Review of July - December 2007

JULY - The Crittenden family pool was opened for the season.....

4th of July was spent with great friends in Independence, OR. It was a great fireworks display again, right along the river!

Then we spent a wonderfully long weekend with the Harter family in Pacific City. All the kids, dogs, and adults had a great time!

August - was a very busy month, we also had a great visit from Aaron's brother and family from Las Vegas.

Aaron and Karen (SIL) celebrated their birthdays (cake fight happened)

I attend the Oregon Jamboree with Angie ( we saw Jo Dee Messina (pictured), Trisha Yearwood, Dierks Bentley, Neal McCoy, Arron Tippin, Bucky Covington, Lorrie Morgan, Hal Ketchum, Steve Holy and more) we had great seat and the weather was wonderful.

I also attended my 20th high school reunion. Hmmm. not sure what to say about it. Some had changed, some still had not. It was great to see people, catch up on old friends, and see what is going on.

SEPTEMBER - Woo hoo, school starts again. Savannah moved to North Albany middle school, 6th grade had a rough (emotional) start, but is now doing great! Dominick is in the 4th grade at Clover Ridge still and loves it!

Savannah got her first 4 braces on, and is excited to have straight teeth in the future.

Aaron hurt his back and had to have back surgery also this month (once again he would not let me take pictures), and my mom flew out from Arizona to help me with just a days notice. I could not of made it through this time without her and my in-laws also. They were wonderful, helping transport the kids, and Aaron to dr. appt's, running errands, etc. It was a LONG couple of months,with physical therapy and many dr. appt's but he is finally doing great!

OCTOBER - What a busy month...... Savannah had her first band concert (she plays the Oboe)

We went to the pumpkin patch, and carved pumpkins.

Soccer and gymnastics seasons both started up again.

School pictures came back...........(not sure where Dominick's scan is (I will get working on that)

NOVEMBER - Thanksgiving was held at our house. A small affair with just Aaron's family and our friends The Harter's. But was a great day!

December - Oh where do we start.......what a busy crazy month (and its really not even over yet) Savannah has her winter band concert.

Dominick also had a Winter program, but when you send a man to take pictures you might as well not even send the camera. The pictures were horrible, blurry and unrecognizable. :(

Storybook land and seeing Santa (An annual tradition with Gma & Gpa Fish)

Let's see...........what else happened........oh ya Christmas tree hunting, decorating, and Christmas itself, but I will stave those for another post.....when I get the pictures uploaded. :)

Review of January - June 2007

This is a small sampling of the Crittenden life of 2007....

January - Aaron hurt his knee at the end of 2006, so he had surgery to repair his torn meniscus. Recovery was slow, but the surgery was sucessful. Sorry no pictures, he would not let me take any. I tried though.

February - Savannah competed in a very large meet in Newport, Oregon. It was her first meet as a level 6 gymanst. She did very well!

March - Savannah turns 11, had a terrific party at the local skating rink with her friends. Aaron spent spring break home taking the kids around the valley to different parks, and fishing at Detroit Lake.
I attend the Rascall Flatts concert in Portland with my dear friend Mandy. We had a blast!!

April - Dominick started basketball at the Boy's and Girl's club (first time evey playing), and loved it! Easter was spent at the Grandma & Granpa Fish's house. Even a little rain did not stop them from hunting eggs.

MAY - Brough the end of basketball and the beginning of Spring soccer.

JUNE - A happy birthday for me, .Savannah's graduation for 5th grade, and the end of the school year for both Dominick and Savannah

Prefences.......

Copied from my sis......

Socializing:
1. IF YOU HAVE A REGULAR SCHEDULE, WHAT IS IT? I get up at 5:30 every weekday. First I make the kids lunches, pick up the house a bit, wake up Savannah around 6am, and then get into the shower around 6:15am. The first daycare kids start coming around 6:45am, and it continues with 7 buses coming and going all day until 6pm when the last daycare child leaves.
I drive car pool on Wednesdays (Tuesdays instead starting in January) and we leave about 3:30pm to drive to Salem-Keizer to the gym, we leave there around 8pm, drop the girls off and are home by 9pm. I am so glad I only have to do this once a week. Most evenings are filled with errands, school events, homework, or hanging outwith the family.

2. DIETARY RESTRICTIONS (VEGAN/VEGETARIAN/CELIAC ETC): None, other than avoiding a lot of sugar stuff and trying to stick to whole grains, etc. Should be more though I am sure of it!

3. FOODS YOU HATE: Liver (and other internal organs), brussel sprouts, dry wine, food that touches other food, mushrooms, actually most vegetables that are cooked. The list could go on and on and on…… I will admit it….. I AM A PICKY EATER!

4. ANY FOOD ALLERGIES? None.

5. ARE YOU COMFORTABLE BEING LEFT ON YOUR OWN WITH NEW PEOPLE? Yes, as long as they're nice. If they treat me like an outsider, then, no, probably not (Who would be?)

