Superstars

This morning, I want to give a shout out to some superstars in my life. What they do defies my imagination in terms of the discipline and talent it requires, which is why they deserve a little credit on "The Cozy Corner" today.

First up: John's twin brother, Jeff
.Within the hour he will be completing the Western States Endurance Run - that's 100 miles of running, folks - in the Squaw Valley of California, very rugged terrain and this year a lot of extra snow on those mountain trails. He's been running for over 24 hours, is that not insanely impressive or what? His wife, Laura, had committed to pacing the last seven miles with him, so right now they are probably running side by side on this journey going for the finish line. Kind of symbolic of the whole big picture of life and marriage, huh?

I can't emphasize enough how extraordinarily proud we are of Jeff and this momentous accomplishment and the dedication he and Laura have put in to make it happen.

Secondly: Cyrus Hostetler

On Friday night, Cyrus competed in the Track and Field Nationals that took place right here in Eugene. He came in third in the nation in javelin! He has a chance to compete in worlds, but his bigger ambition is to be back here in Eugene at this next year for Eugene's hosting of the Track and Field Olympic Trials. Yes, sirree - he'll be one of three folks we know that, Lord willing, will be participating in that event - which leads me to....

#3: Heather Spinney

I just had to throw her name out there as that's where she plans on being too. Competing for the Olympics, our own little Heather from our own little Tuesday Night Ladies.

I love this picture of her and Kelli and Brian cheering on Cyrus as he did his celebration lap:
So, way to go, SUPERSTARS, just know that no matter where you end up placing on the reader board, you are 100% winners to us!

Roll Call! (And Gift Card Give-Away!)

I was going to wait for some symbolic big number of posts or something to do this, but curiosity has gotten the best of me. This marks my 1560th post....phew! That's a lot of blog writing.

I know why I write it, and why I read it - I've said it before and you can link to the left column in more of a detailed explanation of why I blog, but pretty much it's just for my family's sake. I'm kind of obsessive about keeping a history of what we've done in our life (though my lack of scrapbooks or baby books would tell a different story) - so in 2005 I took the plunge and quickly determined that keeping a family blog was not only fun for me, but the perfect answer as to how to chronicle the activities of our family's lives. (Eventually, each year gets turned into a book with the help of an online site called "Blurb").

But, for the life of me, I honestly wonder what part of the details of my life make it worth "following" for those 62 of you now, that happen to have signed up as official "Followers"?

I never want to get in a place where I am writing for any more of an audience than just my family, so it would be great to get to know some of you, so I feel like it's "online friends" that are stopping by, vs. merely strangers. I'm pretty good at swinging by your site if you "reveal yourself" on mine - and am always loving new places to "lurk" myself (though I do try and comment most of the time).

So, here's the challenge - to ANY readers (not just the "Followers") - leave me a comment! Tell me something about yourself - anything, where you are from, if you blog, whatever you want. And, in a week (next Friday, the 1st), I'll put the names of all the folks who commented in a basket and draw one - and send out a gift card to that person (when I draw the winner I'll let you all know, and if that's you, you can email me your address). I'm thinking $5 at Dairy Queen because that's a place that just screams summer good-times to us, but you are welcome to suggest another gift card locale in your comment if you want (sorry, though, despite any suggestions, the amount is going to stay at $5....my bribery attempts only go so far!)

Happy commenting, new friends!

P.S. - My blog allows for anonymous comments, so if you don't have your own account, don't let that stop you. However, I am not really into using my comments space as an advertisement for something you are looking to sell, so if that's your plan, unfortunately, I'll probably delete it.

Fro Yo and Just Dance

From the moment I first saw what "Yogurt Extreme" was, I couldn't wait for the opportunity to bring Michele and the kids to take part in the experience. Traig wasn't so sure about the whole thing "I don't like frozen yogurt", but once he got there and took a few of the free sample taste tests, he was just as sold as the rest of us.

When we arrived, we were the only ones there, so the co-owner came out and spoke to us about the establishment and the possibility of opening one closer to "our neck of the woods". He also set up the Wii Just Dance for the kids to play once they finished their yogurt, and to our delight, they were more than game. It was one of those impromptu, super-fun, memorable experiences - followed up by trampolining with the sprinkler running beneath back at home. Great day!

