Third grade photo...

Her third grade photo.   No retakes needed.  :)

Year in review 2011...

Clicking on the image above will take you to a larger image.
* Top row (l-r)
Charlotte and Mom on Mom's birthday; Relay For Life Kickoff Party; Gymnastics; Charlotte and Victor on Mt. Hood; Lil, Mom & Uncle Terry; Fun on a snow day
* 2nd row
Disney World; Charlotte and Ariel; All 9 of us at Kyllo's in Lincoln City; Kathy & Kellie relaxing at the coast; Charlotte, Kaylie & Jack at Lincoln City; Charlotte's 5th birthday
* 3rd row
Charlotte's 5th birthday party; Charlotte's Pre-K graduation; Emanuel hospital's atrium where we spent most of June; 4th of July with friends; Mom's first day outside in nearly a month; Mom & Matt Aalto (mom's lead rescue worker)
* 4th row
Mom and Rosemary with quilt she made for mom; Mom & Keri after her first haircut out of the hospital; Beaverton's Relay For Life; Natalie & Charlotte at Intel's Bring Your Kid to Work Day; Aunt Meta, Charlotte and Uncle Bob; Portland To Coast
* 5th row
Mrs. Davis & Charlotte at Kindergarten Orientation; Charlotte and Dad at Charity Golf Tournament; Aunt Jan, Charlotte and Uncle Dennis; Pumpkin fun at Lakeview Farms; WeBee Quilters 20th anniversary retreat; Princess Leia
* Bottom row
Rosemary & Kathy at FUNdraising bazaar with Pom Pom Gloves; Thanksgiving; Rachel & Kathy at WinterHawks Game on Jumbo Tron; WeBee Quilters Annual Christmas Party; Kiddos and mustaches; Christmas 2011


THANK YOU Shelley for the idea & continued inspiration!  You can see our past year in reviews:  2010, 2009 and 2008.

2011 was a good year, one that we have SO many things to be thankful for!

• Kathy and Victor both celebrated their 42nd birthdays
• Charlotte turned five
• Victor is now officially a permanent employee at Intel and we are VERY grateful for both of our full time jobs!
• In March our little family of three went to Florida with Kathy's parents and had the trip of a lifetime at Disney World...truly memories to cherish forever!
• On June 3, 2011 we watched Charlotte graduate pre-K and later that afternoon our lives changed...my mom survived a head on car crash and is still recovering.  You really don't realize just how fortunate you are, until something pretty scary happens to those you love.
• Charlotte started Kindergarten and loves it!
• Charlotte continues gymnastics and loves it too!
• 2011 will be the year of the Pom Pom gloves and Wee Bees as we continue to raise money to help find a CURE!
• Many of our friends were diagnosed with cancer, continue to fight their battle against the disease and we pray for and miss those who are no longer with us...
• Charlotte continues to grow into a smart, beautiful and funny little girl
• Charlotte is really starting to GET Relay For Life, giving back and had a blast with JD, Mark & Pat Flynn at the Regional Relay Summit in Portland in November.
• We had lots of fun with family and friends and are so blessed to have so many amazing people in our lives!
• We are blessed with good health and look forward to a fun and fabulous 2012

We hope that 2011 was good to you and your family. Blessings to you in the new year and THANK YOU for being part of our lives.

Love - Kathy, Victor & Charlotte

What happens when the 5-year old takes the camera...

Self portrait in mirror...

She really wanted to take a photo of the postcard from Disneyland..

Mom and I were talking, realized what she was doing when she said "Cheese"...

And apparently she liked Grandma being out of bed...

We made it on the jumbo tron...

and I was obviously REALLY excited about it....I think it was Maria (covered by her own sign behind me) and Mary's sign that did it!!!

Shoot to Fight Cancer 2011....

Yahoo, my friend Shelley's annual Shoot to Fight Cancer raffle is up and running! There are ONLY 125 chances available (great odds)...100% of every dollar from every ticket goes to support the life-saving work of the American Cancer Society...saving lives and creating more birthdays by helping you stay well, helping you get well, finding cures and by fighting back.

