Ocho Fan Club

Moving on from yesterday.....

Last Sunday, Brayden had his first play-off game for Pop Warner. The first half was very lackluster, but during the second half, his team really pulled it together and ended up winning. It was a gorgeous fall day, made even more festive by the presence of Julie, Scott, and Aaron who were determined to be the ultimate fans of player "Ocho" (#8 - Brayden). They drew on t-shirts to imitate his uniform and even did cheers for him - it was so sweet.

Today at noon, they have their second play-off game. It's against the other Sheldon team that beat us previously worse than any other team. That team is also comprised of many friends of our team - so it makes it even harder. We'll see if we can pull off the underdog victory -

Dealing with Disappointment

It's been a pretty mopey place in our house today. Well, at least since about 2pm - that was about the time our Ducks hit halftime against Stanford - and the writing was starting to appear on the wall that Stanford was playing at their very best, and Oregon wasn't playing as well as last week.

We lost - and there goes (again) those BCS dreams. It didn't help that my sleeping habits have been totally screwy this week, thanks to a time change, migraine, "make-up" naps, etc, etc. It resulted in me waking up this morning around 4:15 - only to play a little "Scooby Doo Unmasked" on the PS2 (my latest free-time fetish......Mikayla ended up completing the game today - I'm so glad I've passed down to her my love for Scooby Doo video games) - then venture off for an hour long Safeway grocery trip, and top it off with a workout. (Which is a very good thing because I've done some emotional binging now that we've lost).


Needless to say, I need a good night's sleep because my discouragement over our loss has me a bit too mopey. As they say, there's certainly a great thrill of victory (which we experienced to the utmost last weekend) - and the agony of defeat......sigh........

"But, It's Supposed to Rain!"

That was my answer to Julie when she kept bugging me earlier this week about going for a hike today. Thursday was supposed to be the day that the weather changed and the rain and wind came wooshing in, so it was with a bit of reluctance after a week that took a lot out of me to say "yes".

(And, of course, it's hard to say 'no' to Julie - especially when she sends little pictures like this to my cell phone)
So, because Julie was unwilling to make any decisions - I took her to Sahalie Falls. It's about an hour and 15 minute drive, but we had enough time given we left early enough. She'd never been there, which was the determining factor - you don't walk away from that hike unimpressed.



Did I mention that Julie "borrowed" Sydney last Friday? She has a beloved Golden Retriever, Maddy, back at Cannon Beach and was really needing some "dog time". They ran errands together, and of course, Syd loved it. So, I'm wondering if the real reason Julie wanted to go so bad today was just to have the dog time again...... =)

Obviously a girl used to the cold ocean temperatures - there was no way I was going to join them out there.....

As I've mentioned before, some of the allure of this hike is the aquamarine colors of the water - because it was a little later in the season than usual for me, there was more water flowing - and hence even more brilliant color. This hike makes me so in love with the state we live in.



On the way home, I shared some of my favorite Christmas songs with Julie - summing up a wonderful adventure. And, FYI - the rain didn't begin until we were safely in the car driving home...... =)

Fall, Glorious Fall!

I feel so bad for bringing this up, because some of my dear blogging friends have not been so fortunate. But, we have really had a glorious fall. We've had enough rainfall to feel like it really is a change of season and bring in the water we need, but then there have been breaks like this picture represents that make you feel like God has used the "boost color" option wherever you look. (It's a feature on my I-photo that makes colors of each picture more vibrant).

On this particular beautiful day, that started out with a very brisk dense fog.....I had my first "home visit" from my friend, Sarah. What a sweetheart - and so fun to bake and bond over all of our stories and "likenesses" (particularly a love for coziness, family, food, and embracing the sweetness of life).

I let her flip through my new cookbook and she chose Brownie Crackles. They turned out super yummy - and it's a very fast recipe to put together. If you love chocolate and brownies - this is your treat.....

I also sent her home with my all-time favorite "appetizer treat". They are called Apple and Brie Toasts and I discovered them last year and they'd pretty much be my first choice for any meal. The taste combination - as simple as it is - becomes kind of a symphony in your mouth (at least that's the way I feel about it). So, of course, I'll share the recipe.

APPLE AND BRIE TOASTS

1 loaf sourdough baguette bread - (I like the kind that comes in a 5 pack from Costco)
1/4 cup butter, melted (this can be reduced if you are really trying to be healthier......)
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 package Brie cheese (I prefer to use the "spreadable version" as it is so much faster/easier to use...otherwise, you'll need to purchase a "pie-shape" and slice it into thin slices)
2 Granny Smith apples - peeled, cored, and thinly sliced

Arrange bread on an ungreased bakeing sheet; bake at 350 degrees until lightly toasted. Mix together butter, sugar and walnuts. Top each slice of bread with cheese slice (or spread), 1 layer of apple slices, and a teaspoonful of butter/brown sugar/walnut mixture. Return to bake sheet; bake until warm. Can be stored in the fridge and reheated.....

BROWNIE CRACKLES
1 package fudge brownie mix (I always like the Duncan Hines version)
1 cup flour
1 egg
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup canola oil
1 cup chocolate chips
Powdered Sugar

In a large bowl, beat the brownie mix, flour, egg, water and oil until well blended. Stir in chocolate chips.