Honoring Mom and Dad

This year, Mom suggested that instead of trying to squeeze in a gathering for both Mothers' Day and Fathers' Day with the whole family - to just pick one time and celebrate both together. Last night was the night we chose, as Michele and the kids already planned on being down. I think it warmed Mom and Dad's hearts to recognize that Michael even made the priority to leave early from work and drive down on his own (and leave first thing this morning to return to work). Way to show the love, Michael.

So, in the spirit of honoring the parents, I thought I'd finally put up a picture of the paint job Dad did on our front door - giving it a more traditional red color vs. the bitter red (too orangey) we had before. We're thrilled with it, and it's been fun to use the color during this season to run with the Fourth of July decor. =)


(This last picture makes it look brighter than it really is - hence the ones up above for a more realistic view)

I think we've almost spent more time on our side patio already this season than we did all of last year. I just can't get enough of the campfire smell and feel of it "just being summer". (It's not at all easy for those with allergies though- both Michael and the day before, Kaela - we're really suffering). I also want to use this picture to point out the wood stacked by the house in the background. I got all of that yesterday - meaning I helped "Charlie" (the seller of the wood) load it all into my Honda Odyssey minivan - and then single-handedly stacked it. Between that and the ten rolls of sod I unloaded and moved and placed in the back yard on Monday, I've determined that much of my workouts this week have not happened in the gym - not to mention the fact that minivans aren't just for soccer moms!

Michele's aware that I'm taking this pictures, hence the abundant smiles - but I thought it was worthwhile to note what her and Dad were talking about. He was complimenting her on the novel that she authored - that he had passed on to a friend of his who also loved it. Yes, Michele has written a couple of books - one that I even helped co-author...but, no, none of them have been published. I think she needs to make this last one happen though - it's pretty impressive!


Since the ingredients to the s'mores hadn't been set out yet, the kids occupied themselves between the trampoline and game-playing endeavors....


And, John, ever so faithfully, grilling away. In trying to go with a "lighter fare" teriyaki and citrus marinaded chicken was on the menu last night.


Does anyone out there remember the short-lived series "Tales of the Gold Monkey"? It came out in the 80's and our family LOVED that program. It was made even more special by the fact that the "sidekick dog" in that show looked just like my parents beloved first dog, "Scotty" - who was not a purebred and therefore "one-of-a-kind" in appearance. Before he died, Scotty had also lost eyesight in one of his eyes, just like the dog on the tv show, however, there's no way Scotty would have put up with that dog's eyepatch! Earlier in the year, when I discovered (to my astonishment) that the DVD of the series had been released, I couldn't wait to give it to him - opting for the earlier opportunity of Fathers' Day instead of waiting until December for his birthday or Christmas. =)

And, speaking of dogs, that's Mom showing some special love to Sydney. It was good she showed her kindness as Sydney is on my bad-list for continuing to to dig in the backyard - with the new sod down I just about lost it when I discovered she'd messed with it. Fortunately, the damage wasn't too bad, but for the sake of her safety, I think John really needs to re-install another in-ground wire to prevent her from ruining all of the efforts I've put towards that back yard.

Finally, s'mores. And, I've said this before - nearly each year, in fact - but right there, at the moment this picture was taken with Michele down and the family all gathered - it finally felt like the essence of summer had finally arrived.

Welcome Summer!

The first day of summer was indeed a memorable one, though it sure took it's time getting started. I find myself ridiculously influenced this time of year by whether or not I wake up to blue skies and sunshine (especially if it's been predicted). The valley where we live is notorious for its marine layer of clouds in the morning - particularly in June - that literally suck away my joy when they're blocking my view of the sun. Such was the case on Tuesday, when the weather was predicted to be in the low 80's (warmest prediction so far) - and instead we're bundled up in hoodies.

By noon, we ventured to the pool on faith that the clouds would dissipate - and eventually, they, along with my bad attitude did. It helped to be hanging out with Amy, Christy, and another mutual friend, Sarah - who all felt the same way I did. I'm choosing to blame those hit and miss clouds for my stupidity too - I never applied sunscreen and consequently, the left side of my body is quite lobster-like as it was that side that faced the sun as I faced Amy. The kids also got a bit too much color - bad mom, bad mom, bad mom. (No HORRIBLE sunburns, but I still feel bad).

