Christmas Tree Hunting

We hit a new farm this year and I think it was our best one yet. Beautiful scenery, huge nobles, and gorgeous weather. I think we'll be back in the years to come.

Thanksgiving in Grants Pass

Thanks to the Donovans' for hosting another fantastic holiday at their unbelievable home in Grants Pass. We had a great time visiting, watching football, and eating until we burst.

Halloween Game Day: Ducks vs USC. Boo!

It just doesn't get any better than Halloween night, Autzen Stadium, 6-1 USC vs 6-1 Oregon. Our great friends, the Plaskers, came over to help spice up the festivities. We carved pumpkins with the kids, ate yummy food, and the game didn't disappoint either. Flat Citranos even made another appearance.

Cousin Kaia's 12th birthday extravaganza!

We ventured up to Renton for the weekend to help celebrate Kaia's birthday. As usual, it was great to get the cousins, Aunts, Uncles, and the neighorhood buddies together. They are always so great with Jessi and Will.




Will gets geared up for a swim (video):


Kaia and friends reproducing MJ's Thriller video...pretty freakin cute (video):


Jessi in da tub (video):



Jessi & Will rocking to a little "Eye of the Tiger" (video):

Sunriver Showdown

Team Donovan and Team Plasker joined us in Sunriver for an extended weekend of football, great food, and better company. The weather was fantastic as well. The only complaint is that the weekend went by WAAAAY to fast. Thanks (again) to the Fergusons for the use of their beautiful vacation house.

Will opens one of his gifts from Auntie Shawn and Uncle T-bone

The pictures and video say it all! He also got a cool Handy Manny toy but the pictures of that weren't nearly as cool. :)

From Will opens gift from Citranos

From Will opens gift from Citranos

From Will opens gift from Citranos

House Painting

These show the house as a work in progress. We're still finishing up the trim, garage, and front door.

Ducks vs Utah (Game Day at Plaskers)

Go Ducks! Another great get together at the Plaskers. Nothing better than good college football, good food/drinks, and good buds! Oh, and we had another surprise visit from a certain flat couple. Uninvited, I might add. Seems they don't need an invitation. Hmmmm.....

Mao-free countries:



Mao-controlled countries:
http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=1203705012/a=86024216_86024216/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

Flat Citranos crash Will's 4th Birthday Party

Well, we had a little incident this past weekend. Not everything went according to plan. Flat Citrano's made an appearance and, well, in true Citrano fashion spiced up the party.

Will's Birthday Week

We spent a good week (and longer if you count his party at Aunt Didi's place) celebrating the big 04 for Will. Needless to say he loved it all. Thanks to everyone for making this another great birthday for him.

Love to Visit the Donovan Party!

Everytime we visit the Donovans I wonder why we don't come down more often. You can't beat the mountains, trees, garden, or the company. We even had Toby and Mary join us for the weekend. Always a fantastic time. Ann decided to take it up a notch this time and put together the 1st annual Donovan games complete with horseshoes, wiffle ball, disk golf, mini golf, and some hoops. That was awesome. Next year will incorporate some bocce ball, darts, and tequila shots. :) The food, company, and scenery were top notch as usual. Thank you, Donovans!

Look who's famous....T-bone on TV!

Check out who we saw on TV the other night at the M's game....we knew he was there just didn't think he was going to show up on our TV! The M's ended up winning in walk off fashion in the bottom of the 9th with a bases loaded single by Ichiro. Nice work, T-bone!

Oregon Brewers Festival 2009

These don't need many words....

Depoe Bay with Team Citrano

What a week and what a view! We spent the last week relaxing (as much as you can with two little ones) at the beach in a superb condo. Big thanks to Trent & Shawn for their hospitality. We ate fantastic food, saw several great sunsets, admired dozens upon dozens of gray whales, lounged on a few different beaches, made a stop at Rogue Brewing World Headquarters in Newport, played 9 holes of golf, and even had a great visit with the senior Citranos. Such a great time....we hated to leave.

Frisco!

Team Thompson took a brief trip to San Francisco over the 4th of July weekend. We had a quick stopover in Sacramento on the way down to sleep and get a little extra Nana/Papa/cousin time. It was fast but we got to see them all again on Saturday for the 1st Giants game.

The trip to SF was a pilgrimage of sorts with Mom and Dad finally taking Will to see the Giants in their home park. Will had been to 11 Major League stadiums before getting to see his team in their own venue. Bad parents! It was well worth the long drive down. He absolutely loved playing ball on the little field inside the stadium (though he was not so happy when we had to leave). The game was a hit too....he's getting old enough to sit, watch, and appreciate for several innings. Jessi enjoyed having her own seat to sit, stand, and play in. Will loved his new Pablo Sandoval shirt...wanted to sleep in it and even wear it the next day (Mom and Dad nixed wearing it 2 days in a row). We all had a blast taking the cable car over to Fisherman's Wharf and experiencing the Exploratorium on our one day off from games.

