An Afternoon Well Spent

Hey everyone! I can't believe it's been so long since I stopped by my little online world and said hello. We had a very full week - Thursday we had two field trips to the pumpkin patch, and then I volunteered a bunch at both of the girl's schools on Friday - Emma's had their annual Read-a-thon and I helped out counting minutes and money, then Anika had her very first middle school dance and I helped man the concession stand, and those kids kept us hopping! We ended up staying home on Saturday because our last soccer games were cancelled due to the heavy amounts of rain that we've had this week. Yesterday we finished up our weekend with a trip to the Oregon Zoo and a Disney on Ice show up in Portland (I'm working on editing those pictures to share with you soon!)

Before all of that happened though, Noah and I spent an afternoon together at a little blogger event held at our local Orchard Supply Hardware store. There were pots painted with chalkboard chalk and he got to decorate it with chalk paint, and then he planted some flowers.

There was some appetizers to taste and we walked around visiting all of their Halloween DIY projects  that were on display. 

Noah doesn't do 'boy' stuff as often as I think he should, since he spends the majority of his time with me and the girls, so it was fun for him to have the opportunity to go hang out at the supply store and look at all of the cool "project" stuff. Having a boy is so much fun - I love my little man.

~Melissa 

14 Fun Halloween Treat Ideas

                                                 Check out 14 Fun Halloween Treats
                                                  by Melissa Kaylene at Foodie.com

Hey everyone! Today is a VERY rainy day in Oregon.... the rainiest day we've had in a long time. Luckily for us we have no plans this evening and I've already got my sweats on, cozy socks on my feet, and a apple cinnamon candle burning on the table. The kids just got home from school and I still have no idea what we are having for dinner tonight because I've been happily looking up Halloween things to help get me in the spirit of things. Can you believe that its only 9 days away?

Ever since Anika was born I've loved Halloween. We never celebrated it when I was a kid, but I think it's fun to let the kids dress up and create crafts and treats - we don't do much spooky stuff around here (yet!). I've still got to buy candy and make trick-or-treat bags for all of the little ghosts and goblins that visit our front door. If you've followed along for a while now you know that we get a whole lot of trick-or-treaters in our neighborhood. It's one of the nice things about living in a small town, everyone knows your neighborhood, all of the kids know each other, so it's almost like a big block party. I'll be making 300 goody bags this year. 

I'm also working on a little cake project that I'm going to share on here next week, and I needed a bit more baking inspiration so I collected 14 different Halloween treats from Foodie.com and decided to share them with you too in case you needed a little more inspiration yourself!

What I love about all of these treat ideas is that they are all so simple to make and the kids would be excited to see any of them out for a party! (Okay, maybe I would too!) 

Tomorrow I'll continue my October celebrations by attended not one, but two Pumpkin Patch field trips with the kids. At least they overlap and are at the same Pumpkin Patch so the day isn't split up. Time to break out the rain boots and hats - I think it's going to be a wet visit! 

What are your plans for Halloween this year? Are you having a party? I'd love to see Halloween food or party ideas that you've done - if you want you can link up your photos and posts in the comment section! 

Until tomorrow -

~Melissa

Compensation was provided by Foodie via Mode Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Foodie”

Living Locally: Brooks Wines

A few weeks ago I received a super last minute invite from fellow blogger Marlynn to meet up and head over to visit the new tasting room at Brooks Wines. They were holding a media and trade open house to view their new facility. I had never been up there before, but I knew it was close to where Wayne worked. I gave him a call to see how close it was and if he could get off of work a little early to watch the kids. It turns out that Brooks Wines was literally directly across the road from where he has been working for the past year! I ended up bringing the kids up there and dropping them off with him while he finished putting up some things and I headed across the road. The kids always love checking out the vineyards that he has worked in and make it a competition between them to see who can find the most dirt and get as filthy as possible!

The new tasting room is simply gorgeous! It's a two level area with two large decks that just feels like home when you walk in - I could see myself just living in a space like it if I could. It's just so inviting - exactly the look I imagine they were going for. They nailed it. There also happens to be this amazing view out in the Eola-Amity Hills, like I've said before, on a clear day you can see four mountains - Mt. St. Helens, Mt.Hood, Mt. Jefferson, and Mt. Adams. The tasting room has a beautiful panoramic view overlooking them. 

