. Besides, taking all of those trees down sounds like hard work! Ornaments, lights, and stuffer fillers. Oh my! Sorry, I'm dorking out. Anyway, Here are some pictures for you, because I know that you have been dying to see it. Ha!  I keep waiting for department stores to contact me to decorate their Christmas trees at the mall, but I haven't gotten a call yet. Just kidding...  but seriously... that would be such a fun job!!!  Call me Macy's!!  ;)   ~Betsy

Our Candy Tree!

Viva Las Vegas...

Hi Y'all! I'm back from Idaho full as a tick, and heart happy from getting to spend a few days with family. There was plenty of food, kids, laughs, shopping, and a big bonfire. It was great!  :)

One more thing that I am SUPER happy about is... Last week, The Hubs surprised me with a trip to Las Vegas next month for our 10 year anniversary!! I'm SO Excited!!  We used to go to Las Vegas once or twice a year before Katie was born. We had some really fun times, but that 2nd child thing started eating into our Las Vegas funds. Ha! She's totally worth it though. :)

There are so many things to love about Vegas, but the things I love the most are gambling, dressing up, shopping, beautiful hotels, people watching, good food, etc...  I also love how the days and nights last so long that you can hop over to Vegas for 3 days, and feel like you squeezed a weeks worth on vacation into them.  We haven't been since May of 2008. 4 years ago!! We used to always stay at the Hilton, but it's now the LVH, so we are staying at The Aria.  I can't wait!!! Hmmm... What to wear?? My wardrobe isn't exactly very "Las Vegas" these days. Oh well, another "first world" problem for another day.
Here are a few pics from past trips to Vegas.

We look so young! Have I really aged that much in 4 years?!? Oh well, all the lines on my face are from smiling. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!  ;)

We even took Ryan once!

Days at the pool

Lunch with girl friends

Lunch with all friends

The sibling trip to Vegas

At the LAS

My Love

Bye Y'all & Happy Thanksgiving...

Coeur d' Alene, Idaho

Bye Y'all! I'm off to beautiful Coeur d' Alene, Idaho for Thanksgiving!  I will miss my family SO far away back home in Georgia and Alabama, but I am thankful that I have the best in-laws in the world to spend the holiday with. I hope that you are all blessed with full hearts and even fuller bellies this year, and I'll be back next week with more stuff to talk about!! :)  From my family to yours,  Happy Thanksgiving!!

34 Days and Counting...

Hey Y'all! Can you believe that Black Friday is almost here already?!?  34 days and counting until Christmas!  I have my eye on a few deals this year for the holiday, and will be venturing out to Best Buy on Thanksgiving night to battle the rest of the crazies to see if I can win one or two of them.  What am I thinking???
Well, this year we are planning to get Ryan a laptop for Christmas. I am having my doubts about this one though. Let's weigh the Pros and Cons...

I WANT to get it for him because: 1. I know he will love it, 2. The PC at home that he uses all the time could die any day, 3. His school has him using the computer for homework a lot more these days, 4. He loves to play computer games.

I DON'T want to get it for him because: 1. He'll download a virus the day after Christmas, 2. Stranger danger, 3. He'll be 9 years old with a new laptop, so what will he expect at 14 years old?  4. He already has a PS3, Wii, Nintendo DS, and a Kindle Fire. Does he really need one more electronic? Maybe what he needs is a basketball hoop!

Well, when you live in Oregon... it's hard to get kids "outside" things for Christmas, because they don't really get to play with it until it stops raining in 6 months. :(  I really do want to get him a basketball hoop, but we live in the city. This means we have very small yards, no driveway, and there are cars parked on the street in front of the house at all times. There is really NO place for a basketball hoop. Sigh...  Indoor activities it is for now, at least until his birthday in May.

What's on your kid's wish list this year? Also, what's your opinion? Don't you think that kids have more "stuff" these days at a younger age??  What will we be buying them as teenagers??
                    ~Betsy :)

Growing up fast...

Ryan and "R" at the school dance

Happy Monday Y'all!  I had such great weekend! My weekends are always filled with sports, friends, and family. This weekend, however; started out on Friday night with a school dance for Ryan. This is the first year I didn't take him. The Hubs and I were having company over, so another friend's mom was sweet, and him up. Ryan just wore the fleece and jeans that he had worn to school that day, but for the first time the girls were more dressed up. Her mom sent me this pic from her phone while they were taking a break for a bite to eat. Isn't she cute?? Ryan is growing up so fast! I think he totally has a crush on her, and she is a super sweet girl.  :)

The rest of the weekend was filled with a soccer tournament, basketball, and family game night. All in all... Just a great weekend to kick off the holiday week! Is it still too early to put up the Christmas tree?? Hmmm...

                           ~Betsy