Go to the website..it's super easy to make your donation and get your chance at one of three fabulous prizes!!! The more tickets you purchase, the better your odds!

Here's to celebrating more Birthdays!!! :)

Good stuff...

Love, love, LOVE the black & white photo canvas that the Green Family Unit of SoCal sent to Victor and I for our birthdays! :) My sister-in-law Kellie is SO creative!!! Love it Kel!

Can't wait to see you guys in April!! Love you guys!

Trina's Letty's Bag...

This bag resides down in the great state of Texas! Trina sent me the fabric and here she is with her LB! ;)

Trina is a friend of Victor's from their days at Doernbecher's...Trina and her family live down in Austin and she just officially launched her own portrait photography business! Her and her hubby Brady took the plunge...so excited for Rocket Queen Photo!

Group photo from Sunday's walk...

Fun group shot from Sunday's Parkinson's walk. Lenny of www.pdxphotolounge.com was set-up and taking not just team photos (4 group photos)...but he was also printing us each our own photo booth copy! SO COOL!

This one is my favorite!

Photos a-la Charlotte...

I've created my own little "mini-me"...watch out world...

Reason #373 that I should get her her very own digital camera (built for kids)..she LOVES to take photos using my little point-n-shoot. Luckily she gets it when I say "do NOT touch the lense"...

Photos from last night that I forgot to download and post yesterday.

Family photos...

It's been almost 1 1/2 years since we had family photos taken, all 9 of us. We went to Portrait Innovations this morning...they are quick, easy and fairly inexpensive. Not to mention I made the appointment last night! ;-)

These are all PRE-edited photos.

2010 Shoot to Fight Cancer...

My Relay/Bloggin' buddy, Shelley, is an AMAZING photographer, great mommy/wife and the queen of Relay FUNdraising! Her Relay For Life Team has already raised over $20K...WOW!!!

Shelley is using her photography talent again this year for a wonderful FUNdraiser -- a photo shoot from her Finian Road Image & Design, LLC business. She ROCKS the camera, check out her website!

So, if you are interested in making a donation and the possibility of winning a photo shoot with your fam from Finian Road + the digital negatives + two incredibly beautiful gallery-wrapped canvas of your two favorite images from the shoot, all while fighting cancer at the same time?

The newest addition to this prize are the two gallery-wrapped canvas. They are beautiful prints on canvas, wrapped around stretcher bars so the image continues over the edge and onto the sides of the canvas. They need no frame and are ready to hang! You will love them!

Tickets are $25 each, and there are just 125 tickets available. Great odds for a prize package worth $750!

All the details from her blog: Shoot to Fight Cancer 2010.

I purchased my ticket...the best part, it's a WIN/WIN no matter what...100% ticket sales going to Relay For Life of Thurston County, WA!

Family potrait 2009...

We went and had our little family of three photo taken yesterday at Portrait Innovations. We love that place! They have a super kid-friendly waiting area and a super nice staff that always manage to make Charlotte laugh.

It helped that Charlotte was in a great photo-taking mood and it made for super quick photo session...yeah! Their printer was down, so I had to go back today and get the couple of photos we actually ordered, plus the CD with all the photos if we want more prints made...

Here are a few of my favorites (we did not order all these and they are the pre-editted versions, but they make me smile)...

Fun times today with M & M...

I took a ton of photos of the Hoffman family this morning. Matthew wasn't totally into the whole thing, so I'm just posting this photo of Maddie & Charlotte and letting Rachel and Tim pick out the photos they like best from the shoot before I post anything else.

After the photos, we headed to Mickey D's for a quick lunch and playtime for the three amigos!

Photos from tonight...

Needed to pick-up and drop off some books/DVDs at the library, so we all piled in the car...Victor went in, Charlie & I did a little photo shoot outside... It was hot here today, 93 degrees...perfect evening for a walk around the pond.

