Tiger Awards!

WE'RE PROUD OF OUR BOYS!!!

Aidan - awarded for "Responsibility"

Shad awarded for "Perseverence"

(That's Aidan, Camten and Trinity running in the background!)

4-day Birthday Weekend!

This year Mom's birthday started with a NEW CAMERA! We had a family party with cake and ice cream - notice Camten is still nervous that a bunch more people will appear out of nowhere and sing loudly! ha! Then we all went out to eat at Outback Steakhouse... that was NOT relaxing, obviously, but very entertaining, and maybe an outing to get a babysitter for in the future! The grand finale was going to the Blazer game (just the two of us!) Thank you everyone for such a GREAT birthday!!!! :-)

Thanksgiving in Pictures

Somehow I didn't get a picture of the huge Bounce House outside that kept all the kids entertained between warm-ups and all their boundless energy contained!

I saw Grandpa and Grandma, too. They had a quiet day together at home... a specialty in this season of their life right now! What a blessing they are to all - and how wonderful to pause a moment and be Thankful for SO MUCH FAMILY!!!! Thank You, God!

Fun and Games

Yes... this is a picture of our FOUR kids playing happily together!





This is Hungry Hippo - it has four hippos! After this game, they moved on to Hullabaloo! ALL FOUR OF THEM!!!





:-) It was a really exciting moment for me... I always love it when my kids play together nicely, but so far it's been in twos with a rare all-boy event or two.



It was getting so close to Christmas that some "Nuts and Bolts" needed to be made! Trinity is already a great cook and taste-tester. She loves helping Mom in the kitchen. She picked the orange-ringed bowl as her charge and carefully ate nearly all the pretzels out before we baked it for our mix. ha! We called this the "Thanksgiving Batch" although it didn't make it to that date.

November 17th

Our "little guy", Camten, turned 4!

He's really shy and excited about growing bigger just so he can be faster - "fast" is a very valuable skill amoungst the Armstrong boys. He still asks me if he can be my "little guy" even though he's gettin so big. How can I refuse a request like that?! Maybe when he's in high school he'll be sorry I took him so seriously... but for now, we're good buds.

Camten got so picture-shy I didn't get a good shot of him for two weeks. Even cuter, he hid around the corner when it came time to sing him "happy birthday"! So, we whispered the song quietly so he'd step out enough to blow out his candles.

ACTION! at our new Maaco location!

It's TRUE! There's an Excavator scraping for the foundation on our future Maaco site!!! They got the Permits from Clackamas County this week, and now the BUILD can start!!!!

Wow! We got to put up our "Coming Soon" sign!

Woooohooooo! Progress!

It's so exciting to share every detail with everyone!! Thank you ALL for your enthusiasm and support! What a LONG journey!

Birthday Party!

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Daddy....

We had lotsa winners for the "decorate the cupcake" event, of course.

Happy Halloween! (Armstrong flavored)

Aidan and Shad got into carving their own pumpkins this year, scooping out goopy seeds and everything! Aidan had hoped to save ALL the seeds, but he was happy with a handfull after I assured him we could plant them and grow a whole pumpkin field all by ourselves with them. (In theory, I mean. I realize pumpkins are durable choice for veggie gardens and all that, but follow-thru should never be assumed.)

Our Four Costumed partyers!

Shad has decided he's Spiderman forever - I think this is the 3rd year, and quite frankly, it fits him! Camten decided Aidan's cool cape was so awesome - we had two batmans! :) And they can run really fast with those capes, too! Those two have been wearing their costumes almost daily for two weeks!! Trinity had to dress in her Princess outfit every time she saw it, so we either hid it from her, or didn't give her any chocolate, caramel, yogurt, juice, bananas, crackers, rice, lollipops, cereal, or pudding while she was in it.

Trick-or-Treating has always been memorable for us... and not just because of the sugar-rush! Shad, Aidan, friend Cody and Trinity went door to door as enthusiastically has they could until the neighborhood ran out of candy, and the kids couldn't fit one more in their buckets. Camten reserved his energy, discovering he had to talk to people, which he's not sure he's ready to do, yet. He had his Daddy, though, so he was happy to walk along.

Hard at Work!

Progress on the Milwaukie Property... we got the front porch started and the fence along the far side and some initial landscaping. Doesn't it look great? The outside is nearly ready for paint! And, actually, the inside, too! It's almost a REAL HOUSE! (very exciting)

The motor got installed in the Orange Shortbox... yea, it's our buddy's truck, but with all the steel braided lines and new headers... this motor is a Completed Work of Art! :-) (That's girl-talk for whatever it is the guys were talking about that I didn't 'get'.)

Shad has tons of homework... that counts as "work" around here! Good job, Shad!!

Whatcha all up to?

Hey, well! Thanks for askin'! While Shad and Aidan go to school, we work on lots of things... but our favorites are...

Camten plays with cars!

Trinity dances!


Jeremy turns a truck motor compartment into a work of art!

And I, of course, do laundry! (you say I'm playing on the computer... that would be MY secret, now, wouldn't it?!)

Boring Pumpkin Patch

We went to this AWESOME pumpkin patch out in Boring! (Yes, I am continually grateful that where I live changed from Boring to Damascus!!! Damascus has Biblical depth to it, as a name, whereas everyone assumes Boring has a reason to be called that, which might be debatable!)





At this trip to the Pumpkin Patch, the part with the pumpkins was so 'exciting' that I forgot to take any pictures... so these are the photos from the calm, happy moments where our kids played happily and Jeremy and I had a moment to chat and ooooh and aaaah over our beautiful kids. The boys looked great, we thought, in the corn kernals with the bones! Camten loved the ball/tunnel thing - we just stood guard at the entry in case he zipped out.





Trinity remained glued to the little Merry-Go-Round I could control with a little switch on the wall. Please notice that Binky-Bear got to ride, too. She has taken Tea-Time to a new level and includes her favorite bears in all kinds of Important Events. She had meant to bring Blueberry, too, but Mom left her guarding the car, somehow. (Trick: if you threaten to leave ALL animals behind, they are grateful to pick just ONE!) It might be interesting to note that these Bears love dancing in circles and wearing diapers and learning how to practice going potty on the potty chair just like Trinity, too. Talented!


We did find some pumpkins at the Pumpkin Patch, too. And you can check out this cool Patch at www.liepoldfarms.com for more Fall Fun!

"The 'Last Clear Sky', Oregonians." Well, that's what all the newscasters said, anyway, so I got a picture to remember, and besides some thunder storms and hail, we've had quite a bit of blue sky, actually. Were they trying to depress us prematurely?! Well, I lit some candles and feel quite cozy, so bring on a little shower or two... what's the big deal? (NOW it'll rain relentlessly, right? yikes!)

Daily Stuff at our House...

Science Projects! Shad made a "Machine" that sorts light and heavy marbles and Aidan made a Mailbox!

Camten and Trinity are painting... on a different day, of course. (I'm not crazy!!!)

Dad's projects.