Bear With Me (Bare With Me?)

 

Is it just me, or are all of these Oregon Picture Posts getting a bit monotonous?  Hang in there, only two more to go.  Then, you shall be rewarded with a Thursday's Culinary Adventure and an Idaho's Gem...

Oregon Visit Part 3

 

Towards the end of the week, Joseph finally started getting some good Harris family time.

Maureen, my mother-in-law greeted us with HOMEMADE OREOS! 

Now, if you know Maureen, you will know how unusual this is! :)  That made it even more special.

There must be something about Grandpas, because Joseph thinks that his Grandad is really neat.

  

Different and surprising, but really neat!!

There is something that you should all know.  In the Harris family, Joseph is the first grandchild.  This makes him the smartest, cutest, sweetest, most spoiled grandchild too!  Basically, he gets to do whatever he wants and everyone just sits around and smiles/watches/laughs.

 

See what happens when I'm not around? (Caught you Lisa! And you call yourself a Health Care Professional...)

Joseph got to open his Birthday present from Grandmo and Grandad.  He got this stylin' shirt from Tiny Sprouts, another cute outfit, and this top that he LOVES!

Then, Joseph got to ride between his Daddy and his Uncle John to go to the annual VERBOORT FESTIVAL!!!   Apparently, this is an annual get-together where people sit and eat obscene amounts of Verboort sausage, sauerkraut, and other goodies.  (I was at a baby shower, pictures coming later, and couldn't make it.) It is a Harris family tradition, and this time Joseph not only got to tag along, he also got to sample the fare.

Brian's best friend since Kindergarten, and his wife (who is also my friend and a follower of this blog- shout out to Britney!!) also got to stop by to love on Joseph and marvel at his size and tricks.

Basically, everyone at the Harris house loves Joseph, and they can't get enough of him!

 

Oregon Visit Part 2

 

This was the first visit where I really saw Joseph interacting with his cousins.  He seemed like a little buddy, vs. just a baby. Only one cousin, Alana, tried to “hold him,” and Joseph just calmly crawled away.  His holding days are over.

My (very pregnant) sister, Christin, got to love on Joseph a little. It was brief, because he gets impatient, and she has five children. ( number six in the oven.)

 

My cousin, her husband, and their chubby little baby got to stop by for a quick visit. 

It was the first time that we had a chance to have the boys’ pictures taken together.

Please note that they had on coordinating outfits from the same line at Gymboree.  Yeah, my cousin and I are tight like that. 

She and I used to dress up as twins to try to fool people.  Although we didn’t look that much alike (our moms are identical twins, but still...)  Right down to the same colored sweatshirt tied around our waists.  What sad, sad dorks we were.  But, that is another story.

Then, of course, it was time to get the boys’ pictures taken together in their Halloween costumes.

Couldn’t. You. Just. Die?!

Hahahahahahahhahahahahahahaha……….

Things that I love about this picture:

In a few years, they are going to really hate us for making them wear this.

Oregon Visit Part 1

 

They say that a picture is worth a thousand words.  Well, what are a thousand pictures worth?  Because that’s how many I took on our Oregon trip.  Well, okay, not a thousand.  But over a hundred.  I will narrow it down for you.

We took off on our road trip on Tuesday at about noon.  In Eastern Oregon, we came across these.

They are fir trees that have changed a golden color.  The picture doesn’t do them justice.  They absolutely GLOWED! They even looked kind of soft and feathery.  Believe it or not, neither of us Oregon girls knew what they were!  After some investigation (when in doubt, ask your Dad…), it turns out that these are Tamarack trees.  They are a fir tree, but deciduous.  Go figure.

They boys were extremely well behaved, and we made very good time; not stopping until Pendleton, and then again briefly in The Dalles.  We made it to Portland by about 8:00, and Joseph promptly woke up when we exited the highway.

This was actually good, because it meant that he got to see his cousins whom my parents were babysitting, his Grandma, and his beloved Grandpa.

Imagine the song “I will always love you” playing as Joseph lunges into Grandpa’s arms.

The clouds parted, all was right with the world.

And then the chaos began.

Good chaos.  Fun chaos.  Family chaos.  But chaos nonetheless.

Cast your votes!

 

 

I know that you are all waiting on pins and needles for pictures from my trip, but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to blog about election day.

Today I voted at the polls for the first time.  Last election I voted as well, but I used a mail-in ballot and just voted for the candidate who represented my party. 

This year I researched, watched videos, had to actively register in Idaho, and actually took the time to go to the polls and stick my ballot in the box.

I felt like I was going to cry like a million times.

Once when I saw that, at 10:15 in the morning, the parking lot was so full that it was street parking only.  What a turn out!

Once when I heard the patriotic music playing in the background.

(no cameras allowed inside for privacy reasons, so you will just have to imagine.)

Again when I saw an old man with a veterans hat being helped to the polls. (I mean, come on!  Was this staged?!)

When I finished voting, and turned to see my baby smiling at me.

And when I turned in my ballot and the lady said “Caitlin ____ has voted in the 2008 election.”

Then I got a sticker, which I wore proudly to Winco. 

Really, what’s the only thing more American then getting vast quantities of cheap, mediocre food at Winco?  Voting.

I know that Idaho will go red no matter who I vote for.  I know that electoral votes, not popular votes, will determine the election.  But I still feel the need to vote. 

I vote because I can. 

I vote because I know that I would want to if I couldn’t. 

I vote because it is what women have fought for for years.

I vote because I think that it is pretty great that I, as a woman, can vote different than my husband or parents if I so choose.  I should support a country like that. 

And I vote because I want my son to see that I do.  Okay, so he was pretty bored.  But some day, he will notice and, hopefully, it will become a priority for him as well.

(Did anybody else REALLY want to peak over the barrier to see who the person next to you was voting for?  Anybody?)

 

Joseph's Birthday Room

This is going to be way out of order, but I had to post it anyway. During my family's Halloween party, my sister set up a room of her house to be Joseph's Birthday Party. We all filed in (3 siblings, 3 spouses, 11 nieces/nephews, 2 VERY pregnant bellies, plus Joseph, Brian, and me) to sing, grab a quick cupcake and move on to the next station.
Here is what Joseph thought of it.








At least he dove right in to the cupcake!!

We’re Home!

 

We made it home safely.

Joseph was the worst behaved baby in the car (out of two.)

I took pictures until my batteries ran out.

I am sick.

Hopefully, I will feel better by tonight, and can surface long enough to post some pictures.

In the meantime, I will be on the couch/ground/bed trying to play with my baby.

Don’t worry, I will still vote. 

Thanks for your patience!