Sleep overs....

As a parent I wasn't quite sure how to feel about sleepovers. I remember loving when my friends would spend the night and usually having a blast when I spent the night somewhere else. Sleepovers are deffinatly something  I want my kids to enjoy during their childhood but in todays world you have to be so protective and careful with your children. Fortunatly for us we have great friends we love and trust and who feel the same way about us and so we invited Ben Clayton for..... A SLEEPOVER!!!!

I was a little nervous for him but Ashlee thought he would great and they had been talking about it for so long we at least had to TRY, right!? Everything went so well, they had movie night with popcorn, played with the toys, had THREE bedtime stories and then played around until about 9:30. Not bad considering when I went to sleep as a child on sleepovers, ha ha ha/

This is how we rock it

It is socrazy to think that these are our last few weeks in Portland. We have been busy playing with friends, enjoying the Hot Tub, playing at the park, and making memories. Here's some pictures from November. First up Little Nate. 

Nate has come into our home and made it even more complete than ever before. he is a great sleeper and currently sleeps on the ottoman right next to our bed for part of the night and then right in bed with us the rest of the night. I said I would never do that but we love all the snuggles and feel like they just grow up to dang fast to miss this precious time with them. His brothers are loving every minute with him and haul him around like hes just another toy.

   AJ is almost done done with school down here, we will all miss it. I love the preschool program he goes to and this year he has found a lot of friends in his class. Miles loves meeting AJs bus especially when its raining (almost everyday) and he gets to hold the umbrella.

Aaron is almost done school and he is pretty tired but the boys dont care! they sure keep him busy, even when hes napping.......they're all over him.

Miles is still being Miles. the other day he told me his "Canana bear to hot!" and this is where we found him.....

And I am still running! I thought for sure I would have giving up by now but my new goal is to run the 10K in the Lethbridge moonlight run this March so.....Guess I can't stop yet! ha ha ha, even in the rain when I come home looking like this! BA HA HA!

Learning from the Master.

This Girl! Beautiful, Talented, Driven, Mother, Wife, and to me a very dear friend. Nicole has been one of my very closest friends ever since I moved to Portland and I am going to be lost without her when I move back to Canada.

When Lorraine and I went down to Portland to look for a place to live it was Nicole who came up and introduced herself to me at church and told me all about Sandstone and how I just HAD to live there. Boy was she right!!!!! Without her direction, and letting us drop her name, we never would have gotten into our apartment and experienced the shear Joy and happiness that we discovered in Sandstone living! After that we were pretty much inseparable. I love this girl so much and truly look up to her in so many ways. She is a wonderful mother and wife, Oregon's most amazing make-up artist (not just my opinion go check her out! here), and a crazy fast running fool!!!!

Nicole likes me too and so she wanted to do something special for me before I made my way back to the great white north. She never told me what the plan we, she just TOLD me to be at her house Tuesday night at 8:00 and so I was. Nicole had invited my very best girls and me over for a night of treats and an official make-up lesson. This is something I have been wanting to do forever!!!!! Over the past few years Nicole had done my makeup more times that I could count and I would give anything to have some clue as to how she makes me look so darn good. Well tonight I get it.

Make-up lessons are not cheap and it is SERIOUS business! After getting some beautiful brushes (apparently I shouldn't have been doing it with my fingers for the past 15 years???) and new Mac make-up form my friends it was time to get down too it. We all got out our make-up, pen, and paper and started. Everything we learned was so interesting and I SWEAR I am going to do all I can to remember everything that I learned tonight and to keep up this amazing look. THANK-YOU NICOLE, i had the best time tonight and made memories that will always stay with me. Love you so much.

Black Friday!

That's right, today I got up and ran my first 5K, then had a big thanksgiving dinner with friends and moved right into BLACK FRIDAY!

I love black friday, it is one of the best nights of the year for me and I usually get all my chrsitmas shopping donein one night. It was a little hard this year faceing it without Lynz but I had two of my very best Girls, Bex and Ash, to keep me company and help me deal with my Lynz being gone.

We started off the cold night by heading out to Toys-R-Us at 7:00, doors opened at 9:00 and we wanted to make sure that we got everything we needed. It was really cold but we were rigth near the frint of the line so I pulled up the van and we spent the next few hours watching Youtube and visiting in the nice warm van. So fun!

We also hit up all teh stores at clackimus and ended up waiting in the movie theater to stay out of teh cold. lol, we thought the mall opened at 10 but it didn't open till 12:00, that gave us just enough time to race home, nurse Nate, and get back for the big shove to get in the doors. It was during this time that Ashley told us that she was......PREGNANT!!!!! Oh my gosh so exciting! They will now be a family of 5 and even though Ash wasn't feeling at the top of her game she still wanted to come out and live it up with us. Can't wait to meet the newest little Clayton baby!

We did great and got all teh amazing deals but most importantly I had a wonderful time pulling an all nighter with some of my favorite friends. Love you girls!

Did you know I run?

