be mine.

Just a few short days after Ryder and I finally made it back to the big it was time to celebrate Valentines Day! Taylor was anxiously waiting for me to come home so we could make her valentine box for her class party.  She decided on a Hello Kitty box (no surprise there) and we had so much fun decorating it! Then it was time to whip up some delish treats and help throw her class party! 

 

 

 

These babes are my everything and I just adored spending the day with them.  Ryder was thrilled he was able to go to Sissy's party and feel like one of the big kids for the day!
The next day...we left for Boise to visit the Wolf family!

There is always a good time had by everyone when we get together with these guys!  Its literally like 4 sets of twins.  We just all share so many similarities.  We are in the process of planning our 10 year wedding anniversary trip with Luke & Angie to MAUI!!!  We were married a month apart almost 10 years ago and it will be so much fun to celebrate this huge milestone with them...in the sun...in Maui...with no kids. :)

 

Busy month of February for this fam.  No signs of slowing down either.

So bring it on March!

 

17.

My Mom and I planned another trip to Vegas this year for the Furniture Market.  I was looking to pick up a few new lines for JD Designs to carry and my Mom was working on orders for her shop.  We had a great time and I was thrilled with the Britney tickets my Mom decided to buy...so much fun!  Dad surprised Mom with tickets to Donny & Marie for her birthday and I was totally blown away with what an amazing show they put on!  We had a successful trip...lots of work and even more play!

 

When we returned from Vegas the plan was for Ryder (who had been hanging out with Gram & Grandpa while I was in Vegas) and I to drive back to LG.  I had about 5 days before I needed to be back over in Cannon Beach for work.  The weather was getting so bad that we decided to just head to Cannon Beach early and not risk getting stuck in LG and missing out on being in Cannon Beach for work.  That meant that Tay and Ryan would have to survive another week on their own!  At that point Ryder and I had already been gone for one week so it was a hard decision.

Ryan and Tay did AMAZING.  Ryan had to balance taking Tay to and from school, ballet, tap, cheer camp, play dates AND keep up with work.  He did so great with Tay and I even got texts from Taylor's teacher about how great Ryan was doing with getting Tay dressed and her hair done!  This picture is Tay all dressed up for Western Day.  Oh and yes, those braids are Ryan's work!  It was so hard for me to be away from Tay and miss out on all her fun activities...especially cheer camp. I died when I realized I had to miss camp and the performance!  Thank God for FaceTime and pictures!

Meanwhile, while Ryder and I were in Cannon Beach...it decided to snow...like crazy.  I lived in Cannon Beach for 21 years and I have never seen snow like this before! 
The main reason I needed to be at the coast was to receive a huge truck of furniture that I had ordered for a client.  Of course with weather like this, the truck was delayed for days...which meant so were we.  Thankfully we eventually received the truck and then after the weather cleared...we made it home safely. 
It only took 17 days.
That is just life in the big.

 

happy to you.

Yesterday was my Mom's birthday and I was sad we weren't together to celebrate.  I found these old pictures and just had to share! The business card with the note is from my Mama.  She snuck it in my makeup bag over 10 years ago and I of course have held on to it.  My relationship with my Mom is one of the things I am most proud of in life.  To be able to call your Mom one of your best friends....and mean it, really is a true blessing.  We haven't always been best friends, of course we had to make it through those lovely teenage years.  I remember saying goodbye on the lawn at George Fox University and thinking, oh no what am I going to do without her?  I of course didn't want to admit that I was missing her!  I distinctly remember telling her that she was "ruining my life" when she wouldn't buy me a new dress for my first college date.  Back then I would email her almost daily.  Little did I know she was saving all those emails and over the course of 4 years would create a binder with all of those emails.  Its an amazing way to look back and watch our relationship grow into such a close friendship.  Of course now we talk daily.  She has seen me through so much in life and I am so thankful for her.  It's so hard for me to think that she had to grow up most of her life without her Mom. It breaks my heart.  She has done such an amazing job as a Mom and now as a Grandma...or Backa as we call her (thanks to Taylor). 

Happy Birthday Mom...I really love you and can't wait to celebrate your special day in VEGAS next week!

roar.

Taylor went to dance camp this week and then got to perform to Katie Perry's Roar at the High School basketball half time!  The only problem was the performance ended up being at 8:30 pm...as you can see in the picture above she was SO TIRED! Poor little tiger. 

