Happy Mother's Day!

As it's probable I won't be seeing either one of you on this actual day of "Mother's Day", I just want to put a huge expression of thankfulness to both of the moms in my life - my mom, Sherry, and John's mom, Leona.

Mom, the older I get, the more I realize just how much I took for granted growing up.  Michele and I knew we had it good - for us, family has ALWAYS been the truest comfort zone, the place to come back to, where we felt safest, most at peace, and often happiest.  The more I grow up and encounter new people and their stories, the more I recognize that this is not a universal truth, and truly we are very blessed indeed to have that in our lives.  Even as we grew older and spread our wings in adventures, the "nest" was always waiting for us to return to.  Thank you mom for living your life in such a way to give us such security, confidence, and a sense of unconditional love.

And, Leona, how could I ever thank you enough for bringing life to this world to the man of my dreams?  (Literally).  I echo again that you were his safe place, to return to again and again through his exploits of mischief or hearts broken by those silly girls who let him go.  You gave him the foundation of knowing and understanding that a woman/mom should be treated with respect, love, and admiration.  Thank you - as not a day goes by that I'm not eternally grateful that God put your son into my life.

Happy Mother's Day!!!!

Nothin' But Sunshine

I know that I keep harping on this subject, but I figure if I've done a lot of complaining and pouting about lousy weather, then it is only fair that you hear me REJOICING over the sunshine.  Literally, I open the blinds, or pick up the paper on the front doorstep and automatically say "thank you" over and over to God for the beauty of the blue skies.  Even if it is only 42 degrees right now, I am ever so thankful - it is BEAUTIFUL!!!!!! (And supposed to warm up to 73 this afternoon and low 80's this weekend....with a great forecast for next week too....I couldn't be happier!)

Last night, when sitting with Stephie, Kaela, Heather, Elaina, and myself for Bible Study it became all too clear that my response to weather isn't completely "normal".  Elaina and I both admit to being very affected by the weather - as in, quoted by Elaina "ready to move somewhere else" - but, Heather, Steph and Kaela looked at us like, "really, it was a rough winter?  I didn't notice"....or "I like it".  I CAN NOT RELATE.  Next year, I will definitely be plugging in my glow light from January on as I can't do another three months like I did this year.  But, the hardship makes the overcoming that much more brilliant - and today I plan to celebrate by hiking Spencer's Butte with Steph Hoffman.  Hopefully, a picture to come of the three of us victoriously atop the butte (Syd, of course, will come too). 

(Instagram has it looking like it was hazy -  not so, it was gorgeous blue skies with a view of the Sisters Mountains and Mt. Bachelor)

I'm recognizing that as great as it is to be spending time with the "younger set" (college or post-college age), it is also good for me to make dates with those of my own age or place in life.  And, if I can double-duty that with some time outside, walking the river path or taking a hike, it's all that much more perfect.  I need the support for issues like kids, marriage, growing older, etc. that those that are 25 and under can't quite relate to.  If you can't tell, I'm pretty giddy in anticipation of my time with Steph.

Today is a day off for Cal Young Middle School so Brayden is opting to spend it at Gilham - helping the teachers.  What a great choice!  Unfortunately, the teachers he bonded most with when he was a student there have all moved on.  Ironically, his first grade teacher, Mr. Dees, called out my name upon seeing me yesterday at Costco.  Okay, first of all, happy he even acknowledged me, and that he knew my name was even better!  He immediately wanted to know how Brayden was doing (yes, he remembered his name too).  I gave him a few fun stories about him helping out at Harlow - and he just chuckled saying, "that sounds just like Brayden".  I get the feeling Brayden must have been one of his "faves".  For sure, Mr. Dees "got him" and enjoyed his "otter-personality"....wouldn't it be wonderful if he could just follow Brayden all the way through graduation being his personal teacher for every subject?!!!  When he worked at Gilham, we bonded over the Ducks and our Christian faith - and he shared with me yesterday that he and his wife now spend half of every year helping impoverished kids in Cambodia.  Sigh, I guess they need Mr. Dees more than Brayden does.  At any rate, that little exchange in the Costco parking lot put a smile on my face for quite a while.

And, speaking of teachers, I'll end this random post with a picture of what we put together for Mikayla's version of Mr. Dees - her current teacher Mrs. Fitzgerald whom I'm confident will be remembered as Mikayla's favorite.  This idea came from Pinterest, and I think it turned out pretty cute.

