Needs & Wants

I usually write under wants on the fridge whiteboard- "World peace!" Sam and Christian will then draw pictures of war, like mushroom clouds and nukes. This time, as you can see, Sam under my want for "X-mas Joy"- Kahuna on a sleigh. Later, Christian drew tiny Kahunas leading the Kahuna sled. 

PDX Coins

 

Dane and I dropped Christian, Sam, and his friend at the PDX coin show. It was not our cup of tea, so we ditched them. Considering we had a long day grocery shopping afterward, we decided to catch some lunch. We walked to Red Robin and shared a yummy salad. They lasted at the show for exactly how long it took to eat. Sam called just as we got the check, bored and wanting to leave: "Hey Bozos, where are you?" While walking back we spotted him standing on the back of the car! Driving home they "hungered," so we treated the boys to a fancy lunch at Wendy's.

Dane, teasing me 4 Teslas! 

Fantasy Trail Halloween Party!!!

When the Wenzel Fantasy Trail closed due to ice storm damage, we had to get creative for Halloween this year. We decided to host a thrilling Halloween party for Sam and Emma's friends, and it turned out to be a fantastic evening.

We transformed the trail into a spooky Halloween adventure, lighting it with candles and leaving clues and riddles for the kids to follow. The trail was an exciting journey filled with flashlights and a sense of adventure, and we managed to avoid the tricky divots underfoot. At the end of the trail, the kids discovered a treasure chest brimming with Hershey chocolates - more sugar for the already hyped-up kids!

The party was a blast, featuring activities like mummy wrapping and fun games that had the kids laughing and having a great time.

Though we missed our traditional public Wenzel Fantasy Trail, this unique Halloween party became a memory the kids will cherish forever. 

Cheer up buttercup!

As Dane fueled his mind with coffee, I made sure his monkey found a nice sunny spot. With my silly and spontaneous nature, nothing brings me more happiness than seeing his blue eyes and smile light up my heart.

B-day gift from Sam cuz he knows Dad loves monkeys!

Yard Sales!

With summer here the boys and I have been having fun going to garage, estate, and yard sales. We scored this guy for free! Meet Larry the Lobster, he now adorns the dashboard of our Kahuna mobile.    

For those that don't know who Larry is...

Cape Disapointment

(https://www.parks.wa.gov/486/Cape-Disappointment)

This time I was NOT disappointed! Dane went last time with the boys. 

Start of my new bird necklace pendant

Fun day with the boys! Exhausting, but fun! We shared memories and made lots of new ones to laugh at later. The cape is a two-hour drive, but it was worth it. You see, the car is the one place they can't run away from me, so it's a great place to talk and find out what's happening in their world. 

Typical over-achiever Christian finished college classes early and was itching to get out. His plan...to fill 9 buckets of beach sand rich with gold flakes before my 3pm cut-off. Typical ME, after trying to sit and relax I failed and hauled buckets back to the car too. Those buckets weighed about 70 lbs! Sam seeing me hauling and also wanting to leave at a decent hour helped out too. Shacky and week, we earned that 4pm breakfast/lunch/dinner! But honestly, I wished we had chosen a better place to eat...HEARTBURN all-night-long!

Seafood boil / Gaga's B-day!

Dane doesn't feel good tonight, but I'm sure he'll feel better tomorrow. As for me, I'm trying to find some moments of sanity in the chaos of parenthood. You know what they say, 'Have kids, it'll be fun!' I'll wake in about four short hours to head to the Molalla River with Christian and Sam. Christian's planned a day of gold panning, Sam will enjoy shooting, and I'm taking books and the dog. Ah... the joys of parenting on little sleep, good thing we have coffee!

Sam's YouTube Channel

Sam started a YouTube channel!

Sam's 14th B-day

 

Gold Rush - Spring break 2022

 

Sam's air traffic control tower!

Poggers!

Oregon City otters!!!

😍🐕✌ 

Calming Baby Sam!

All of my kids hated being strapped in their car seats! The majority of our trips involved enduring a crying baby in the back seat, which would stress us all out! Well, I found a solution for a more pleasant car ride with Mr. Samuel. While still pregnant, I made a family Smilebox slide show with the theme song "These Are the Days" by Tony Van Morrison. With all the continuous editing and sharing it with family and friends, he must have really come to like it there in my zen womb. Fast forward to when he was born...every time I played the song in the car, he'd instantly calm down and stop crying, which was amazing!

"These Are the Days" by Tony Van Morrison

Anyone wanna guess what Sam's making tonight?

Pinknose

 Incase anyone wonders why we dyed our MALE cat pink.....

We kept the one
Ragdoll with the soft fur. 

The last time Grandma watched our critters (beach vacay). She got confused about which cat was the outdoor cat. So she tried to push our VERY ANXIOUS Siamese out the back door!!! Since then, she has tried to build trust with our brat Sunny. 

This time around, Grandma has a cataract! So she has to close one eye to see the world, and she's not planning on getting it fixed until after her next cruise at the end of December! So, the kids are having fun deciding what to do about Pinknose when we go to Disneyland. 4 critters to take care of! One funny was to capture a skunk (we have a black cat). Another plan was to innovate a mini cow (Sam calls the dog a cow because she's black/white and sometimes stinks). Dane and I think we'll make do with a big funny poster and stick it to the front door. But with this family, who knows!! 

Sam and his raspy voice

How Sam got his raspy voice...

"First, you gotta love this picture! We were at one of Christian's soccer games, and if you look closely, you can see where M* cut some of his hair with the clippers. I took him to have an evaluation with a speech therapist because he has always had this cute, raspy voice. After the evaluation, the therapist turned to me and said, "I can tell you exactly why his voice is so raspy. He's extremely intelligent and projects his voice loudly to ensure being heard."

Some spooky stuff

Spruce Goose

Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum

 

Sam started a YouTube channel **Phoenix King**

First time editing a video

Daryl?

Nah, just Sam in a cowboy had w/ his BFF