Christina and Andrew ended up hanging out at our house for a while - until Andrew had to leave for a lacrosse camp. I love that when Christina and Mikayla get together, there's no talk of boys, or girl drama, they just play. I think it helps that they go to different schools so when they get to be together, they treasure it.


As we are supposed to have all of the "Tuesday Night Ladies" join us on the boat on Saturday, I suggested canceling this particular Tuesday, but the girls wanted none of that. Elaina made it clear that it was "the first day of summer" so we all had to celebrate together. I never got the memo that that meant dressing up - which is why you'll find me in the back of these pictures as I was already in pj's.



It was a low key evening, highlighted by Heather's description of her solo road trip to California and how God romanced her through the journey. I love that gal. Stephie wasn't able to make last night - and Kimmie is faithfully serving at Harlow.

All in all, despite the slow start - the day turned out to be a wonderful way to kick off summer!

Now That Is Definitely a Fluke!

If you look at this image carefully, you will see a "S" row - and in it is a spare, a strike, and a strike all in a row. At the end of it, you'll find a score of 142. Ladies and gentlemen - that S stands for Stephanie - me! I know 142 is nothing to get overly excited about, but it's the best bowling game I've had in years! (Especially compared to the first game of the evening where I scored an 89...)

Last night we took the kids and hung out with Kate and TJ - a couple who have been part of CCF since we've started attending - and who both graduated this year. John has had the chance to hang out with TJ on multiple occasions this year and Kate and I have had a couple of great coffee dates. I'm super glad we finally made our bowling "triple date" (including the kids) work!


I had no idea that TJ actually knew what he was doing when it comes to bowling. He has his own ball and shoes - and one crazy spin when he threw the ball with such force down the lane.



Our evening together was kind of cut short with some responsibilities John had with the upcoming Mens' Roundup. But, our short time together was sweet indeed!

Happy Fathers Day!

In an effort to be purposely repetitious, this was the Facebook Status Update I put on my wall a few hours ago:

"At 'Off the Waffle' celebrating our own super hero - HAPPY FATHERS DAY John Riley!"

We'd never been to "Off the Waffle" before. John is usually more of a meat and eggs kind of breakfast eater, but now that he's eating in a leaner way (more Weight Watchers vs. Atkins) he wanted to splurge his points on something like pancakes and fruit (or waffles) vs. the heavy stuff. We did a little wandering and brainstorming and eventually found ourselves at this very popular "hole in the wall" on the south side of town. As evidenced by the line and the wait for tables, it has become quite popular - their delicious waffles are crunchy on the outside and sweet and soft on the inside - with lots and lots of offerings on what to put on top.

I opted for the strawberry chocolate chip variety - and no, I did not blow my whole days worth of "points" on all that whip cream (I reserve that kind of splurging for theater popcorn!). It was quite delicious though. I'm not sure if we'll be returning, however - atmosphere is a big part of a dining experience for us, and this one didn't really offer much of that.

The rest of the day for John has/will include(d) golfing with Brayden, watching the "US Open" on tv, and getting his free pizza at Pappa's. =)

Not to ignore the other special father in my life - this was my post to him on Facebook:

"Happy Fathers Day Dad...you set the bar so high, its no wonder we have such outstanding husbands as we knew what to look for... love you so much and look forward to seeing you on Wednesday!"

We are combing Mothers and Fathers Day with him and Mom on Wednesday night when the Schillings are down - so I'll make sure I post some family pictures then. =)

I'm one blessed woman with such amazing men in my life - there's no doubt about it!

"Green Lantern" and "Mr. Popper's Penguins"

I gotta tell you, I've been looking forward to this day for several months. Brayden and I are "action/superhero" movie buddies, so when we saw the first real trailer to this movie along with its release date, we immediately did a fist-pump indicating that date would be ours....
The date also coincided with being at the end of the last week of school, so it was something to look forward to in that it represented the start of summer. Woo hoo! As crazy as it sounds, after yesterday's horrible start, the day turned out to be wonderful - full of frozen yogurt concoctions, road trips, Rascall Flatts' "Summer Nights" being blared through the sunroof, and getting a real tan at the pool. All in all, a VERY GOOD start - and due to all that activity as well as the fact that the weather was supposed to turn today (it did - very gray and rainy) - we opted to make our movie run occur as a Saturday matinee vs. on the opening night.