There's a great mix of reclaimed wood meshed in with the new decor that kept me glancing at all of the details. Downstairs there is also a large wood-burning pizza oven off of the lower deck that just looked like it was waiting for a party. Marlynn and I toured the entire facility while tasting some of their infamous Rieslings. 

Sometimes the most impromptu out-of-the-daily-routine surprises can turn out to be real gems - I had no idea this beauty was simply a 15 minute drive from my house, and on a bright sunny day I'm slightly jealous that Wayne gets to work outside with these views - that is, until the rainy windy days come (and they're here now!)

If you're in the area or are looking for a new stop on your wine tasting journey I would definitely recommend spending an hour or two up here!

Brooks is located at 21101 SE Cherry Blossom Lane, Amity, 45 miles southwest of 

Portland, Oregon. The tasting room is open from 11-5 PM daily, except Monday.

~Melissa

Our Weekend.

I fully intended on writing several things this weekend and the two days went so fast that I didn't get a thing written! We had a fun and full family weekend that I thoroughly enjoyed, although I've been fighting a sinus infection for a few days now so my energy has been slacking lately.

Saturday we had a day full of soccer games - Emma's was first up at noon, and then Anika had a late away game at 5:15 in Keizer. By the time Emma's game finished we had enough time to head home, grab a bite to eat, and then we took off to visit Wayne's mom for a few before getting Anika there to warm up at 4:15.

After the games we grabbed some dinner (Chinese food was the winning vote!) and didn't end up getting back home until about 8:30 that night. I then snuck out of the house for a couple hours and went to the movie theater with one of my friends to see the new Nicholas Sparks movie, The Best of Me. 

The next day we were up and running - and headed up to Astoria for our friend's daughter's birthday party. They lived close by to us for many years but recently moved back to their hometown and got a steal of a deal on a gorgeous house on 23 acres. We hadn't saw their new house yet so it was a good excuse to make a day trip as well as a stop off on the beach. It's about a 2 1/2 hour drive for us, and although I'm really sad to have had another friend move away I'm very happy for them - and  (bonus!) we always have a place to stay if we are up in the area.

After the birthday party we stopped off in Seaside for a quick walk on the beach before the rain came in and the sun set. There's always something so peaceful walking on the Oregon coast, especially when it's off season and there's only a few locals wandering about. We searched for sand dollars and the kids chased a few seagulls before we headed back home. 

"Family is the most important thing in the world."

- Princess Diana 

~Melissa

Living Locally: Sky High Sports Family Fun + Giveaway!

Disclaimer: We received passes to Sky High Sports to review, no other compensation was received. All opinions are my own. 

Happy Friday everyone! I hope you get some time to relax and enjoy this weekend! I have a fun giveaway to share with you today! The kids had been begging me for months to take them to Sky High Sports - an indoor trampoline fun center - but it was just something that I filed away as a "to-do" someday, and then a couple weekends ago while we were out visiting pumpkin patches I decided to surprise the kids and stopped by on our way home. 

They were just a tad excited.

I made sure that I signed the waivers online first so I wouldn't have to worry about that when we got there. We entered in to the large building and my kids let out a little gasp of anticipation. There were multiple areas with different activities for them to play on - sections for all ages to jump, certain areas for just younger children, a basketball bouncing area, a foam pit - and all of the sections had their own attendant supervising everyone.

There were also video game stations, plenty of vending machines to purchase cold water (we definitely needed it!) and then an area called Kids Adventureland, which is a fun area full of activities for children 12 and younger (Anika thought she was pretty cool because she slid by being 11).

If you wanted to make an afternoon of it, there's also a snack bar and seating for lunch. The building has plenty of seating for parents and anyone else who's not jumping (or just needing a break) with many very comfortable leather couches....and massage chairs. There's even an area with a TV and lounge chairs so dads can keep up with whatever game is on TV.

Needless to say the kids (and I) had a great time and they've already begged me on multiple occasions to go back there and had a birthday party (there is one private jumping area that is available for private parties). 

If you're local, Sky High Sports is located in Tigard, but they also have locations in California, Illinois, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington - and I've got some FREE passes to give away! Normally you see a "Family 4 Pack" giveaway, but since I have a family of 5 - I'm giving away 5 1 hour jumping passes away! These passes can be used at any Sky High location and will be mailed directly from me to you! Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

~Melissa