Bonus Day in the High Desert

This Memorial Day vacation featured a "bonus day". Because the owner of this home sent out a mass email asking previous renters to "make him a deal" for two of his other homes that hadn't been reserved for this weekend - and promised up to two free nights - we asked if we could have an additional night free. (And, he said, "yes".)

So, that's why we left last night - and today has been our "bonus day". John and I spent the first half of the day in Bend - he, meeting with one of his college buddies who is from Bend, and me, spending time gathering the rest of our groceries from Costco and Safeway. I realized that that is definitely the way to go - saved us so much room in the vehicle on the way over, but normally, not how I want to spend my time when I'm on vacation (doing the rest of the shopping).

While we were gone, Mark and Amy hung with our kids. Amy snapped these shots of the kids posing prior to taking a dip in the hot tub......


The Quigleys showed up around 4, and Michele and the kids will arrive hopefully within the hour (Michael will be joining us tomorrow after work). It's a shame we couldn't have all had all day here - but then again, today was kind of "bonus" - so the fact that we spent the second half of the day just laying out in the sun - well, I felt no guilt for not "doing" more....

Gettin' Ready.....

As I wrote that title, the song from HSM3 was buzzing through my head about getting ready for the prom....

So, we're not preparing for a prom, but I'm very excited nonetheless. Tomorrow night, we leave for Sunriver - all the way through Monday. Yip, yip, yippee!

This is our fifth year of doing this trip with these friends (4 families - 8 adults, 10 kids) and even with that in mind, it never ceases to amaze me how much organization and advanced preparation is necessary to pull this off without totally losing it in the last hours.

I have a really great time taking on the menu, grocery shopping and a good chunk of the cooking/baking. It's a win-win, because I get to prepare (which I love) the food that I love and as a result, we are blessed with the (biggest) room that I love. But, it does mean a little bit more effort in terms of gathering it all. Invariably, the store that should have everything, will be out of "that one item" - or I'll realize I messed up.

So far so good at this point. Mikayla and I woke up early on Sunday, so we decided to hit Walmart Supercenter (at 6:30) before church. Believe it or not, it was a lot of fun - with my "little mommy" crossing everything off the list for me. I'm glad I had her as we left with two carts of groceries to push out to the car.


Ahhh, the anticipation of a fun get-away - life is good for me!

(and, oh yeah, that "preparation diet" is now officially over):

Our Dancing Queen

Okay, maybe not "Dancing Queen", maybe more like "Dancing Princess"......

Mikayla's been part of a Jazz/Hip Hop class once a week since September. It's with a dance company called "Hosanna" that, true to its name, aims to glorify the Lord with its dance. So, the recital is filled with performances to familiar Christian music and each class ends with prayer. It was because of this that John and I felt like a "hip-hop" choice would be okay for Mikayla. Certainly, she enjoyed it more than ballet....

Mikayla's group did a great job. We weren't allowed to take pictures during the performance, but did purchase a CD with pics taken by a professional. When we end up getting those, I'll eventually upload them on here as well. I was pleased to see Mikayla's come a long way in her ability to keep beat and move with rhythm, unfortunately, though, she's got my genes which means it won't be impossible to achieve- but it will take a lot of work!

Here's some pics with her and our college friends, Julie and Kara; her with my mom and dad; and one with her and Christina who was her "dance-pal" all year long. Aunt Laura was also able to make the performance, but had to leave before we took pictures in the lobby (as well as Lisa and Erica) - The day before, Travis and Stephanie and Kenady and her mom, Jonna, were her special guests. That girl has quite a fan club!

Mikayla, we are super proud of you - way to go sweetheart!

Putters Playdate

On Wednesday, both Mikayla and Brayden had playdates with some of their best friends. The night before I had laid in bed thinking how I feel like lately (with numerous season finales of favorite shows) I'd been neglecting giving attention to/playing with the kids. I then remembered I had passes for the local indoor putting course, so, there you go - one of the hours was filled with quite a fun pastime....that, (wow) - Mommy actually participated in. (And, I was actually impressed with my putting performance!)


Next up was Dairy Queen where Brayden and Tanner were so silly - while the girls were angels. I was literally begging the boys to be vegetables in front of the PS2 when we got back to the house as they were so loud! (And it was raining steadily, so no chance of outdoor play). As Brayden would say, "Good times, good times!"

Field Trip to the Coast

Twelve hours. That was the estimated time span of today's field trip. I arrived at the school at 7:35am and returned home at 7:15. So, we beat the estimate - thanks to being able to ride with Randy and Nancy and not on the school bus.

First stop on the field trip to Newport was a trip to the Yaquina Lighthouse and tidepools. This was actually a really fun experience - it's been a long time since I've been exploring tidepools. Our school made a reservation for this day and time back in August to insure very low tides for exploring. Very cool. Brayden wasn't super fond of the "hugs" given by anenomes (he said he's not fond of hugs by strangers...hee-hee), but loved checking everything out. There were many sea lions sunning themselves out on the surrounding rocks, but none close enough to make a picture worthwhile. It certainly made the experience worthwhile though!