I didn't take a picture of what we gave Mikayla's student teacher - (oops) - we took one of the jars of homemade raspberry jam I just made and put a ribbon around it with a card that said, "I'm BERRY thankful you are my teacher".    It's teacher appreciation week and I thought we'd do a little something beyond flowers or gift cards.

Hope you are all looking forward to a fantastic weekend.  Special shout-outs to Sara - whose youngest had his last week of high school this week (and won all sorts of awards...way to go Jared) and to Tiffany who is now an "official teacher with her own classroom" - way to go ladies!!!

Round 2

It's 9:21 pm.  I'm sitting on the ground at Brayden's feet on one laptop while he is researching on the couch with another laptop.  John and Mikayla just went to bed.  The scene is eerily familiar to the day before Brayden's last day prior to our Maui vacation.  Especially because we are doing a repeat of the same project he was doing that night.

Yup, that's right.  Those 5 hours weren't sufficient.  While I'm not going to argue his teacher for marking points down for everything not being exactly as she asked, I did feel like his effort was worth more than a C-.  It was not a happy day in the Riley home when that grade came home.

However, in just another example of how almost all of these "trials" can be used to help us grow, coming to this point right now has been another big accomplishment for not only Brayden, but all of us.  First of all, we all had to reconcile whether it was worth it to redo the project.  The teacher is actually mandating a good chunk of the class to do this project over - no option if you want a grade at all.  Brayden squeezed past the "required do-over" but still had the option to redo it (not just modify...start all over) for a better grade.  We hummed and hawed as as a family recognizing what a toll the first round took and feeling a bit legitimately jipped with his original grade.  However, after analyzing the score sheet, we urged the redo and he conceded that he could do better.

The pursuit of excellence....that's a big motto repeated often for Brayden.  And Round 1 of this project wasn't excellent.  But, I think Round 2 is getting close.  He's calling it a night - so exhausted, he just recognized he hasn't even taken his shoes off since getting home from school - and only took a break to eat dinner.  I recognize all that and think, "wait 'til high school or college" - or "this was a typical night for me in school" - but Brayden is so different than me when it comes to this stuff and I have to appreciate the growth.

Gone is the complaining about the assignment, the teacher, all that he has to do, or any other injustices.  He just got down to business (especially after dinner).  And, I see this kid doing that, after specifically praying for just that kind of focus and "getter-done behavior" and it makes me glow because I know this isn't easy for him.  It doesn't come naturally like it does for me - or my little clone, Mikayla.  But, he did it.  We plowed through as a team, me acting as the cheerleader vs. last time being the harping coach.

Love that kid.  So glad this is getting turned in tomorrow and he should, by the end of the day, be finally caught up from all that he missed while we were on vacation.  And, unbelievably thankful that there are only 5 more weeks until school is done.  Hallelujah!

Round 1:

Round 2:  (too long to take in one pic)

A Celebratory Sunday

Today was another great day -made even better by the arrival of Michael first thing in the morning.  Why would he come down for just a day visit?  Well, because today is Natalia's birthday...and there's no way he was going to miss celebrating his beautiful daughter's 12th birthday.  We made caramel rolls and sausage for her (it was a group effort - while Chele and I manned the kitchen, the guys had to make two different trips to the store for ingredients!!).  In the end, it was all worth it - especially with the "Happy Birthday" song and candles lit in it.

So, when I went looking for the right card for Nati - I saw this and given how much it reminded me of what Baxter (their puggle) does - I felt like the card was PERFECT for Nati - especially with the sentiment inside.  I showed Michele the card and her response was, "YOU DID NOT!" - Yup, we bought the same card.  This isn't the first time either.  Two different towns we shopped in (Salem vs. Eugene), two different stores (Safeway vs. Kohls)...but same card.  And, if you read particularly the first line we both wrote...also eerily similar.  Ha!  Love it when that twin thing surfaces unexpectedly! =)

The plan we thought was going to happen was taking the family(ies) to see "The Avengers".  But, upon bringing it up to Nati - she was less than thrilled - as were John, Mikayla, and Ellie.  So, with much discussion making sure Nati wasn't feeling in any way slighted by her parents, it was concluded that the girls would all go with John who was determined to treat them to a very fun morning.