6. SOCIAL ACTIVITIES YOU LIKE: Seeing movies in the theatre, going out to eat, potluck dinners, going to the beach, playing card or board games, going to the kids sporting events. Oh and shopping a lot!

7. SOCIAL ACTIVITIES YOU DON'T LIKE: Sports or physical challenges when people take them seriously, rather than just using them as an excuse to hang out and have fun. Going to parties where there is stupid levels of drinking going on, nude hottubbing/hanging out (or illegal activities) but I can’t say that I have been invited to any of these in MANY years. We just don’t hang out with people that do things like this.

Gifts:
1.FREE THINGS THAT MAKE YOU HAPPY: Letters/cards in the mail, hanging out with family and friends, being with my kids/husband/pets, when Aaron lets me sleep in late on the weekends, snow.

2. CHEAP, SMALL THINGS THAT MAKE YOU HAPPY: Fresh flowers, candles, SoBe Lean (Cranberry-Grapefruit), emails from friends without stupid jokes, phone calls.

3. MEDIUM-SIZE THINGS THAT YOU WANT: My car detailed. Gift certificates for pedicures and massages, Fiestaware accessories, Americana stuff for the tops of my kitchen cabinets.

4. BIG THINGS THAT YOU WANT: The interior of my house repainted (NOT WHITE again), my baseboards and molding removed and replaced with Oak, a truck for Aaron, a vacation to New Hampshire to see the Stack family, who we have not see in almost 3 years, to loose 75 lbs.

5. DO YOU COLLECT ANYTHING: No, I hate clutter, and knickknacks.

6. WHAT SMELLS DO YOU LIKE? Perfumes: Beautiful, and Romance,.
Smells: Vanilla, fruity smells in the summer time, cinnamon and pine in the winter months.

7. WHAT COLORS DO YOU LIKE TO SURROUND YOURSELF WITH? Cream, Red (blue bases) , Navy.

8. WHAT COLORS DO YOU LIKE TO WEAR? Black, white, red….but usually a solid color that just catches my eye. Rarely wear prints. Trying to get out of the habit but it is hard to break.

9. CLOTHING SIZE: Please don’t my me clothes, I am so picky!

10. GOOD PLACES TO GET YOU GIFT CERTIFICATES TO: 14th Ave Spa, Nordstroms, the Heritage Mall, Old Navy, and the outlet mall, Walmart (believe it or not), Target, Kohls.

11. MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTIONS YOU ALREADY HAVE: People, Martha Stewart Living, US Weekly, Consumer Reports.

12. MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTIONS YOU WOULD LIKE: None that I can think of.

13. NOT SO GOOD GIFTS: Knick-knacky stuff, clothing, junk… I have enough I don’t need more.

Christmas questions...

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper. I'm a freak about it too... I want it to all coordinate. When Christmas arrives and people show up and put their gifts under the tree wrapped with things that match mine, I hide the gifts they bring in the back.

2. Real trees or Artificial? Real tree ONLY!! We do live in Oregon ya know.

3. When do you put up the tree? Usually the weekend after Dominick’s birthday (12/3). This year, probably this weekend.

4. When do you take the tree down? The day after Christmas usually, because of the daycare, and the amount of space that our huge tree takes up.

5. Do you like eggnog? No, yuck! Hot chocolate with peppermint creamer sure!

6. Favorite gift received as a child? My blue 10-speed bike, sitting in the front room when I opened the door after going to see my Aunt/Uncle. I was so surprised!!

7. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes, but it has not been up in years, we don’t have much flat table space.

8. Hardest person to buy for? Aaron's brother, Shawn or Aaron’s father, Dean. If they want anything, they could just go and buy it without worrying about the cost. Problem is, they just don't want anything or won’t give me any hints!

9. Easiest person to buy for? My kids hands down!! Maybe its because I spend so much time with them though.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail. Usually picture cards from Costco.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Nothing stands out..

12. Favorite Christmas movie? Miracle on 34th Street.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Whenever I find something I know someone will love. Problem is, if I buy too early, I miss the thrill of shopping and spend way more money than I should!

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? No, that’s tacky!

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Homemade sugar cookies or Aaron’s special chex mix.

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? Clear ONLY!

17. Favorite Christmas song? Any, I have tons of Christmas CD’s and listen to them nonstop all season. But none of the parodies ones, they stink!

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Most years we do Christmas Eve at our house, and Christmas day at The Crittenden house.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeers? Yes.

20. Angel on the treetop or a star? Depends on the colors: Silver = star, Gold = Angel

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Our own little family of four opens on Christmas morning, and then in the early afternoon we go to the Crittenden and open theirs there!

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? Unhappy clerks, or trying to find a parking spot.

23. Favorite Christmas ornament? The ones that Aaron’s mother gets for the kids every year.

24. Favorite thing for Christmas dinner? Depends on what Dean decides to cook, but it is usually Prime rib or Lobster.