Christmas pics

Could my kid be any cuter...

My baby is one!

Kenna is Boston's friend, they are three days apart!
























I guess what they say is true, it goes by so fast! Boston turned one on the Friday after Thanksgiving. I am taking the next month off, so I will play blog catch up soon with some good times the Beaverton Blakes have been having around here and in far off places like Hawaii:)

The Value of Time...

The Sustainable Culinary Showcase

Sustainable Fashion Show

Sustainable Culinary Showcase

Showcase-sustainable cupcakes!

Trashcan Joe played on recycled instruments at the showcase.

Portland Taiko Drums Opened the Conference

Showcase event

The program

So here is a little snapshot of what I have been doing with the last year of my life. I interviewed when I was 7 months pregnant and out of 100 applicants I got the contract. A one year contract planning the Ecotourism and Sustainable Tourism Conference for the International Ecotourism Society. I knew it would be a challenge and that I could do the job but I didn't know how much it would interfere with raising Boston and my family life. 5 months after I started I still had not received any money yet, because my contract was commission based...BIG mistake. At that point I realized that I would not be making the amount promised. Still I had so much time invested...I kept going. As September 8th through the 10th approached the hours got longer and longer. Many nights I was up until 2am working after working an entire day. Working from home no longer seemed like a luxury, I literally felt chained to my desk. I finally made it to the week before the conference, I was strangely excited that all of my hard work was about to unfold. Everything about the conference went as planned, a few snags here and there but to the public eye it was the best conference they had ever had. The board clapped for me as I walked in the room the day after event. I was overcome with emotion and quickly realized that I had put my heart and soul into this conference. They offered me another contract...same terms.

For the last two weeks I have going back and forth on whether or not to continue working with TIES (the International Ecotourism Society). When your husband makes only commission and as a small business owner it is really hard to walk away potential income. After all of the should I do it, yes or no discussions, Ben and I decided that my time is more valuable elsewhere. Finding new business and raising Boston as much as I can. Last Sunday there was a lesson on faith. The simplest subject shed so much light on this deep debate of ours. One of the women mentioned when she was younger that in tough times she would try to do more and more of everything. She shared that it was taxing and took so much out of her. As she got older she started using a different method. She started stepping back and living by faith. That if she focused on her family, faith and what really mattered that it would work out.

From that lesson I learned that my faith, my family and my time is more valuable than anything else I have.

No soap for babies...

Thought I would share a funny story. So I hired a nanny for the next couple months to get me through the ecotourism conference and then through SACUBO. Today was her first day. She fed Boston some applesauce after his morning nap, a few hours later…blah, he threw up and not just little baby throw-up…big kid throw up, gross! Later on, I went to a meeting and Ben calls me and says honey come home Boston is sick again. I said that is so strange that Boston got so sick from the applesauce, which I assumed was the cause because we rarely feed it to him. Then Ben says, “Maybe it was that soap or the shampoo bottle that I let him suck on yesterday in the bath tub?”…….Really! Soap! Hmmmm, I think we found the culprit.

Arizona...

Boston on his first plane trip, fell asleep on take-off, woke up on landing...wow!

Boston is gettting to know is grandpa...

Tev picking some creepy bumpy oranges


Already rooting for the indians...well he does have some cherokee in him

First swimming lession, this kid is a natural!

Uncle Trent helping cousin Ty hold Boston

Auntie Rachel, Ty and Boston (aren't they beautiful)

Cousin Aubree did not want to miss out on the fun, she gets to hold the naked baby!

Arizona, also the name we would give our little girl, if we ever have one..or there is Savannah too which is Bens' favorite. Anyways back to the subject Arizona...So several months ago when I was still in baby mode not really work mode yet, I agreed to go to Scottsdale and stay the week with my friend Tev with Boston in tow. So I got the ticket on my miles, baby flies free and the room was paid for thanks to Hyatt (Tev still works there). Easy, cheap and fun in the sun!