Before I address their adventures, I will say that we all LOVED the movie (as did much of America based on box office results!).  It was much more entertaining, amusing, and captivating than I expected.  Also, due to the unexpectedness of high demand of people seeing it, we all ended up with free 3D tickets.  We got jipped getting switched from one ticket purchasing line to another, only to find the computer crashed with that cashier - and then getting sent to the back of the original line.  Not cool.  Michele addressed the situation with a manager (nicely - they bonded as Michele was a Cinemark employee the summer before she got married) who felt it only appropriate to comp us admission to the higher priced next showing, the 3D version (showing 45 minutes later).  Hey, we'll take that! 

Meanwhile, John and the girls cruised the mall.  The girls each picked out and purchased Webkinz and tested equipment at Sports Authority.

Why they chose to visit a mattress store is beyond me - but the girls loved this bed that the employee operated to fold them up like a taco =)

These girls' favorite indoor pastime is "playing school" - so an ideal day shopping must include school supply purchases.

Also included in the trip was a visit to Fro-Yo.  Even the Webkinz enjoyed their grand adventures.

Upon all of us returning home within an hour of each other, we used the Sport Court in the backyard for what has now become the favorite pastime on it - a rousing game of "Foursquare".  Really?  We have a volleyball net and a basketball hoop and the activity chosen is something we could have done on the pavement out front with chalk for lines?!  Ha!  But, we are NOT complaining - it is just funny.  The game went on and on between the dads and the kids - SO GREAT!   This court is creating all these opportunities to see the family bonding, keep the kids outside ("in the fresh air"), and overall make me feel like less of a "loser mom" (as opposed to feeling like they spend excessive time on the PS3, laptops, or in front of the tv).  I think having the sun shining helps immensely too.  (And, great company to play with).  All's to say, my expectations just keep getting exceeded, and given how much concern I had for the investment, that's a very positive thing. 

In an effort to share another "BTS" situation, I feel like my emotions and state of mind have finally shifted to a much more positive state.  Post-holiday is always hard for me - dependent on weather and circumstances, it's never a sure bet how long that sense of "detachment/apathy" will stick around.  This year has been very gray for us in Oregon with weather, and somewhat consequently, gray for me through the month of March in terms of outlook.  As one would expect, my mood switched gears in anticipation of our trip to Maui, but I really wasn't sure if coming home again would keep the feelings on an upswing.  Thankfully, whether it is the time of year (summer around the corner!), the refreshment of Maui, the weather that is looking good on the forecast (though hasn't been necessarily ideal since returning home), or just God getting me through a tough bout of Seasonal Affective Disorder - I feel like I've arrived with that general level of "up-ness" that had been pretty much lacking the first three months of this year.  The gray fog has lifted...figuratively and literally - and I am ever so thankful!!!!

Twilight Meet and Super-Sized Moon

Do you hear that sigh of happiness? That's the sound of the contentment that comes from - at long last - having Michele and the kids down to visit.  As Ellie is famous for saying, "it's been TOOOOOOOO long!"

It's been a beautiful day here.  Not quite yet very warm...but that's about to come with temps predicted in the 70's tomorrow and through most of next week.  (Those of you living elsewhere in the US are thinking, "You call low 70's WARM?"....)  Praise the Lord!!!  It's truly starting to look and feel like summer could be on its way - especially with some fresh strawberries, corn on the cob and eating al fresco.

While the kids have spent most of the day outside and happily occupied, the Whites, John and Michael (Chase, that is - my bro-in-law will get here tomorrow) attended the Oregon Twilight Meet to root our own Heather Spinney on.

Once John was there, he was able to meet up with Kenjon - and then had a chance to meet this guy, LaMichael James, now an NFL player for the San Francisco 49'ers.

And, speaking of football players, this is D'Anthony Thomas, friend and fellow running back with Kenjon for the Ducks.  He anchored this relay and crossed the finish line first among all of their contenders.

And, Heather!!!!  She had another PR (just like her race last week).  So proud of her....she's feeling better and running faster than ever.  Next time, I need to see her in person!

And, this is Emily McMahon - another friend of ours.  She has recently had investigative surgery on her knee and look at her now...so impressive! 

Finally, that infamous full moon that's been in the news.  Honestly, it was cool for the sake of getting the kids to walk around the block to look for a good view of it, but I don't think its the best I've ever seen.

Tomorrow, warmer temperatures, the family still around, and R&R.  Oh happy day!

A Gaggle of Giggling Girls

Yesterday, we had an impromptu gathering of girls from Mikayla's fourth grade class.  Mikayla had been wanting to bring these gals over, most of who play volleyball with her, to play on the court.  Mikayla's not much of a "one-on-one" playdate person, so it's great when we can do something like this and get a bunch of folks involved.  Surprisingly, we only put the word out the day before, so I was impressed that almost everyone could make it.