Alright I know that you must think this post is Aaron writing or something but its not! This is Lacey and I am not a runner! I am a baker. I love baking cookies, scones, cakes, cupcakes, bars, and all manner of delicious deserts. In fact baking is what I am know for, I can't tell you how many people now have "Lacey's pancakes" in their recipes box. But I don't want to be remembered as the pudgy girl who always had the best treats, I am more than that and I will not let my sugar addiction rule my life any more!

Obesity runs in my family in the most unfortunate way. We are tiny little girls in high school, lose our baby weight in the early 20's relatively fast, and then out of no where our metabolisms just gives up right around 30. After a life time of mindless snaking, out eating the running back in a pizza eating contest, and NEVER having anything to do with sports or physical activity............ BAM! The weight hit me like a brick wall, I swear I can't even look at a cookie without gaining weight now a days.

My grandmother passed away in her mid 60'a after complications from a hip replacement due to her obesity. I have watched my mother and aunts struggle in their own weight loss battles, and to be quite honesty obesity has always been one of my biggest fears.  I have never admitted this before but I have always felt like it is only a matter of time before I "put on the weight." It's like knowing you have a final exam in school tomorrow that you haven't studied for, in fact I fell like I haven't even taken the class! My metabolism is going to slow down and I have no idea how to eat a healthy diet and I have NEVER had anything to do with excesses, I am so unprepared!

Here's the good news: I hate soda, juice, and could honestly live the rest of my life without ice cream and be fine. I have a great support system and access to a gym that is fully equip. The bad news: I love chocolate and want to continue baking, even if its just for others. I have three little boys who get up at 6AM everyday and plan on being pregnant at least once more, and I hate fish! I know it is good for you but I just can't do it, trust me I have tried! I get so discouraged every time I find a new healthy eating site or book that is just packed with fish recipes and nothing else, grrrrrr...... Also I am a carbaholic! I have no idea what people are talking about when they talk about good and bad carbs, "What do you mean these  butter pretzels are empty carbs????? They taste pretty filling and delicious to me!"

So I am taking charge! My baby is three months old and I have started running 5 times a week, working out 4 times a week, and doing everything I can to eat healthy. I am going to read a book called, "Releasing fat" by doctor Ray Strand to help me understand what carbs are all about and how to recognize the good from the bad. I have never been obese and the plan is to never be that way.

This was written in October but it is now November and I am happy to say that I have stuck to it and am losing the weight and still running. In fact on Thanksgiving day I got up and ran my first 5k!!!! Can you believe it, my neither. I still don't think of my self as a runner but I still get out there and do it and I actually finished my race in under 30 minutes! I felt like a million bucks!!!! Of course I had my main supports there with me, NICOLE  & AARON. They have both been so encouraging and supportive, when I thought I couldn't do it or wanted to quite they were always there urging me on and it ment the world to me. Thanks you guys!

 So what if we wanted to wear matching outfits, you got a problem with that??? It's not like we look the same in it at all so, Whatever!

 Here I am after crossing the finish line.....It was crazy! Seeing my family there and the wagners all cheering for me and showing their support and just knowing that I had actually completed something that I had set my mind to, AMAZING! I think I might be hooked.

They also had a 1K race for the kids. AJ, Megan, and Ericka all got their sports gear on and headed out for the race. They were so excited and loved getting to go out there together and run their little hearts out. I was so proud of them!

Thanksgiving with the Lujans

Since Holly, Dan, and little Luke have family in OR we never get to spend the real holidays with them but that doesn't mean that we can't fake it! this year we decided to turn our regular Sunday dinner into and early Thanksgiving dinner. IT WAS AWESOME! This was my second time cooking a turkey but the first time I had Lorraine with me so it doesn't really count. I was really nervous but in the end, I DID GREAT! It was so delicious, especially next to mashed potato's, Holly's buns, jello, and of course apple pie! 

 If my boys were stuck on a dessert island and could only pick one food to take with them.....It would be Holly's buns!!!! they are so good, we will miss them when we are in Canada!

 Lujan boys enjoying the celebration

 I make it, Poy carves it!
 
 we are missing Dan and Nate in this picture but here's the rest of us:

 Brothers!

American Thanksgiving

It is so crazy to think that this will be our last Thanksgiving in America! Just a few more weeks and we are moving back to Canada, so get ready for all my "last" posts! This year we are having Thanksgiving dinner with the Wagners and a family of three who are new in the ward, the valaskes. After our morning run we ended up getting home a little late and having a much needed family snuggle and nap in the living room and then RUSHING around to try and get everything done in time. Good thing I was only in charge of desert, veggies, and the potato's.

Steve made another amazing turkey this year. He de-boned it, wrapped the dark meat in the breasts, brine it, Browne it, then smoked it. SOME DELICIOUS! I would give anything to have a turkey sand which right now! Yummy! The kids loved it to but I think the highlight for them was the Apple pie and my first ever home made baked cheesecake. It was a pumpkin cheese cake with ginger snap crush and Cinnamon whip cream. I was pretty proud at home well it turned out actually.

Another Thanksgiving success, thanks everyone!