I just love that Tay has a passion for dance!  She's begging me to let her take Jazz dance in addition to ballet and tap. Seems a bit much for a 5 year old...but I do love that she enjoys it so much.  In a few weeks she will be going to cheer camp...watch out people! I mean...she really is a mini me.

Just sayin.

 

my handsome.

love.

Being a "worker man". Gloves? Boots? Hat? Worker Man Shirt? Worker Man Vest? Check!

that face!

This little man has my heart.  I mean just look at him!  That face.  Oh he is just so sweet and kind hearted.  Sure, he is 2 and definitely acts like it.  He's my baby though and I just can't believe how big he is getting.  Right now it's just him and Mama when Tay is at school and we just love our time together.  Sometimes I get a snuggle but most of the time we are working hard with his tools and such.  You see, he is a real busy guy.  His bopbops (trucks) are always breaking down and his workbench is always full of a project to be worked on.  He doesn't have all the activities that Sissy has, but that time will come.  For now he looks forward to his music classes once a week and he loves playing with his buddies Elijah and Luke.  As long as he has his gloves (doesn't matter if they are matching), a pair of boots and a hat...he is good to go.  Unless he decided he must have his worker man pants and shirt...and then stop the presses.  That boy loves his "worker man" clothes.
So much has changed over the past year with this little guy, but he is still my handsome! 

in bethlehem town.

Taylor's Christmas Concert at Heidi Ho was beyond darling.  Watching her and her classmates jingle those bells like it was their job and then singing on the top of their lungs...amazing!  Taylor had wanted the part of Mary so badly, as I am sure all the little girls did.  When she was given the part of an Angel I thought, oh no.  Thankfully Taylor was perfectly happy with the part of an Angel and it turned out to be a speaking part!  All week she practiced that line. "In BethleHAM town".  We kept trying to correct her...don't you mean "In the town of BethleHEM" Tay?  Nope. We had it wrong.  When it came time for the performance I was just so excited to see her shine!  I know...it's only one line.  It's just the little moments that I love though!  The class had put together a "five little angels" poem and the reason it was "in Bethlehem town" was because it ryhmed with the line before hers! She did have it right...minus the HAM part of course. :)

Regardless, it was perfect.  I remember when Taylor was so shy...times are definitely changing! 





Taylor's class playing the bells!

 

Such serious faces! 

Pretty, pretty, pretty!

In Bethlehem Town! 
Taylor's first speaking line and she nailed it! ;)
 

christmas in the big 2013.

 

 

I realize this post is a bit out of sequence, but as I said earlier I really want to make sure I document life so much better than I have been!  Christmas has always been my favorite. The time with family, the traditions, the opportunity to focus on the Reason for the Season, decking the halls and then decking them a bit more, the Santa visits, the wish lists, the shopping, the cooking...you get the picture! 

This year was one for the record books.  Decking the halls was taken to an entirely new level. Three trees, fresh garlands, chalk tables, personalized décor and more.  Preparing for this was so much fun.  I really enjoyed every moment and as I stated earlier I had promised myself to try and not freak out if things didn't go quite as planned.  The main thing for me was having a Christmas in our home for the very fist time!  Our kids had never woken up in their own beds on Christmas morning and so this was major!  Even more major was sharing that moment with our family!  We were sad to not have Joel, Ashley and Jaxon here but it was the "off year" for the Nelsons which meant they were with Ashley's family for Christmas.  We had them for Thanksgiving though!

Bryan, Courtney and Calvin made the long trek from DC and Julie came from Hawaii! Both sets of parent's experienced their first Christmas away from their homes since having had kids!  It was a big year of change for everyone which made me super nervous!  I just wanted everything to be perfect and more importantly for everyone to be happy!  Thankfully it went off without a hitch really.  I am just thrilled with the memories we now have and wanted to make sure I shared them on here! 

 

While the big kids were snowboarding Papa, Back and Taylor made this epic Snowman!

Two little Dearinger boys!

First time back on the Mountain in years for all of us!  I didn't last as long...but I gave a whirl!  Felt good to prove to myself I still had it in me!

Papa and Handsome sledding out in front of the house.

This pictures is everything!  Love. Love. Love.

Caught Trapper watching tv with Cal!

Another amazing handmade gift from Papa!  A wardrobe for her new American Girl that Santa brought!

The Dearinger Men cheering on their Hawks!

The cups were a major highlight!  Ryan almost lost his mind when he opened them!

Christmas Eve breakfast!!! Ho. Ho. Ho.

Gram with her baby boys!

Mom and I enjoying our peppermint martinis after making Christmas dinner!