Place powdered sugar in a shallow dish. Drop dough be tablespoonfuls into the sugar; roll to coat. Place 2 inches apart on greased baking sheets.

Bake at 350 degree for 8-10 minutes or until set.

Fright Night at Autzen

AKA - One of the best games at Autzen I've ever been to
AKA - One of my all-time favorite Halloweens

Or as the announcers of last night's ESPN Sport Center said, (in description of the way the Ducks beat out the Trojans) "This was an absolute thrashing", "taken to the shed", "got destroyed", "unheard of", "dominated", and my favorite "a can of whoopin’ Duckside being handed to the Trojan’s rear-end"

Yes, it was THAT great of a night.

Words don't really describe it, especially if you are not a fan of college football, or don't understand the dominance that has always been USC's football program. It wouldn't matter to you that we beat USC worse than they've ever been beaten in the "Pete Carroll era". Or that USC has only given up more yards to a single opponent once before in their history (and that occasion was in 1943, and the record was just 10 yards more). It wouldn't impress you just how magical Jeremiah Masoli played (among the best quarterback performance I've seen at UO - right up there with Dixon) or how our redshirt freshman running back, LaMichael James - who really only saw playtime because of the disaster of LaGarrett Blount at Boise State - displayed such extraordinary talent - and yes, true character.

Finally, it might not mean anything to you that this IS the same team that lost so infamously against Boise State this year, that our family - among many, many others, nearly wrote off as "just not a good year for Oregon football". Indeed, our brand new, coach, Chip Kelly, has pulled off something no one expected this year - and to that I say, "I love you Ducks! Thanks for one heckuva night!"

The view from our seats........


I thought this was a funny picture - it's supposed to be Spock demonstrating how to make the "O" symbol for Oregon. Hee hee! The funny thing is, the score is all wrong as it reflects a touchdown the Trojans made that got called back because the ball was never fumbled. Nope, USC never got even that high.....

Harvest Time at Harlow

As if in answer to our quandary about not being able to be "there" for our kids when they dress up for Trick-or-Treating, our church decided to host their Camp Harlow "Harvest-Fest" on Friday the 30th vs. Saturday the "official" day the 31st. Way to go Camp Harlow - and smart move given how many people would be looking for just such an opportunity given 60,000 people would be sitting at Autzen Stadium on Halloween night vs. traditionally celebrating Halloween.

So, we took our time dressing up our kids - smudging make-up on Brayden's face for "dirt" and really "dolling" up Mikayla to make her look way TOO OLD. But, they looked great, and I'm so glad we got our obligatory pictures taken with them so when they ended up doing their real Trick-or-Treating with the Meyers tonight, it didn't matter what they ended up looking like.








They had a blast at Harlow. It's always been just a little packed for our tastes in the past, and moreover, we've desired to reach out to our neighborhood in trick-or-treating vs. the festivities at Harlow. But, for this year, it was just perfect. The kids even got to re-visit with their favorite counselor - again and again throughout the night.


All just a part of what is turning out be one of my favorite weeks of this year!

Annual Chili Feed

Happy Halloween! ....Which means it's time for our Annual Chili Feed...... good times, good people, and if I say so myself, very good food.

When we started getting closer to the noon o'clock hour, when people were supposed to arrive - I began to enlist everyone to get the "final chores" completed. Travis thought I was mad at him because he got assigned to putting hard brie on soft bread (which needed to be somewhat reversed for optimum spreading....). John got enlisted to add the apples and brown sugar mix on top - thanks guys!

Grandma Leona came early dressed in costume - looking quite classic, and helped make the punch that went over so well last year.

Mom worked on fruit prep......

It turned into a full house in a hurry - just the way we like it!

These three guys hid in the kitchen.....up to no good, I'm sure.

The 4:30 am workout buddies (John and Steph carpool in the mornings to the gym on M,W, and F's - crazy, huh?)

Travis snapped these two - pretty much where you'll find "Steph and Steph" on any given weekend.....


Still yet to be posted, Harvest at Harlow from last night (pics currently being downloaded) and John's adventures at GameDay this morning at Autzen. It's always a sure sign life is going good for the fam when I can't keep up with blog posts.....

In the meantime - GO DUCKS!

Bowling with the Big Kids

As I'm trying to type this post, Brayden is working on getting me back to the place that I'd labored hard to get to in "Scooby Doo Unmasked" on PS2. Stupid me overwrote my progress when I tried to save his game.........grrrr! Yes, little known fact about me, I love Scooby Doo PS2 games......

I also enjoy bowling - as do the kids, though I'll admit it was not a stellar showing for any one of the Rileys today. No matter, that's the great thing about bowling, it's fun even when your showing is pathetic.

The bowling idea was discussed earlier this week when I found out Lisa's kids din't have school on Friday either. The idea seemed even better when Amy asked if I'd watch her kids while she went to some appointments. Unfortunately, Adam chose this week to catch the Swine Flu, so poor Lisa got stuck at home caring for him rather than joining in on the fun today. (Fortunately, though, Adam's case seems to be pretty mild - Praise God!).

I'd mentioned the idea to Kaela and Julie - and then Aaron, Scott, and Andrew joined us as well - what an honor it is that these "big kids" would choose on a Friday afternoon to spend time with me and my little kids....