After lunch, the kids headed over to Hatfield Marine Science Center, and took three one-hour classes. It was odd thinking that these classes were actually beginning when their schoolmates back home were being released for the day.... The three "stations" were an estuary walk, including finding tiny crabs and lots of shrimp, the "crab lab" (which I found to be the most boring) and finally, the squid disection. That was pretty fascinating, but it was a small room with a strong smell - and approaching dinner time. I was ready to be done and not searching for a squid's "ink sack".


There are three fourth grade classes at Brayden's school. One class went yesterday and two went today. Apparently, yesterday's weather was torrential downpour featurning sideways rain. Today, by the time we reached the coast, the high pressure ridge had already begun forming, beginning with blue skies on the furthest west portion of Oregon - right where we were at - Praise God! While I'm super-thrilled to be home, all in all, this field trip definitely exceeding my expecations, and once again, I was super thankful to be able to spend such special time with my buddy.

What's Your Favorite Method?

TEXTING, I-CHAT, SKYPE, FACEBOOK, EMAIL, CELL PHONE, LETTER..........

It's unbelievable how many different ways we have to communicate these days. Now that I've spent more time among these college students, I've found myself trying to "catch-up" with the latest methods of technology. I've had to call T-Mobile and change my texting plan, as well as ask for help on how to do it - so it doesn't take me a half hour per sentence.

I've learned how to turn on the video when using I-Chat - and also how to duck so I'm out of the screen, or at least tilt my chin so it doesn't look like I have seven of them.

I've also bit the bullet and created a Facebook account. And, have found myself loving it. However, it can consume time - especially when so many people I adore pop up in the chat box at the bottom......=)

It's had me thinking about which methods of communication I prefer most. I've realized lately that while I enjoy the phone (cell or otherwise) - I'm a fan of it being used to "catch up" with someone, vs. supply or provide information. There's a sense of "urgency" in a phone call - and whether it be a solicitor or well-meaning friend, sometimes that ring can drive me wild! I should practice turning it off, but that part of me that has to be in the know can't ignore anything or anyone for long - just too curious.

Of course, when I'm the one cleaning house or on a boring drive, I don't mind bugging others to have them entertain me. Or, if I need an answer, to pick up the phone.

Yeah, when it comes to information accessing or retrieval - email is my favorite. I like how it is there to read and re-read - to be there when I have time to read it and respond and not scream at me like a ringing phone. Not to mention, I love finding things in my inbox, it makes me feel somehow worthy...... (even more so in my Facebook Inbox!).

When it comes to expressing affection, a note, card or letter tops all. Good ol' fashioned handwriting.....something tangible that can be put in a scrapbook or stored in a keepsake box. Something I could read over and over again....

How about you? Do you ever feel the desire to turn off the world, and if so, how long would you REALLY want that to happen - and would it be with EVERYONE? (My answers: not long, and of course not everyone.....) Are you finding new methods of communication that you love to use? Any you can't stand?

Mighty Quick Mothers' Day Greetings

Because of all the chaos of the weekend activities and of course, Michael's appendectomy issues - the original Mothers' Day plans did not happen.

Instead, we opted for a quick get-together - at the local Dairy Queen. We met with Mom and Dad on the way to meet up with Michele at the approximate halfway point between our homes to get the kids back to their own mom. It was a short, but sweet gathering......

I think the greatest thing I could say about my mom (and dad too), is that I never doubt that I'm unconditionally loved by them - and they feel the same way about me. So, even when circumstances merit changes that aren't able to adequately honor Mom the way we'd like to, she'll never hold it against us - and I'm pretty sure will feel just as loved as ever, just as she makes us feel......

Despite the fact that we had 5 kids running around, John did a great job of making me feel special. He made breakfast for me, Mikayla blessed me with a hand-painted pot with Sweet Pea seedlings (and a beautiful letter) and the kids all worked together (while I got out of the house to get some groceries- something I actually LIKE to do....) under John's "boot camp" leadership, to get the house spic and span before we met up with mom and dad. Wow, that man knows my love language!

Hope you all had a great Mothers' Day - however it turned out!

What a Crazy Day!

There's a reason this blog is coming up a day late. I had absolutely no energy to put it up yesterday. By the time 8:30 came along, we were settling down for a deep slumber.

To back up a bit, our plans for the weekend were changed a bit when I got the phone call on Friday that Michael (my twin sis' hubby) was headed for the hospital for a probable appendectomy. That probability turned into certainty Friday night as they removed his appendix - that is normally the size of your pinky finger, but Michael's was the size of corndog! Good thing they got in there when they did. Fortunately, the removal was complete, no rupturing, but given its size, it took a little more muscle cutting than is standard - and Michael's recovery has been a bit slower going.

