We had a blast last night at the Corvallis Knights Superhero game! We honored nine SuperMOMs, who received a great prize package and were introduced on the field with the starting line-up.

from top left: Kristal Nease, MOM Magazine Eugene Editor; Mack the Knight; SuperMOM Margaret Zipp; Bre, the Knight's Wonder Woman; SuperMOM Kathy Sapp. from bottom left: SuperMOM Sarah Blount; SuperMOM Soliana Sapp; SuperMOM Christina  Morales; SuperMOM Julie Marr; SuperMOM Josie Wood. Not pictured: SuperMOM Emmy Goodwin and SuperMOM Kim Ridders.

Read their amazing Super Stories: Click to read

Raeann (left), Kristal Nease (right) and Krista Klinkhammer, MOM Magazine Mid-Valley Editor (not pictured) had a great time. Raeann owes Kristal an apology. Kristal does not have 10 kids or any grandkids. Kristal was pitch-hitting for SuperMOM Kim Ridders who had to work late. Kristal was introduced as the mother of 10. She is the proud mom to Colby and Riley - and wouldn't want to take away from the amazing job that Kim does with her big, happy family.

Super Hero T-shirt Like the SuperMOM shirts these ladies are wearing? Answer this question in the comments below and get a SuperMOM shirt of your very own! (Be sure to log in first so we can find you. 5 winners will be chosen randomly by Aug 5th.) What is your superpower? Comment here

MOM Magazine sponsored the Corvallis Knights Superheroes game last night and it was a blast!

Police vs. Fire: Who did MOM Magazine readers think would win? See the comments here.

photo by Casey Campbell | Gazette-Times | Click for story

Gazette Times, July 23, 2009 Police, firefighters vie for honors By Rachel Beck Gazette-Times reporter

Read about it on the front page of the Gazette Times News, or at this link... click here to read

"...The event was organized by Dan Segel, Corvallis police Sgt. Van Arsdall, his wife Raeann Van Arsdall and fire prevention officer Jim “The General” Patton.

"Raeann Van Arsdall is the editor of MOM Magazine, and had worked with the Knights on prior Superheroes nights. The fire and police departments had attended in the past with equipment and squad cars, but everyone felt they could take it up a notch." Read about it on the front page of the Gazette Times News, or at this link... click here to read

Super Heroes Night presented by MOM Magazine - Wednesday, July 22

SuperMOMs will be honored (Check out our SuperMOM Contest!) Join us for a great night at the Corvallis Knights Game. And meet more everyday heroes at Goss Stadium. Bring the kids for an interactive experience with public safety: Police, Fire and Medical.

Corvallis Police  vs. Corvallis Fire Pre-game softball challenge Be ready to root for your favorite, and the kids get to meet our local heroes.

You can vote for your favorite right here. Predict the game, who is your favorite, Police or Fire?  Comment here to vote!

Congratulations Kim Ridders! Thank you so much for your great story about fair. You are the winner!

Prize - Four general admission tickets to the Linn County Fair on Saturday, July 18. - Parking pass for one vehicle

Please pick up your prize package at the main office of the Linn County Fair and Expo. Congratulations and thank you to all the moms for your time and great stories!

Kim's Memories of Fair "When I was in grade school I was in 4H for crocheting. Every year we would enter the Linn County Fair with our best projects. When I was in 6th grade I won a blue ribbon at the fair! I think that was the best year for me because all my friends and family were able to see that blue ribbon on MY pillow that I had crocheted with my name on it! It was a very special year. It also qualified me to go to the State Fair! That was the last year I competed in the Linn County Fair. I hope that someday some of my children will have the chance to see their name with a ribbon on it at the County Fair! What a great sense of accomplishment! I’m 45 now but I still remember that feeling from when I was 11! I have 10 children now and they know this story very well. They’re always excited to look at the handmade things at the fair (when we can afford to go) to see if there are any made by their friends so they an congratulate them if they find something!"

Hey SuperMOMs! Thanks for your amazing stories (click on each name to read more). Here are our first four SuperMOMs and their superpowers:

Theresa Waters: Change direction quickly, when life throws a curveball.

Jennifer: Keep looking up

Christina: Xray vision, those handy eyes in the back of her head.

Kim Ridders: Patience, with ten kids and one grandkid.

Check out our SuperMOM contest here. Do you know a mom who deserves to be honored for hersuperhero status? Tell us in the comments section here - five more moms will be chosen!. A team of moms will be honored at the Corvallis Knights baseball game on July 22nd. Winner receive a SuperMOM tank top (so they’re always prepared, no need for a phone booth), four tickets to the Corvallis Knights superheroes night, and a great prize package.

Join us for a great night of family fun and honoring moms. Entries must be made below by 10 a.m. on July 22.

