This family's Got Talent!

We're thinking of going on tour. What do you think? The little one might need to invest in some pants first.

Check out the video to see our mad skillz.

Pumpkin Pie

For all you pumpkin pie enthusiasts, here are a few must try recipes. My five year olds promise they’ll be great.

Recipe 1
You cook a pumpkin
Add seeds
Put it in a pan
Put it by a heater for five…
Then it’s done

Recipe 2
Pie
Seeds
Little tiny bit of string
Juice
Put it in the oven for 12 minutes

Recipe 3
A pumpkin
A frog
Stir it, then eat it up.

Recipe 4
These are the grediants
Pumpkin
Crack and egg
Yellow flower
Potatoes
Sugar
Put some meat in ti
Add some seeds
Strawberries
Marshmallows
Some milk
Pepper
Water
In the microwave for 59. That’s the grediants. Gonna be gooey and good.

Recipe 5
Pumpkin
Sandwiches
Noodles
More pumpkin water
Put it in the oven for 12 minutes.
Eat it with chicken legs and roast beef.

Recipe 6
Pumpkin
Seeds
Green grass to let it grow
A yellow flower in the middle.
Put it in the oven for 1,2,4. Slice it to eat with the whole family.

Yum oh yum!

Cat Pee

It has recently been discovered that when we run our 1979 coin operated dryer, it smells of cat urine. Any suggestions? And no, we do not have a cat, nor do any cats have access to our garage. Help!

October Flashback

It's funny to think this time last year, our lives seemed so dramatic. NOVA had just declared bankruptcy and were about to be thrown out of our apartment and onto the mean streets of Japan. That may be a bit over dramatic, but when compared to last year, we have had a very tame (never to be called boring) month.

Here's what we've been up to...

Jake tried out his teaching skills on 60 middle schoolers (no major mishaps so far) while Jill entertained kinders with songs and rhymes (no complaints about her singing, yet).

Jill chopped off her hair just in time to celebrate the last two weddings of the year. We are officially done with weddings until spring- unless anyone has any news to share with us.

We went to Bend to see Lindsey, Neal and their new beautiful house. Check out their amazing kitchen. They're quite sophisticated folk.

We visited Lakeview and learned that big remotes are the new thing. As you can clearly see, it really ups Darrel's cool factor.

We of course carved pumpkins. Betcha can't tell whose pumpkin is whose.


Happy November!

Six Quirky, Jerky Things About Us

We were tagged by Becca to describe six quirks that we each have. Seeing as how, we have no children and are no longer living in a foreign country, we welcome any new ideas for posts. We've decided to split it up and list three or four quirks each.

Here are some of Jacob's most loveable quirks.

1. He cannot sit at a table without rearragning everything on the table. He does not care if it his house or not, anything on anyone's table is fair game. The table does not look better when he is done.

2. He compulsively stacks change. Should he ever eye a pile of pennies that is not in a nice pile, he will get to work. Should you casually knock this pile of change over, he will re-stack it until someone finally removes the pile of change from his line of vision.

3. He is obsessed with beat boxing. At any place and any time he will beat box. This includes the grocery store and while on the pooper.

4. Jacob is a sleep shouter. Anyone who has ever slept in the same room or house with him is aware of this little quirk. He literally yells in violent gibberish every night. I'm surprised the neighbors have never complained.

Now it's Jill's turn.

1. Jill has problems with spontaneous laughing. People with Turrets Syndrome shout uncontrollable cuss words. Jill starts laughing uncontrollably without any provocation, and then starts laughing even harder at the fact that she's laughing. Traditionally, this problem originates in groups of at least 2, when you have somone to play off of. Not with Jill. Last week, she laughed about ice cream treats for 25 minutes.

2. Jill sometimes speaks with an English accent for no apparent reason. For example, I will say, "Hey, Jill, I'm in a good mood." She will respond, as though she's a British nanny, "Oooh, are you happy?" Inflection and all.

3. Jill is a deep-sleep Sit-com laugher. For example, she'll pass out during the first three minutes of a Seinfeld episode. 20 minutes later, she'll awake to the laugh track, and she'll burst out a short laugh, as though she understands the joke. Sometimes, she'll do the same thing during a death-bed scene of a tear-jerking drama. Apprently, death is funny to this woman.

Sand in Crevices

Hello, all. I'm (Jake) making a long-delayed return into the Blog world. You'll probably notice the style elements of the Blog disappearing quite quickly, as I've completely forgotten how to use this website.

Anyway, Jill and I were finally able to make a trip out of Eugene to Florence, Oregon this weekend. We both badly needed to get out of the routine, and what better place than Florence, which is one hour away from Eugene.

I'll use summary to describe the boring parts. We walked on a jetty, we walked on the beach, and we ate Mo's famous clam chowder. Now for the good part:

Jill and I were walking on the beach, when she saw a sand dune to our right. She said, "I want to roll down that sand dune." I said, "have you forgotten you're not 10 years old anymore."

Apparently, this fact was lost on Jill, who raced up the sand dune and rolled for about 40 feet until she puddled at my toes in a dizzy mass of sweatshirt and sandy teeth. She said, "I can't really stand up straight." I said, "that's because you just rolled down a sand dune."

However, I've never been one to back down from peer pressure unless it involves copious drug use or wearing women's clothing. Therefor, it seemed natural to me to be the next to roll down the hill, and to top Jill's roll by getting a jumping start. Jill said, "that's fine, I'll take a video." So, I went up the hill, and jumped from the top into a roll, landing on my shoulder and leg. Now, I don't know if any of you practice blunt force trauma regularly, but I will tell you that landing on a sand dune at 25 years old feels like a train wreck more than a Disneyland ride.

Anyway, we both survived, and have some sweeet photos to prove our athleticism and grace. I hope that you all will get to witness, live, Jill in an upside down somersault position with butt placed high in the air. What a marvel.

Until next time,

Jake and Jill

August Weddings

Jake and I closed our summer breaks with two amazing weddings.
Congratulations Derek and Liz on August 23rd and Brian and Morgan on August 30th.



Liz and her dad coming down the aisle.


Jake and Derek. They've been friends forever.


Michael and Sara. They are currently on a three WEEK backpacking trip.


Brian and Morgan, the newlyweds.


Jake and Diane catching up on sports and entertainment- two things Jill never has much to say on. This was shortly after Jake was asked to give an impromptu groomsmen speech in front of 350 guests.


The mohito queens. Jill and Lindsey made mohitos for reception. Neither of them had any experience mixing drinks, nor had they even had a mohito before. As a direct result, there were a lot of full mohitos glasses left on the tables at the end of the night.

SCHOOL UPDATE....

Both Jill and Jake have survived the first week of school and both are willingly returning tomorrow.