When all of this began to unfold, Michele and I talked about me coming to pick up the kiddos - meeting with her in Salem. So, Stephietoo was my co-passenger on Friday as we picked up the cousins, meeting at Costco, just as Michele was receiving the phone call that the surgery was successful.

Friday night, even after returning, was stressful. We had agreed to take part in a friends' garage sale- providing/selling concession stand treats, as well as throwing in a number of things we wanted to unload. Through the week, I made 4 pans of brownies, 6 batches of Rice Krispie treats, and 8 loaves of zucchini bread.....hopeful to let the kids have their hands at earning a bit of money. Unfortunately, all of this took some organizing, and with three extra kids, we didn't get to bed until close to midnight. Throw in a crazy night terror on Traig's part about an hour later (no worries, kiddo, it was a stressful day for you too!) and I was a walking zombie come Saturday morning.

But, no time for that....way too much to get done. Because, while the kids were manning their "stand" with Daddy, I had to be at the church to host a table of 8 for our Womens' Ministry Style Show.

I was proud of the kids - apparently Traig was the hardest worker, so he got to earn a little sales money himself....

As for the Style Show - couldn't have asked for a better table group. The first pic shows the "Three Stephs", how fun is that? Then, there's a shot of Julie Fulton and her daughter Lucy - I've enjoyed every one of the few encounters I've had with Julie, and hope for a lot more! Finally, we were blessed with the company of the mom, aunt and cousin of my college friend, Kara. Based on that last pic, you can definitely see the resemblance of Kara and her mom! Kara was a part of the "Style Through the Decades" show - one of the members of the team that put it all together. She's modeling an outfit from the 90's....... The production was very well put together.





Both the Style Show and garage sale ended at noon, so that allowed us to plan to meet at the house at 1:00 with Keith, Julie and Micah for the "do-over" boat trip that had failed before.

This time, the boat started (we later found out that nothing had been wrong with the boat, we just didn't try long enough to get it started.....grrr). First up, is Micah. While her jumps are impressive, even more so are her moves along the wake - demonstrating her amazing skills at surfing. It was a lot of fun to watch, but not so easy to catch on still shots.....




Next up, Keith - in all of his amazing glory. What can you say to these stunts, other than WOW? And, another wow goes out to Julie for catching all of this on film.




Finally, a shot of Julie - an official wakeboarder now. That girl was so determined trying to "get up" (yesterday was her first attempt). Her hands and knuckles are so swollen and achy today because of how hard she gripped and the torque from the boat pull. But, she didn't give up, listened to everyone's "helpful" words of encouragement, and eventually demonstrated her natural skills and finesse on the water.


I love this shot of Brayden and the girls. Brayden was Ellie's favorite while we were on the boat - particularly after he had her sit on his lap on the intertube. The 5 kids did great for the 4 hours we were out there. Toward the end, Brayden was telling the girls stories that had them obviously well entertained.

And, get a load of this stud! Once again, first try, perfectly "up". He only did one short pass as the water was sooooo cold and the temps only got to the upper 60's. The other boarders had full body wetsuits.

When we got home, we had promised Brayden that we'd start a fire so he could make s'mores with the cousins....kind of picturesque. But, John and I limited the playtime so that we were all slumbered up in the living room by 8:30. To say we all needed the rest and a good night's sleep was a massive understatement. And, I'm happy to report - everyone slept very well. Praise God, we needed it!


As for an update on Michael, word has it, he's walking around the hospital halls like Superman today. We're awaiting a call from Michele to here discharge details. Not sure how all of the Mother's Day plans will pan out, but that's news for the next post.......

Spencer's Butte

I will add more to this post after I actually hike this mini-mountain with my friends, but first I wanted to say:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KRIS! NUMBER 40, WOO HOO! I know you are a "closet reader" so I wanted to honor you with a birthday wish. If you aren't already there, hope you are just giddy about getting away to the warmth and fun of Las Vegas. Have a great time!

Alright, I'm back! Made it successfully up Spencer's Butte with Stephanie and Lisa (and just so you know, I wasn't trying to be "front and centered" in the pic, I set the timer and that was the easiest place to run over and "fit in"):


I ended up driving the scenic way to get there - (thanks for the directions Julie - No, I won't run right into it =) !) But, that was great as I was early and was able to see these guys along the way - a pair of wild turkeys and two deer.....


After a week of rain, this is so encouraging to see:


And, Sydney just got done with her bath after her adventures. She smelled so bad, but was so happy!



Hiking with Lisa and Steph is such a treat. I'm glad we did a half-day version and turned to our own backyard for hiking inspiration here in Eugene. I'm so blessed with not only an amazingly beautiful place to live, but incredible friends with which to enjoy it!