Walking in a winter wonderland . . .

We have been enjoying all of the snow lately, it is beautiful!!! However, we are starting to get a little stir crazy. We have been able to go on a least one good walk each day during the snow but today, we needed to run off some more energy. We bundled up and trekked out to our friend Jeff's house a few miles away. We stopped off at Starbucks on the way of course and even helped push a stuck car along the way!

After we arrived at Jeff's, he drove us to our friends Josh and Andrea's house. Andrea is due to have their first baby (a boy) in March. It was so good to see them. Andrea is such a cute and little pregnant lady! We visited with them and Josh's parents for a while and then headed home. Thank goodness for Jeff's 4-wheel drive!!!

Winter blast

It has been snowing like crazy up in Portland!!! There has not been this much snow up here in years! It is beautiful and we are enjoying the winter wonderland!

Seaside in December

The weekend after Thanksgiving, we drove out to Seaside for a weekend with the Minus family. The whole Peter Minus family and grand kids were there. The weather was surprisingly nice for December. We got in a lot of nice walks and boardwalk runs. As always, the pool was crowded-even in the rain. Eric, Pete, Joyce and Mollie made several trip to the hot tub while the rest of us watched from inside.

Thanksgiving in Eugene

This year we drove down to Eugene to have Thanksgiving dinner with our family. Mike and Linda hosted at their house this year. We had a great time just visiting with the family and seeing our nieces and nephew. Jessica and Theo even brought their wedding photos to share with us. It was a wonderfully relaxing time!

We don't just bleed orange and black . . .

We also decorate our house with it. That's right, the newly remodeled basement is now a lovely pumpkin orange. All in honor of the Beavs.

The 3 musketeers reunited

My good friends Aryn and Jenn joined me for the Beavers vs. Cal game. Some of my favorite memories from OSU involve these ladies and we always have a great time when we are together. You know that the day is going to be a good one when you are waiting outside of a liquor store on Saturday morning, waiting for it to open!

We did not disappoint! Although we were a little late to the game-we were fine enjoying our own private pre-funk at Avery park (complete with photo shoot). We straggled over to Reeser and caught a portion of the third quarter. But is it really the game that's important here? Nothing beats making more great memories with Jenn and Aryn!

The basement remodel continues . . .

Eric has continued to work on remodeling the basement. He has completed the dry wall and it looks great! He continues to impresse me with how handy he is. What a great husband I have!

Girls' weekend at the coast

Last weekend my sisters, mom and I headed to Seaside for a girls' weekend. We wanted to spend some time with just the Minus girls (and Mr. Mazen). The weather was surprisingly good for November. We went on several walks and did a lot of shopping. It was a very relaxing weekend and we had fun just hanging out with the girls.

Halloween party with the dental gals!

Friday night we went to my friend Cari's Halloween party. There were a lot of girls from school there and we were all ready to relieve stress and party!

More Halloween photos

Halloween at adidas

On Halloween, we took "Sleeping Beauty" Mollie and "Monkey" Mazen to adidas to trick or treat. It has been a tradition since Mollie was a year old. It is fun to see Eric's co-workers and they enjoying seeing Mollie too. And of course, Mollie likes the candy too!

Pumpkins and candy!

On Thursday night we went over to Laura and Fadi's to carve pumpkins with the kids. My parents and Tiff came too. Fadi made a delicious salmon dinner and then the carving began!

Neil Diamond-take two!

So, we were faced with huge disappointment last month when the Neil Diamond concert was cancelled. However, it was a blessing in disguise. Superdiamond was coming to Portland in a couple weeks and what better excuse to get together with my dad, sisters and cousin Meagan again!

Meagan drove straight from work in Seattle on Friday afternoon. We planned on dinner at Henry's prior to the show which was being held at Crystal Ballroom just a few blocks away. There was an hour long wait for a table but thanks to Tiff's swift moves, we were able to snag a booth in the bar. We enjoyed yummy food and some drinks before heading to the concert.

We had a great time at Superdiamond. We found our own little space and were able to rock out to all of our favorite Neil songs. Although it was not the same as the real Neil, we still had a great time-and hopefully didn’t embarrass Dad too much!

Crazy times at Superdiamond

Great Columbia Crossing

In October, our friend Jenn and her boyfriend Chris came down from Seattle to do a run with Eric and me in Astoria. Eric's fraternity brother Jeff Scoggins passed away last October after being hit by a car. Jeff was born and raised in Astoria. We thought that this would be nice to do the run in honor of Jeff. It was a tough 10K course that started at the Washington side of the Astoria bridge and finished in Astoria. Eric was nice and stayed back with me the whole way as I panted up to the top of the bridge. The incline was nearly unbearable but we made it! Jenn even finished 2nd in our age bracket and I finished 5th. I attribute it to the pre-race Blizzards at DQ the night before! It was really nice of Jenn and Chris to make the trip and it was good to see Jeff's parents.

After the race, we headed to our favorite breakfast place in Seaside, Bagels by the Sea. We gobbled down eggle bagels and coffee guilt free!

Eric's basement project.

Since school has started up again for me, Eric decided to take on a project of his own. He has begun to finish our basement and former storage area. He is doing the project all on his own and has done a remarkable job so far. I never knew he had such talents! Here are some photos from stage one-framing and electrical.

And baby makes 3, 3 boys that is!

On October 5th, my friend Molly and her husband Derek had their third baby-another boy! He was a little guy, well under 6 pounds. Molly was not due until the 23rd but just like his brothers, this baby was ready early! He was born around 4:30 pm and did not have a name until the following day. This has been a theme with my friends lately.

I am happy to announce the newest member of the Kline family: Jack Michael Kline! Congratulations Derek, Molly, Reese and Madden!