Great photo shoot tonight...

Charlotte was such a good girl tonight. We had to take some books back to the library and Victor wanted to pick-up some new ones, so I asked Charlotte if mommy could take her photo by the pond while daddy went inside..SHORE (sure) mommy!!!

She was a champ! I did NOT have to carry her at all. We walked/ran the entire figure eight path behind the library AND she let me take over 150 photos...YAHOO! Victor caught up with us about 30 minutes later and took a couple of us...there were two other "real" photo shoots going on there too.

Thanks Charlotte...I love you VERY much!

Last chance to win a photo shoot with Finian Road...

Just one day left until the drawing!

Last year, with the first Shoot to Fight Cancer, Shelley & family raised more than $1700 to benefit the American Cancer Society and their life-saving cancer research, education, cancer patient support, and advocacy.

There are 125 tickets available, for $25 each.

You have a good chance of winning a photo shoot with Finian Road (valued at $425) for you and your family.This year, we are adding a little bonus to the mix! The lucky winner will also receive a $100 gift certificate -- to the place of your choosing! Does Mom want a new outfit for the shoot? Choose your gift card from Nordstrom or J. Crew! Do you want your little ones to be dolled up? Choose your gift card from Gymboree or Old Navy! Does your husband need a little enticing to get him to the shoot? Choose a gift card from The Ram or Cabela's to persuade him. Wherever you'd like -- your choice!

The value of the total prize is $525 - and 100% of every ticket sold benefits the American Cancer Society.

Tickets are only available through 1 pm on May 1st - or as long as they last.

Here's how to get the tickets:

* Go to our online website for the Relay For Life.
* Click on the word "DONATE" near the top.
* Enter the amount you wish to donate under "select gift amount": $100 buys you 4 tickets, $75 buys you three tickets, $50 buys you two tickets, and $25 buys you 1 ticket. And you can always buy more than 4!
* Follow the prompts to complete your donation to the American Cancer Society.
* We are so close to the drawing - so even though you won't have your ticket in hand by the drawing time, you will still have a ticket in the drawing itself. :)
* Your donation is tax-deductible for 2009.

Shoot to Fight Cancer...FUNdraising at its best!!!

Let me introduce you to my friend Shelley & her adorable son Mr. Thomas! Shelley & I are fellow Relayers, bloggers and FUNdraising queens (well, I'm learning from Shelley, so I'm getting there)!

Shelley is also an AMAZING photographer! Check out her photography blog.


Anyway...Shelley always has great ideas..Last year, with the first Shoot to Fight Cancer, they raised more than $1700 to benefit the American Cancer Society and their life-saving cancer research, education, cancer patient support, and advocacy.

So, what's Shoot to Fight Cancer? It's a raffle for winning a photo shoot with Finian Road (valued at $425) for you and your family. This year, they are adding a little bonus to the mix! The lucky winner will also receive a $100 gift certificate -- to the place of your choosing! Does Mom want a new outfit for the shoot? Choose your gift card from Nordstrom or J. Crew! Do you want your little ones to be dolled up? Choose your gift card from Gymboree or Old Navy! Does your husband need a little enticing to get him to the shoot? Choose a gift card from The Ram or Cabela's to persuade him. Wherever you'd like -- your choice! The value of the total prize is $525 - and 100% of every ticket sold benefits the American Cancer Society.

So, won't you help Mr. Thomas in his quest to raise a whole lotta money for the American Cancer Society? There are only 125 tickets, for $25 each available -- so your chances are pretty good that you can win! Get your tickets fast folks...Shelley knows a LOT more people than I do, most of you that know me probably didn't think that was possible...well, it is!!!