I'm aware that the movie did not get the best reviews - but I absolutely loved it. Ryan Reynolds is an actor I find VERY engaging....and his take on being "chosen out of the blue" to be something so unbelievable was a lot of fun. Seriously, the only problem I had with the movie was the fact that it ended sooner than I wanted to. (I also want to point out that as a Christian, I take this whole comic book storyline as purely fiction and therefore do not subscribe to the beliefs of said comic storyline....) I think I really just want to talk up this movie so that it makes a lot of money and they therefore get to work on a sequel ASAP. =)

Now, going back in time again to that first movie preview - when the family watched it, while Brayden and I gave fist pumps, John and Mikayla gave eye rolls. It was clear it would not be a family-of-four date.

So, John and Mikayla opted for this movie choice.

I guarantee that I enjoyed my movie more than John enjoyed his, but he did agree that it was sweet, and most of all, treasured the time with his little princess and the knowledge that she very much enjoyed the movie.

And, now - the dates aren't over - in a crazy twist, Travis and Stephanie currently have Brayden and Mikayla who are helping to babysit Stephie's nieces. So, the Whites are kind of babysitting our kids who are kind of babysitting their nieces. (Or, in all reality - Mikayla is absolutely loving the opportunity to help Steph hang with the little girls, while Brayden is basking in the time to hang and play video games with Travis....) So, what does that mean - hmmm, an unexpected date night for Mom and Dad. Currently, we are at a loss as to how to spend it - but hey, it's appreciated!

Less Than 45 Minutes...

That's all it took. Less than 45 minutes on the first official day of summer break for me to lose it with the kids and have them BOTH break down in sobbing and tears.

I'm such a good mom, huh? This is one of those posts I feel the need to put up every now and then to RE-prove that I - and my family - have A LOT TO WORK ON!

I came home from exercising to find them both awake, playing cooperatively on my computer, and things were okay....but, I was quickly recognizing an overwhelming spirit of self-centeredness and sure enough, as soon as I asked them to do ANYTHING, I got the backlash. And, then I let loose a verbal whooping (particularly to Brayden as he was the most defensive).

Good times - made even better by Brayden's comment "This is the worst start to summer ever" in which I misinterpreted to believe him saying his life was awful - but, in reality, he meant his attitude had made it that way.

So, I sat them both down, gave them lots of love and hugs, quickly brainstormed some questions to have them fill out and sent them away from me and each other to think about them.

Summer is like this tightrope walk with things like: heightened expectations (often different), lack of routine, desire for fun, and the need to still get the "basics" done (i.e. laundry, dishes, cleaning) all pulling you off-balance. Good to know we fell off the tightrope within the first hour of the first day. Let's hope we stay in balance longer now. =)

P.S. - This is totally superficial in contrast to the "deeper post content", but I have to say that in contrast to that earlier picture - and in HUGE THANKS TO LYDIA, I think our backyard has really come around, huh? =)

Not Quite Extreme Couponing, But....

Last night the television kind of found itself on the TLC Channel. It was set to DVR a show I wasn't really watching* and then "Extreme Couponing" came on. I've watched the program before and despite my semi fascination, have come to realize I do not have the drive nor the storage space to ever consider embarking full force into that hobby. Last night was the most impressive episode I've seen, with the first woman purchasing over $3000 worth of groceries for about $43. The neat thing about her was her ambition to give much of the products away to food banks, hundreds of boxes of cat food to a local pet shelter, as well as opening her home storage to her children's families so they can "grocery shop" at no cost. Very cool.

As for my coupon ambitions, they are much less altruistic - I have to put that out there right now. I mean, yes, we really do enjoy having lots of food available for anyone who comes over - it's kind of our favorite outward love language to feed people as soon as they walk in the door - but, right now my goal is entertainment. More specifically, going to the movies.