Last but far from least, we got to spend a little time with Nana & Papa, the younger Thompsons (my brother, Auntie April, and cousins Haley & Owen) and our great friends Carrie & Chris. So good to see everyone. We even had a cameo visit from Team Citrano! SOOOOO good to see Uncle T-bone and Auntie Shawn after almost a full year away in China. We've missed them SO SO much! Can't wait to see you guys next week!

Day Out with Thomas 2009

We hit our 2nd Day out with Thomas in Hood River, OR. Will was more excited about playing with the train tables than actually taking a ride on Thomas. Good to know for next year....that's $50 we can save. Notice little sister, Jessi, wanting to be like her brother wearing a hat and playing some trains with the bigger kids. We topped the day off wiht a trip to a local fountain where the kids could cool off.

Take me out to the ballgame....with Nana & Papa!

The Gigantes were in town to play the Mariners so you know we had to be there. They seem to visit about once every 3 or 4 years. Nana and Papa made the trip up for the big event. Papa and Ryan took in the night games on Friday and Saturday nights and we all went to the Sunday day game. It just happened to be Little League weekend and we got to participate in a pre-game parage on the field before Sunday's game...what a treat! It was a big success....as baseball usually is in our family. We even managed to take in a quick ferry trip to Bainbridge Island on Saturday. The weather was unbelievable for May in the Northwest. Big thanks to the Bjarkes for letting us use their place while they were away.

Little Steamers

We found a couple places in the area that have live little steam engines that you can ride for free. Needless to say, Will went nuts over both places. We'll definitely be going back as this was a huge hit with the big guy.

BBQ at Casa de Decker

Our long time, good friends Aaron, Tiffany, & Griffin invited us over for some good Q and outside time at their place. We're so happy to have them close by....love being able to watch our kids grow up together.

Will meets his favorite engine, the famous Southern Pacific 4449

Saturday, May 9th was National Train Day nationwide. Part of the festivities in Portland was to bring out the famous Southern Pacific 4449 and display her at Union Station in downtown Portland. Will has been watching "the 449" (as he calls her) on youtube and talking about the 4449 since Richard was here last year. Thanks Richard! He absolutely loves the 4449.

Thompsons & Plaskers decend upon Sunriver

Thanks to cousin Dave & family, we were able to take advantage of another great weekend in Sunriver with the Plaskers. Good food, great friends, some games, and a few yummy beverages. Always a good time in Sunriver!

Centralia Rendezvous with Didi

Time for a Walmart/Didi/Cousin fix in Centralia...another big success!

April Hiking in the Columbia River Gorge

We took advantage this weekend of some primo spring weather in the Northwest by taking a short 2 mile hike in the Gorge. Jessi got a ride on Daddy's back while Will did awesome navigating most of the trail on foot despite the sometimes muddy conditions.

Cactus League '09

The Thompsons finally made another appearance in Phoenix for Spring Training after a year off to welcome Jessi. We just had a great time watching games, eating great food every night, and getting lots of Nana & Papa time. We caught 4 games including one at a new park (which we try to do everytime we visit) in Goodyear. There are two new teams in Phoenix this year, the Indians and the Dodgers. The Reds will also join the Cactus League next year making the number of teams in Florida and Arizona exactly the same. This was Will's first trip he remembers to Spring Training and he LOVED it. I think he wore his glove more than he had in the rest of his life. He loved playing catch with Papa and Dad, especially on the little diamonds at the ballparks. Jessi enjoyed time in the sun and just scootching around in the grass area when she wasn't being held by one of her favorite people. Another successful, trip. Be sure to check the captions on the pics!

Thompson Fav Food of Phoenix for 2009:
-------------------------------------
1. Los Dos Molinos (Mexican food, yummy. Hit two different locations this year.)
2. Oreganos (Pizza...tasty....also hit it twice.)
3. Tia Rosas (New Mexican place, recommended by Mom & Dad. Very good and REALLY good atmosphere!)
4. Famous Dave's BBQ. (Yes, its a national chain but damn good and the one in Portland has been on hold for like 3 years.)
5. Alice Cooperstown (Sports Bar with a rock & roll twist in downtown Phoenix. Food is pretty darn good too for a sports bar.)