Don't miss the Kid's Trail Mix contest on Friday June 17. It's great - kids bring homemade trail mix to enter, get free admission to the fair for the day and the chance to win prizes.

Make the yummiest and healthiest trial mix to keep you full as you blaze your trail at the fair. Check out more  details in the fair book.

- Friday, June 17 at the Linn County Fair in Albany - Bring your trail mix to the Baked Goods department between 11:00 and 11:30 a.m. - Awards given at 12:30 p.m. - Two age groups: under nine and nine to 18 - Prizes paid to 1st ($5), 2nd ($3) and 3rd ($1)

Here are some great resources for trail mix recipes. Better yet, spread lots of great ingredients out on the table and let the kids make up their own!

Basic Trail Mix Equal parts of nuts and various dried fruits with additions of chocolate or coconut or salty snacks like pretzels or breakfast cereal. Let's use a cup for an example. • 1 cup salted peanuts • 1 cup raisins • 1 cup M&Ms

Common Additions: • Dried fruit: raisins, dried apricots, banana chips, apple chips, dried papaya, cranberries, or cherries. • Nuts and seeds: peanuts, almonds, hazelnuts, sunflower seeds. • Chocolate and more: M&Ms, chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, carob chips, dried coconut • Salty stuff: Pretzels, sesame sticks, oriental rice crackers, salty "party mix" cereal. • Cereals: Any breakfast cereal, granola.

For more recipe ideas:

• Gorp Balls • Kids' Trail Mix • Honey Nut O's Mix • Quick Energy Hikers' Bars

Last May I was thinking about the colors I should use for the July/August issue of MOM Magazine. Since it would come out in the heat of summer, I wanted a combination that was bright and fun. A few weeks later, while vacuuming up Trix cereal from the floor of my car (my daughter likes to eat dry Trix as a snack), it hit me. Trix is the color of summer!

While designing the pages, I kept Trix in the back of my mind. I even poured myself a bowl or two for inspiration. Now on to the colors of fall. Cheerios? Corn Flakes? I'll have to keep thinking...

A few days ago, I had a terrible headache. Being a single mom, I knew I had to find the magical cure and QUICK! I mean, I have two boys that depend on me to be functioning at my best.

I decided to take a nap while the boys watched a video nearby. I locked all the doors and got them all set up with their snacks, drink, and nice hour long video. I napped on a couch in the same room.

Well, the good news is when I awoke, my headache was gone. However, it quickly returned when I discovered what my adventurous boys had been up to. They’d got into the board game closet and had strewn all the game pieces, cards, dice, Monopoly money, etc. all over our house! It took almost four hours for them (oh yes, you better believe it, I made them help!) and myself to round up ALL the pieces and put them back into their rightful boxes.

So, today when I was vacuuming, I realized I sucked up about a half dozen of the tiny “people” from our Game of LIFE. Then it dawned on me: I will be “finding” game pieces throughout our house until we move. Oh joy!

Last year the kids made cookies and entered them in the Linn County Fair. We made a big deal out of the whole process of baking (without help), selecting the perfect cookies and wrapping them up. Then we delivered them to the baking section at the fair.

The most exciting part was going back during fair, with hundreds of other people, and seeing what ribbons they won. My niece Claire won a first prize blue ribbon. My daughter Delaney won a second place red. Let's just say that there's a lot of thought going into the cookies this year - both are very competitive!  

I was just happy to see them getting so excited and involved in fair because it was such a huge part of our lives growing up. My sister Alison and I spent weeks getting ready for fair: practicing with our horses, baking, sewing and preparing each item to be judged. And it was so fun to see our friends during summer, and to show off all the things we'd done. Not to mention that you actually win money for your prizes. The $3, $2 and $1 prize money per ribbon really adds up for kids. If your kids are ready to enter their best chocolate chip cookie or pink cupcake, here's a link to the fair book to find your classes. It's so easy!

What are your best memories of fair? Be sure to log in so we can find you when you win. Share with us in the comments below for your chance to win tickets to the Linn County Fair!

I suddenly realized that my son had three birthday party invitations on the fridge - parties on the same weekend. All are good friends who would not miss his birthday. And I have no gifts for 7-year-old boys in the "gift closet" that usually saves my bacon in such situations.

I made a quick call to Frogs & Pollywogs and got the best gift of the summer. Whew! Thank you Celia! The Stomp Rocket is the coolest gift for boys or girls. The entire Little League team played with it for hours. The only warning: dads will steal this gift when the kids aren't looking. It's fun in the backyard, we took it camping, and even played with it in the sprinkler. (Yes, we were selfish and got one for ourselves too.)

The best part: All three gifts were wrapped and ready to go when I picked them up! We stopped at Frogs & Pollywogs, grabbed our gift and headed straight to the birthday parties. A present for less than $15? One that will keep a boy occupied for hours? Perfect! Just give them a call: 541-967-3055.