Summer equals blockbuster movies which equals popcorn goodness and candy and all around happy endorphins (which also equals weight gain, but I won't spoil that fun right now). But, these movies (which often include an extra 3D cost) times four in our family - well, it's not cheap. The movie theater that we like the most in town is actually significantly cheaper that the other one at the "better mall" - but even knocking a couple of bucks off each of the ticket, popcorn, and soda prices - you can easily look at $50 a visit for our family to head to the movies.

So, I get a bit obsessive when I see movie coupon offers. At different times, we've seen Disney use Kelloggs to advertise their Pixar movies with deals - and that's the case right now. If you gather a coupon code from four specially marked Kelloggs cereals, you can earn yourself $5 in "Concession Cash". That's always nice - knowing you can actually save a bit of money when you buy your $6 bucket of popcorn and $4 beverage. (Ugh!) Our family LOVES cold cereal and I can't say I'm overly discriminating about what kinds as it's often eaten as a treat. So, Kelloggs works for us. =)

Then, Safeway's flyer on Wednesday advertised a free (up to $12) movie ticket coupon at the register for use on any movie at any theater with the purchase of five specially marked Kellogg's products. AND, many of those cereals are on significant sale. AND, the Kellogg's website has additional coupons for these cereals. AND, Safeway all0ws for those coupons to be doubled. So, pretty much I was able to purchase 5 boxes of family-favorite cereals for less than $2 each - while netting $17 in very valuable certificates towards cinema movie viewing/concession purchasing. (Not to mention spending $75 in a single transaction at Safeway nets you a $ .20 discount per gallon of gas if you purchase it at their pumps....).

Needless to say, a stop off at Safeway has been a part of every errand run I've taken today and yesterday. I've already netted 3 movie tickets - and 3 $5 certificates for concessions. We've also got enough cereal to last for a while (or you'd think...you'd be surprised in this house). Not to mention, I've begun using Dixie Cups and cereal as my "sub treat" when I visit classrooms - so any leftovers come September can be used in that capacity too.

Like I said, I'm definitely not worthy of a television crew following me around, but for this week, at least, I've been feeling pretty "coupon savvy". =)

* I stayed home with a bad headache from church...it was a wise move as it got way worse - fortunately just a neck muscle tension issue as the overheating problem is a thing of the past, but I definitely need to figure out a better pain/sleep management system.

Courtney's Tuesday Night

When the point of discussion came up regarding what we'd do as a "Tuesday Night Ladies" group during the summer, I was a bit taken back with how vehement the ladies all were about continuing to meet. It warmed my heart in a HUGE way. However, it opened the door to proceed with two goals I had for the group: 1) Encourage each gal to step out in faith by picking a night during the summer and "leading" it & 2) Give me a break from doing the "decision-making" myself. I sure don't need a "break" from the gals, oh how I love them, just a little time-out from having to determine where we'd meet, what we'd eat, and how the get-together would glorify the Lord. =)

So, last night was Courtney's night. Unfortunately, over half of our group were not able to make it, which dwindled us down to Kaela, Elaina, myself and Courtney. I'd dare say that during a "typical meeting" these three would be the quietest - often sitting on one of the couch's together and doing a lot of listening vs. talking. So, it was fun to get them together and be able to have the focus turn more their way. (Which, I probably still monopolized...oh well).

Courtney had us meet up at her (mom's) house - atop a hill on the south side of town. I passed by their house on the way up and stuck my camera out of my sunroof on the way back town to take this shot of the view.

Little did I know that Courtney's plan was to have us walk about a block from her home to a roadside ledge giving us just that same view.

She packed picnic blankets, panini sandwiches, fruit, carrots, and hummus for us to dine on as we shared the gorgeous view and stories together.

Unfortunately, Kaela suffers from seasonal allergies (as does Mikayla) and right now the grass pollen level is VERY HIGH, so before Kaela's eyes went into permanent tear/itch mode, she asked if we could take a group shot and then head back indoors.

This is Courtney's home - check out that (vertical!) driveway....no doubt that's one scary obstacle during snow and ice time! I think I can actually feel the back of my calf's burning this morning from the walk up it just twice last night! Inside the house was super cozy - and we spent the rest of the evening glancing at "America's Got Talent" while perusing potential move-in locations for Courtney when she heads to med school in Portland this fall. We'll miss her so much!

