TV's and the environment....

Some interesting information I found online....

Plasma tv's use as much energy as your refrigerator! That's about $78 a year based on how much tv an average family watches. Old school tv's (like we have) cost only $11 per year.

BUT, like my friends and I were talking about the other day it would be nice to have one when the kids are teenagers so that they will want to hang out at home (along with their friends) and not at someone elses house :) Just something to think about!

Belated Blog Entry #2: The Oregon Coast

Here is the other belated blog entry I had promised in my last entry. This one will cover our family vacation to the Oregon Coast (specifically Portland and the Enchanted Forest). We went the last week in July. We actually left the morning following Sophia's birthday party so things were a little hectic--getting packed, etc., but we made it :) The first night we stayed the night in Portland. It was an interesting night because we had both kids in the room with us which was a first. Matthew screamed his head off for about 45 minutes straight before he went to sleep---thankfully Chris was in the hotel lobby with my dad (Bert or a.k.a. Poppy) working on their Whatifsports thingamabob that they do together. He gets a little edgier than I do with screaming kids---I'm used to it being at home with them all day long. Anyway, Matthew finally went to sleep.

The next day my mom (Lynn or a.k.a. Glynnie), the kids and I went to the mall and hung out the entire day while the boys (minus Matthew--he was with us) went to the Oregon Brewers Festival. The mall we went to has an ice skating rink so that was a big draw for Sophia and kept her occupied while my mom let me go wander off and do a little shopping for myself. I love the store Forever 21---we don't have it here in Boise but are getting one soon. It's cheap like Old Navy, but their clothes are trendier (my opinion). So, I got a few things there and was able to try on clothes in the dressing room without 4 little eyes staring at me and a toddler complaining she is ready to go---it was a nice treat. We all went out to dinner at Claim Jumper's which was pretty cool---I've always wanted to go there. The food was pretty good---what was impressive was the 6-layer Chocolate Motherlode Cake. We got one slice to go for $9.95 and couldn't finish the slice between the 4 of us.

The next day we went to the Enchanted Forest (http://www.enchantedforest.com/). It is a small amusement park in Salem, Oregon that I have gone to numerous times as a little girl. I have very fond memories of it and it was fun to share it with the kids (this is the 2nd year in a row for both of the kids that they have gone). Sophia was more into it this year and was braver than last year. She even rode on the Ice Moutain Bobsleds. The ride that really freaked me out was the Frog Hopper. It was a kiddie ride (they have a whole kiddie section with a little train, etc), but that thing was scary! Sophia was fine of course. I didn't know if I should laugh or cry---I decided to laugh until I was crying instead. Here is an action shot of the two of us on it together.

Some other pics from the Enchanted Forest...

There is more to our trip---Seaside, etc. but I'm going to post this anyway for the time being since it obviously takes me awhile to post...

Belated Blog Entry #1: Sophia's Birthday

Sophia's 4th birthday was last Thursday and we had her birthday party on Friday. Then on Saturday we woke up early and headed to the Oregon Coast for a week...thus the belated blog entry! Belated Blog Entry #2 will be about our vacation to the Coast (stay tuned).

Even though we were having a birthday party for Sophia on Friday, it didn't seem right to let her "real" birthday go by without a little bit of a celebration. For her "real" birthday we surprised her with a 1/2 day at Princess Camp! She had a great time. Her dance teacher from this last year was holding the camp and it just happened to be on her special day---we couldn't resist.Sophia with her Princess crown she made that day.

Later that night Glynnie took us to dinner at Red Robin to celebrate her big day. The wait staff came out and sang Happy Birthday to her which she liked and she enjoyed a clownie cone from Baskin Robbins for dessert.

Her birthday party was the following night. She had a great time playing with all of her friends.