Thompson Favorite Cactus League Ballparks (so far):
---------------------------------------------------
1. Scottsdale Stadium - Giants (You just can't beat it, great food/drinks/atmosphere and within walking distance of Old Town Scottsdale)
2. Peoria Sports Complex - Mariners & Padres (also very good)
3. Goodyear Ballpark - Indians & Reds (nice new park but very isolated from any part of town)
4. Tucson Electric Park - D-backs (Good park but nothing spectacular...and its 2 hrs from Phoenix)
5. Phoenix Municipal Stadium - A's (Surprisingly, not bad and with great backdrop of mountains...but needs grass seating.)
6. Hohokam Stadium - Cubs (Just blah....but its the Cubs and baseball so its not all bad)

Still need to visit:
--------------------
Maryvale Ballpark - Brewers
Surprise Stadium - Rangers & Royals
Tempe Diablo Stadium - Angels
Camelback Ranch - Dodgers & White Sox
Hi Corbett Field (Tucson) - Rockies

Tourney Time 2009

This year the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament FINALLY made an appearance in Portland. We only had to do away with our state NFL lottery game, Sports Action (moment of silence, please). Sniffle....Anyway, the first and second round games were in the Rose Garden. Christy and Ryan hit the first session of 2 games on Thursday afternoon. Then Aaron swooped in to relieve Christy for the 2 evening games....after a quick shot of Jaeger and a few beers at McFadden's, of course! Christy recovered in time to attend Saturday's awesome games which included the Fuskies losing by 2 and a last second shot by Gonzaga to send them to the sweet 16. My only two complaints of the tourney is the lack of games on the big screen during timeouts and half time. (HELLLLOOO, there are 4 games running simulataneously during the 1st round. Would it kill you to play something besides stupid trivia questions when play is stopped??) My other complaint is the NCAA's no alcohol policy. However, I totally understand why they wouldn't want to sell beers for 4 straight games....yikes! All in all the NCAA tourney is a truly unique event. The electricity when the crowd senses an upset is simply awesome.

Jessi's 1st Birthday (Part Two)

In between NCAA tourney games, we decided to throw another party for Jessi's first b-day. What the hey! Actually, we hadn't had a local party with Christy's mommy group friends and the rest of our loco, er, local Portland friends. Needless to say, Jessi digs cupcakes!

Happy 1st Birthday, Griffin!

Happy Big #1 to our good friend, Griffin! We helped Aaron, Tiffany and family ring in the event with some good food, beers, and lawn mowing. Go Grif, go! So happy to have the Deckers living close by again!

Jessi's First Birthday (Part One)

We kicked off Jessi's first birthday celebration about 3 weeks early. We were already together with the Bjarkes in Seattle to catch Thomas on Stage at Key Arena so we decided to do part one of Jessi's birthday celebration at the same time. Nana Zsa-zsa surprised us and made the trip up for the festivities. Thanks, Nana Zsa-zsa! Nana and Papa, you are on notice....we'll have part two of Jessi's b-day celebration while we're in Arizona. Start looking for birthday cake or pie!

Valentines Day Weekend

Valentines Day weekend started out with some sweet cards for the kids from both Nana & Nana Zsa-zsa. Both kids loved their cards to say the least! Thanks, Nanas! After bagels and cards, we took Will and Jessi to the Great Train Expo at the Oregon Expo Center. Not only did we get to see a ton of model trains but we rode the MAX trains to the Expo center. Will was in heaven and we ended up spending more than 4 hours chasing him around the different model train tables. The only sad part for Will was having to leave.

Numchuck Baby!

Don't mess with da numchucks!

Fish Hatchery & Surprising the Bjarkes

We had no plans this weekend and did something a little crazy. We had awesome weather on Saturday and decided to take the kids to the Fish Hatchery at the Bonneville Dam in the Columbia River Gorge. We've done this one other time with Will and he loved it. This time was no different. He got a kick out of feeding the big rainbow trout and seeing the huge (>6 ft) Sturgeon.

On Sunday, we drove around killing time to get Jessi to take a nap and ended up just driving all the way to Renton to surprise the Bjarkes. It was classic...we drove up just as they were pulling into the driveway. The look on Dawn's face was worth the trip. The kids got some cousin time in and Will even got to throw down some chocolate cake at Owen's (neighborhood friend) birthday party.

Christy Christmas

Chriiiisssty Christmas......The annual get together was at the Thompson chateau in lovely Aloha, OR this year. We conquered the usual Christy Christmas fare including chorizo, 3 different kinds of tamales, and, or course, menudo. There's nothing like a little tripe to make your holidays complete.

Jessi and the Kitty Water