Our Little River Otter

It's becoming a tradition around this time of year to find ourselves at wit's end in exasperation with our first-born. Now, let me put a caveat in right away - exasperation is a big word, and really in my use of it, it's meant to be a "shake your head and grumble in frustration...but almost break a smile while doing it" sort of way. That is Brayden. I have been trying very hard to upload a video I took at the zoo last week of river otters. I'm going to settle for giving you a similar link uploaded from Youtube.... All his life, we've referred to Brayden as an otter - that's his personality, he loves to play. However, it wasn't until I was trying to take a still picture of those goofy, adorable little creatures that I realized they don't even stay still long enough to snap a shot of, so I resorted to video. And, even that quality was sketchy - because you could hardly keep track of them - they were too busy making flips in the water and cruising along the glass watching all of the excited kids - and distracted by "anything shiny"! =)

It's currently not hard to keep track of Brayden. THANK GOD - that kiddo loves us, and wants so much still to just have an environment of play here around the house. Sometimes I wonder if John and I were even more playful, if he'd ever move out. However, Brayden keeping track of HIS stuff? UGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH! That's the problem, especially this time of year when the end of school (responsibility) is in sight.

"Brayden, why is that you have the second hole in a week in two different sweatshirts?"
"Brayden, did you LOOK for your Underarmor that you tell us someone stole at the pool?"
"Brayden, as you are now admitting you never really looked, can you call Kimmie to see if she sees it as she is probably still at the pool?"
"Brayden, for the 4th time, plug in your phone, we don't spend the money for it to sit at home, dead!"
"Brayden, FIND your phone charger!"
"Brayden (who's currently playing the harmonica to Sydney) - have you found your charger?"

Those phrases (and more) have all been uttered in the last 12 hours - and that's not even touching the whole school/homework/test prep issue.

I love that kid so much, how can you not, he is so LOVABLE! Sooooo playful - so ready to hug and wanting more than anything to get you to smile or laugh. But, sometimes, I wonder if those responses playful responses from me will end up being to the detriment of his future wife when she's ready to pull her hair out from his otter-like tendencies!

Here's a couple of shots, courtesy of Amy Fox, of him being an otter at Camp Harlow for a mid-school event last night...how timely. =)


P.S. - That cell phone charger? It was "miraculously" found my me...sitting right in the pile of electronic plug-in devices by the computer. So, we got his phone plugged in, and what do you know, but there it is - still plugged in to the charger, while Brayden is at school and off with a friend this afternoon - exactly the kind of situation where we wanted him to have a phone in the first place!!!!

Boat Test Run

This morning started out looking and feeling just like summer. We slept in (that Wednesday night service is awfully nice on Sunday mornings!) - and there was a smell and warmth in the air that was so inviting - not to mention the blue skies.

But now, at 6:07 pm, the skies are dark gray and the rain is COMING DOWN. I don't think this was predicted....lucky us (ugh)!

Oh well, I'm glad we didn't know it was coming, otherwise we would not have made our spontaneous trip out to Cottage Grove lake to make sure "Dory" (the nickname I've given to our boat....) was ready to go for the summer.

John had spent most of Saturday getting her ready (while I was at Michele's) - and she was indeed ready to go. We were so excited that the Whites had agreed to go with us - and all actually got a good chuckle in when we realized a third of the way there that we had neglected to even pack a wakeboard. I was the only one even considering it, and after feeling the water temperature upon arriving, was glad I had the excuse to NOT get in. (The water level at the lake is indeed very high from all the water we've had - but yet to warm up from the lack of hotter temperatures).

Instead, we used the time spinning the boat around, giving everyone inside kind of the feel of what it's often like in the innertube. The lake was EMPTY - so we had plenty of room and glassy water to play in. The sun did even emerge from the clouds (kind of) for about an hour worth of relaxation on the boat. Then, we felt a few drops, brought the boat in, and by the time we'd reached our routine stop off point, Dairy Queen, en route to home - it was pouring. Perfect timing, and perfect test run. =)