Then I got this brilliant idea to bring my husband and meet up with our family (Ben's brothers and their families live in Gilbert) and stay with them a few days. And then in the planning stage it turned into a whole different trip, renting a car driving 3 hours down and 3 hours back to Safford to see his dad and going to the local temple open house near Safford. Then I ended up leaving Tev a day early which made me feel a little bad. And at the same time, I had to work a little here and there because one of my conferences I plan was in count down mode and was just a few days away from starting. Eventhough most of the planning was complete there were a few loose ends to be coordinated before I could turn it over fully. Long story short, the trip actually ended up being better than I planned it...except for the weather part. Ben's dad ended driving up from Safford so we did not have to drive down...thank you! It was super fun hanging out with Tev and Boston got his first swim in, eventhough it was kinda cold. I think by then end she did not mind cutting loose from us and having a quiet evening on her own. We got to stay with Rachel and Trent and enjoy their children too for a couple days. And we also got to spend time with Quentin and Valerie and their children, Ben's dad Terry and also my fabulous friend Torey! And in the end I got a little sun too, thanks to Rachel's great back patio and psuedo sun chair/camping chair. Great trip to the AZ!

Baby Food Time..

Wow...5 months sure flies by, thought I would share some pics of our boo and his first taste of oatmeal..enjoy!

Boston Props...

Introducing Mrs. Rogers...aka my mom. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, my mom comes over to help watch Boston for a few hours while I get some much needed work done. She comes in takes off her shoes and puts on her mawkisons. She takes off her jacket and puts on this nurses smock....all while I am singing "It's a beautiful day in the Neighborhood", the theme song from the Mr. Rogers show. It brings laughter and good memories to my home everytime! Here is Boston with his Elmer Fudd hunting hat, we like it for walks cause it keeps his ears warm and the visor comes down to protect his little blue eyes. THANKS MOM, your amazing!

This is Boston with his beaver. That is ... official Oregon State beaver. Ben found it recently when unloaded his junk, I mean stuff, that was in boxes for many years at his mom's house. This is when I ask myself, if it was in a box for that long and you did not miss it, why do we need it? I need to implement this theory with my own boxes!

And lastly, Boston with his new sunglasses. Tev and I are going to Scottsdale next month, which gave me the opportunity to go buy some bathing suit wear for our days at the resort pool. Can't layout if you don't have sunglasses. I think he likes them :)

Coming soon, pictures of his actual parents, I have been avoiding the camera's lately. And who would not want to center everything around this cute child?

Creepy Finger Toes...

When Boston was born...of course we were checking to make sure there were 10 fingers and 10 toes, which thankfully he has, but we also discovered that he has some very long finger toes. I personally don't think this picture does them justice, cause they are truly creepy. He can spread them out all the way like hands and I swear some day he will be able to hold things with them. In addition to this, his 2nd toe is longer than his big toe (like my moms and I think Ben's grandma?). Good thing he is so dang cute in every other way, therefore I think I can let this slide.

Moose visits from Alaska...

I have several perks that come with my new client (I won't mention the many downfalls of The International Ecotourism Society). One of them is fam trips or familarization trips, which is where cities invite meeting planners on all expenses paid trips to get familiar with a city and of course remember them for future meetings that they might or might not bring to that city. An old roommate of mine told me once to only take the jobs with the most perks...I guess I took that advice. Anyways, Anchorage Alaska has invited me on a fam trip in May, so I have been talking to her and she knew I had a baby, so one day I got a package filled with goodies from Alaska including this moose. Opportunity... photo shoot in effect. He is growing up so fast, my little man :)

Smiles for all...

Here is some pics of our cute boy...6 weeks old. We are all doing much better now, it has been quite the adjustment. But he sleeps longer and longer, last night 7 hours through the night. I feel like a brand new woman! His smiles make me melt...so I thought I would share.