A new "Godfather" line

Not being a great repeater of movie lines, I don't remember the exact lines to the movie "The Godfather".   In "You've Got Mail", the phrase "Take it to the mattresses" is used several times.   Other than that, my exposure is limited.
  Sabrina rewrote one line today as we were going through toys.   "Take the cockroach, leave the moose!" was her line.   This line was ironic as we are moving to Georgia for a little bit and leaving the Pacific Northwest where the Mariner Moose is the mascot!   So, we are packing Ringo the plastic toy cockroach and leaving the Mariner Moo se behind.

Christmas Tree/ Ginger Bread decorating party

This year the family great big tree (13 feet) artificial tree decorating party was early so Sabrina could participate.    The morning started with the unboxing and stacking of the tree to form its 13 feet resting place.   Unlike former years, most of the lights would not turn on and had to be checked and rechecked by the Light Engineers (aka. Mark and John).   Then there was the fluffing of the branches before the ornaments could be placed.  
Sabrina and her cousin had a fun time climbing the ladders and placing ornaments.   It happens every year:  ornament concentration and alternating bald spots.   So the job of the adult children was to fill in the bald spots and shift things to add a little balance to the tree.    After the initial decorating time, ornaments were placed between the Civil War plays and time-outs, ginger bread house making, Spanish lessons via i-pod, decorating the exterior of the house with lights and swags.

The perfect placement!  (Rapunzel on the ladder!  We love this costume and wear it all the time!)

Shot taken in surprise from above.

Eating and decorating the ginger bread house.

Modeling Uncle Mark's glasses.

After dinner, there were some card games played where Sabrina tried on some reading glasses.   Again, another action packed family day!

Grandpa with the Grandkids

Early Fall 2012 on Grandpa's deck with Annie.  

Thanksgiving 2012

We have so much to be thankful this year.  However, it was a hard Thanksgiving day with Randy in Savannah away from family and friends.   Thankfully, he received the care package from home and was able to have chicken curry for his Thanksgiving meal as he watched movies and football.

In Corvallis, Julie and Sabrina joined grandparents, uncles and a cousin for Thanksgiving dinner.   Before dinner, the cousins had their bodies traced with markers and decorated them on newsprint.    After dinner, there was some piano time on Grandpa's piano and running around.   The day ended with battery operated race cars that would light up, roar, and honk as they had buttons pushed.   Sabrina really liked these and borrowed them from her cousin.   One was tucked under her pillow as she crashed in to bed to sleep that night.

The Wall of Carver

This summer's huge job entailed building a larger retaining wall out of landscaping blocks that bordered the length of house all the way to the property boundary.   At its highest point, the wall is four feet above ground but one foot under ground.    We discovered old lines to the old well that had to be removed as well as tree stumps.    Something like twelve loads of fill were brought in to the back yard and put down behind the wall to bring the previous slope to be a level area for grass.

The slope which was so steep that we would slip weed eating the grass every year.

Another view of the original slope.

The original brick patio before the wall project.

The discovered electrical wire to the old pump to the house.

Looking down after the wall is put in at the irrigation lines and dirt.

Another top down view of the irrigation lines and new soil.

Once the grass was planted, the real work of keeping the neighborhood deer and turkeys from pulling out the seeds started.   At one point, the deer had jumped the temporary fence and we counted ten deer grazing on the new lawn.   Needless to say, we can verify the effectiveness and value of Scarecrow motion sprinklers that spray the deer or turkeys when they even try to get near the wall!   They literall saved our new project!

Random Fall Photos

Sabrina has been increasingly been interested in printed words.   As a former reading teacher, Julie has enjoyed identifying early literacy skills as they are developing.    This September, Sabrina would retell stories.   Now the big craze is identifying letters on the comic page of the paper.   She also knows the names of all her favorite comics and points out the "Ss for Sabrina".  

The other crazy stage is the OSU Cheerleader stage.   While we were watching the Beaver games, Sabrina was studying the cheerleaders.   When her best friend gave her a cheering outfit all the pieces came together and the jumping and twirling and hair flipping all came into motion.   Oye!   For a solid week any time she wanted to jump on her trampoline, she had to put on her cheering outfit!   Go Beavers!
The last noted funny stage is the sleep anywhere stage.    For about two weeks, she would hop around the house in her sleeping bag and rest on stairs, kitchen window, middle of floor or in the car.   Most often her sleeping bag had George, the giraffe or the Disney princesses inside.    When going to bed at night the conversations between these figures can often be heard and it is amazing how the conversations sound like replays from our day.    All I can say is that we need to be careful what we say as it might be repeated as a conversation with princess dolls and who knows what might be repeated.

The first wedding

As a family we went to Julie's cousins wedding which was Sabrina's first wedding.   She loved it!   The flowers, the Princess aka:  the Bride and the dancing were fabulous!   Rachel, the bride, had a wonderful reception with a photo booth with props and a nice reception full of dancing.   Sabrina didn't wait for others but twirled on the dance floor and then grabbed Papa as her dance partner for the evening.

Pumpkins, friends, grand parents, Kermit and Miss Piggy

This Fall Sabrina experienced for the first time a trip to the pumpkin patch with her school where she selected pumpkins for the family.   Not only were there pumpkins, but there were cows, turkeys, rabbits and chickens to entertain the children on this very wet outing.   We prepared Sabrina for the traditional carving of her "pumpkin patch" (which she calls all pumpkins now) by watching IT'S THE GREAT PUMPKIN, CHARLIE BROWN!   I am sure when she and Papa carved the pumpkin, she had a better understanding of what was happening.   She drew the face herself and we did the carving.

On Halloween, Sabrina dressed up as princess in a Rapunzel dress with a heart wand.   The night was finished at Papa and Grandma's house where we were greeted by Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy.  (note:  these costumes are about thirty years old and were hand made by Julie's mom)

First day of school

Our house was all excitement for the first day of school.   Sabrina loves seeing all her friends and teachers.    Truly, she has grown so much socially and academically by attending this school.   We have  enjoyed the artwork and the stories of her accomplishments when we daily pick her up.    As parents, we have benefitted from the expertise of the pre-school teachers who assure us that whatever stage our daughter is in that all the rest of the students are also at that same stage.   Whew!

Best Friends

Sabrina met her best friend at the library three years ago.   They go to pre-school together and have celebrated birthdays and played princesses, animals, tag and other games together.   This year Sabrina's friend had a cowgirl theme to her birthday party where all the guests were given western hats and bandanas.   Cupcakes were made with ponies on top!   Amazing!  We have truly been blessed with the friendship of the entire family!