The Last 8 Months - Part 1

My last post was November 15, 2015.  When one is so far behind in blog updates, the thought of trying to catch up is overwhelming.  However, a lot has happened in the last 8 months so attempt to catch up I shall.

The biggest news is that we sold our house on Fairoaks and moved in with my parents (temporarily of course).  Technically, we sold our house on Fairoaks in October after having had it on the market for a week, then due to concerns about the foundation, the house was unsold and relisted in November.  It turns out the holidays aren't a great time to try to sell a house, even in a hot market, and coupling that with the backyard cliff and foundation issues, it took 3 weeks before we got a (low) offer.  By that time, we were ready to cut our losses and be done with it.  The house sold and at the end of January, we moved in with Ma and Pa.

For some reason, Mason and I apparently decided to take a selfie in mid-November.

The kidos hanging with their favorite second cousin Ellia.

Thanksgiving with the Cruzes.  Big cousin Kendra gave the girls a makeover.

The Cruz cousins - Tristyn, Siena, Mason, Andre, Adrian, and Kendra.

Mason checking his height at our old house.  We had tracked the kids growth on this wall for years and it was sad to paint over the markers.

We decided to take in an afternoon hockey game Thanksgiving weekend.  Apparently I had never been to the Coliseum during the day and didn't realize there were windows that let in natural light.

The boy and I trying to create the ultimate selfie.

Even Siena enjoys the occasional Winterhawks game!

After the passing of our beloved Halley in August, we were ready to welcome a new kitty to our household.  Enter Delilah!  She is also known as "Little Black Devil", "Double D", and "D-lay lay".  She's a spunky little thing but also pretty sweet.  She's definitely one of the family.

Siena and Tristyn participated in the Royal Crowns dance camp over Christmas break.

Kendra is on Rex Putnam's dance team and was one of the camp coaches.  The girls learned a dance and had a great time.

Christmas Eve was spent at Junior & Sarah's new house with the Cruzes, including this game which ultimately results in whip cream on the face...

Mason's turn...

Joel lost.

The kids loved losing.

The Cruz cousins again.

Siena got a curling iron from Tia Mandi - a perfect gift!!

Mason got cold hard cash...in the form of ones.

Lots and lots of ones.

Oh look, it's us!

After spending our traditional New Years Eve playing games with the DeCiccos, we joined them at Langbaan, a 12 dish progressive meal of Thai dishes.  The menu changes monthly and the reservation wait list is 6 months.  Hands down the most incredible meal I've ever eaten.  So many incredible tastes and flavors.  Oh, and you enter through this secret door in the back of another Thai restaurant.

Delilah fit into the family a little too well...she not only confused Tommy's role in the family but also his gender as she tried to nurse off of him.  And he let her.

In late January, Siena got her braces off!  Now she's sporting a retainer and we're hoping she's done with braces.

Some fun in the Torland yard after moving in.  One morning, Mason had us down at the creek for a very important boat launch.

A boy and his craft.

And there it goes!

In February, Luis turned the big 4-0!!!

I'd like to take this opportunity to remind him that he will always be older than me.

Siena played hoops again this year and Luis coached.  Here she is at the jamboree with a couple of her teammates.

And with her whole team.  She had several friends from her school on her team this year so it was a lot of fun.

Typical Siena face.

The after season hoops party with coach Daddy and also coach Heidi, the mom of one of her friends.

She was pretty psyched to get a trophy.

Actually, they were all excited for trophies.  They also had a successful 8-3 season and really played well down the stretch.

With friend and fellow teammate Sadie.

Siena also participated this year in the Oregon Battle of the Books (OBOB).  For OBOB, the 4 kids together read 16 books.  They then participate against other teams and other schools answering questions about the books.

Siena's team finished 8th at Districts (which is pretty good since I think there were over 30 teams at Districts, not to mention beating all the teams at their school).  They were super bummed to lose but I expect them to be a force to be reckoned with next year.

In even bigger news, I wore a dress.