Here's how to get the tickets:

• Go to Shelley's online website for the Relay For Life.
• Click on the word "DONATE" near the top.
• Enter the amount you wish to donate under "select gift amount": $100 buys you 4 tickets, $75 buys you three tickets, $50 buys you two tickets, and $25 buys you 1 ticket. And you can always buy more than 4!
• Follow the prompts to complete your donation to the American Cancer Society.
• We will receive a notice that your donation has been made and your ticket stub will be in the mail to you within 48 hours. It will go to the billing address for the credit card used to pay for the ticket.
• Your donation is tax-deductible for 2009.

Thanks Shelley for sharing your amazing talents and coming up with such a FUN way to raise money for the American Cancer Society.

Finally -- Colorful Year in Review 2008...

Clicking on the image above will take you to a larger image.
* Top row (l-r)
Snow shoeing at Mt. Hood; Charlie at Cannon Beach in February; St. Patrick's Day Parade; Josi & Glenn's wedding reception; Murphy & Jessie; Charlie's 1st Wee Bee hat
* 2nd row
Karen Russell photography class; trip to Hawaii; Charlie's first swim; Charlie's 2nd b-day; Susie & Shawn's wedding; fun in Anacortes
* 3rd row
Charlie & I are both $1,000 club Relay members; 150 Survivors at Hillsboro RFL; Erica & Stephen's wedding; Shawn on 4th of July; Sisters with most of the WeBees; Newport RFL with Hoffmans and Mr. Litkie
* 4th row
Remodel begins; Charlie & Eldin; Papa Cina earns his sports pilot license; trip to AZ; Charlie at the pumpkin patch; amazing fall colors
* 5th row
Charlie & Miss Anne on Halloween; Kim gets married; Relay University with Mark & Shelley; Midnight showing of Twilight with Bonnie, Vickie, Bev & Capi; Green family reunion in Redmond; Thanksgiving
* Bottom row
The three amigos; Zoo lights; WeBees Christmas party; portrait of Charlie; SNOW @ mom & dad's place; Christmas Day with Nana & Papa

THANK YOU Shelley for the awesome instructions and inspiration!!!

2008 in photos...black & white photos for now...

Cuz I can't figure out how to get the color back...blagh! Help me Shelley--you are my only hope!
























Clicking on the image above will take you to a larger images.
* Top row (l-r)
Snow shoeing at Mt. Hood; Charlie at Cannon Beach in February; St. Patrick's Day Parade; Josi & Glenn's wedding reception; Murphy & Jessie; Charlie's 1st Wee Bee hat
* 2nd row
Karen Russell photography class; trip to Hawaii; Charlie's first swim; Charlie's 2nd b-day; Susie & Shawn's wedding; fun in Anacortes
* 3rd row
Charlie & I are both $1,000 club Relay members; 150 Survivors at Hillsboro RFL; Erica & Stephen's wedding; Shawn on 4th of July; Sisters' with most of the WeBees; Newport RFL with Hoffmans and Mr. Litkie
* 4th row
Remodel begins; Charlie & Eldin; Papa Cina earns his sports pilot license; trip to AZ; Charlie at the pumpkin patch; amazing fall colors
* 5th row
Charlie & Miss Anne on Halloween; Kim gets married; Relay University with Mark & Shelley; Midnight showing of Twilight with Bonnie, Vickie, Bev & Capi; Green family reunion in Redmond; Thanksgiving
* Bottom row
The three amigos; Zoo lights; WeBees Christmas party; portrait of Charlie; SNOW @ mom & dad's place; Christmas Day with Nana & Papa

That's it....hopefully sometime tomorrow I can figure out how to get the color...

Thanks for another great class Karen Russell...

Susie, Capi & I headed down to Salem early this evening for our "10 Reasons" scrapbooking class with Karen Russell. Capi's sisters (Peggy & Sandi) were also in the class with us. As always, it was a great class -- learned a lot, got about 2/3 of my project done and had FUN!!!

Why I smiled today...If you are the first to dance on a table during one of Karen's classes, you win a door prize. Susie, myself and another gal in the back of the class all got the nerve to do it at the same time...we all won a prize!
















Capi, Karen, Peggy & Sandi.