Mindless Meanderings of Schroedawg

It is true what they say, "From the mouth of babes." Madelynne is quite the young lady and is really growing into her own. She has the best stories that she makes up and tells anyone who is listening, like the witch that flies around her room at night or the "bear monster" that lives in her room. Every night, after dinner, we end up dancing. It's her favorite thing to do. We pump up some music and dance around the house, being completely crazy until bed time.  We started the Elf of the Shelf tradition with her this year and, thus far, it is so much fun to watch her get excited to find where "Go Go" is every morning. I need to write down some of the things she says because they are just great. The magic of Christmas is so much more fun through her eyes than it ever has been with just Brad and I. It truly is a joy to watch her get excited about Santa and wish Jesus a Happy Birthday. It's special.  We also had our first official snow and, d...

We have too much fun taking family photos for our Christmas card each year. Here are some of our favorites.  Copying each other Kisses Wove, True wove... Brad was pointing at something, that was nothing....booger.  Wee bit of sass

“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” ~Theodore Roosevelt. I have had a hard time keeping up with the blog, and capturing cherished moments of Madelynne since summer has lapsed. I took on a bit more than I could chew and it has been a blessing and curse all in one. I gradually have lost sight of what drives me to no avail and truly what I love to do. Hopefully, as the next few weeks wind down some, I will get some time during winter break to evaluate the year and decide what happens next. I have to be honest, I look at all these people around me living out their lives in exoctic locations or vacationing there, and I want to go beyond my realm of comfort so badly. I look at all these people in my life that have jumped off that scary, broken ledge into their realities and have seen so many people and dreams blossom. I’m tinged with the green of jealousy and I am ashamed for feeling this way. I want to wake up and be at point Z already, but am somehow stuck at poi...

Sometime in August I noticed a Facebook post about Whale Watching Tours out of Port Angeles. If you know me very well, the two animals that I believe are my spirit animals, are the whale and the moose, with the cat a close third. :) I immediately notified my friend Nikki and soon enough, we booked our plans and off we were on an adventure of a lifetime. Island Adventures  is a company that offers tours out of Anacortes with a guarantee to see whales. I was hopeful, as I have seen them with my naked eye in La Push, Cape Alava, and Hobuck Beach...but nothing compared to our experience on the 22nd. The tour was not disappointing one bit. In fact, the captain, Scott, the deckhand, Eli, and the naturalist and wildlife photographer, Bart, were fabulous. It was worth the money and time and I already know that we will be returning in the spring with our husband's and kiddos in tow. It was that good. For me, it felt like I was a kid opening a Christmas gift...they were only a few hundre...

After spending several weeks picking the apples from the orchard, we were fortunate enough to have a friend let us borrow their apple press and spent last Sunday pressing apples into cider. After 8 hours, we pressed 100 gallons. It was pretty fun and the boys made some of the cider hard. Can't wait to try it. Unfortunately, Maddy thought she could make the electrical press go "faster" and got her hand stuck in the press while it was moving. No broken bones, thank goodness. She was just trying to help, she said. *sigh*. Oh, 3-year-olds... Adding apples to the press The press in motion Star Cider press and completed products The set up: Cutting table, buckets to wash, clean sanitize, and then putting them into the press! Partial finished product  Hurt Tractor wagon full of apples, ready to press (this was only a small portion)!

I am fortunate to live in a beautiful place that has two amazing seasons that I just look forward to each year: spring and fall. I love the flowers here in the spring, but I cannot get over the colors and long-lasting fall foilage here. Truly beautiful. So, here's to fall! Annual trek to the pumpkin patch Three years of changes Rainbow over the Strait Along the waterfront Foggy field, spooky witch 7 months! :) Have been dying to get this "tree" and thanks to Nikki, finally got an opportunity and awesome excuse to! Mountain drive. Picking her pumpkin Pumpkin Patch 2014 Photoshop fun with the Blood Moon.