This first picture was taken out front after they were chasing our neighbor, Noah.  He's also in their class and had already stopped by to "crash the party", so they took revenge.  Lots of screams and running - sorry neighbors who had to listen....but all in good fun.  Noah is a great kid with a great family. 

I asked them to pose...I'm a little concerned with what Mikayla came up with....after seeing this I said, "Uh, Mikayla...this pose....do you know what the word 'provocative' means"?  She just looked up at me from the couch eating her pretzels and watching Disney channel and I said, "never mind".  The intent behind the pose just aint there, thank God!

They DID spend time on the court - but actually used it more for Four Square than anything else.  I guess if I want them to get some legitimate volleyball practice, I'll have to come out there to see it happen.  That's definitely not what yesterday was about though, it was just meant for the girls to have fun.  They were over for three hours and I didn't have to facilitate one argument and never heard once, "What do we do now?" or "I'm bored".  In fact, I hung clothes up in my bedroom for much of the time and ignored them outside of these few pics.  Now, that's a successful playdate!

Catching Up

Happy Tuesday.  I'm already leaning towards the weekend when the sun is supposed to shine again and I finally get to see Michele and her family.  It's been way TOO long.  We also get to see Mary Beth and Alex...but unfortunately the rest of the Riley clan will all be doing other things to prevent a full reunion.  

In the hurry to get everything ready for the very busy Saturday we had, I didn't record a few happenings from last week. 

First up - our "Thursday Night Ladies" (minus Stephie - and out-of-towners Courtney and Christi).  In celebration of Kimmie's birthday, we went to see "The Lucky One".  Hmmmm, very romantic.  There's definitely some steaminess...I mean the lead actress (Taylor Schilling) demonstrated quite the attraction to Zac Efron.  Must of just been those long eyelashes - because, really, he's not much for the eyes.  (Ha!!)  No, he demonstrated he's more than just good looks in his portrayal of such a conflicted, yet noble war veteran.  Definitely a GREAT chick flick...(but not necessarily "dating" flick....could get very awkward with that one scene in particular!) 

Next up, Friday, April 27th marked our 16th anniversary!!!!  Woo Hoo!!!  We did practically nothing to honor it, other than just acknowledge to one another that it's not just this day that we recognize what we have in each other, but hopefully it's moment by moment through our lifetime together.  Special shout-outs to Mom and Dad and Leona for the beautiful cards we got from both of them.  We truly appreciate your sentiments and are so thankful that's what you see in us.

Friday also started off with a walk with a dear lady named Tammy.  I think the only time I've mentioned her in the blog is in two of the posts I've written about our Christmas-time Ladies Tea/Lunch.  This last year, she blew me away with her courage to step out in faith and share a devotional with all of us.  We are Facebook friends and finally decided about a month ago to schedule a time to go beyond that level of friendship to something deeper by going for a long walk together.  When I say long - it exceeded two hours of pounding the pavement along the river walk.  My legs were tired after all of that (and even moreso the next morning), but my spirit was absolutely revived by my time with her.  I love the experience of meeting someone you instantly click with and realizing every topic of conversation will spin naturally into the next after you spring into tangent after tangent.  Of course, I'm pretty sure I talked more than her, which I hope to remedy the next time we get together.   I totally forgot to take a picture of us, but did snap a picture of this crane that was right beside the path we walked on....

Now, on to Monday.  Bless Mom's heart, she was able to see me (as pre-arranged) on Monday, which was divine timing as the weekend really did a number on me.  Originally, she had hoped to have me take some pictures of her new horse, River, to compare to the original picture she had of her.  (She's put on some of the healthy weight she needs to since being with Mom).  Mom said to "try another day" because of the rain - but, as I was walking to my car, I noticed the rain had ceased for a moment and the horses were grazing close to the barn.  So, I grabbed the big camera and visited them.  They all came barreling over to visit with me - knowing for sure I'd bring treats as I ALWAYS do....except for that day.  Oops...they were very disappointed with me.  Sorry, girls, that I let you down.  Anyway, I took pics of all three.  The black one is named Holly, the white one is Celila, and the beautiful mix of the two colors (which matches my mom's hair color to a tee!) is River.  They are all mares - and enjoy each others' company a lot.  They are happy...I'd expect nothing less from living with my mom!

Spring Football Game Tailgater BBQ

While I was attending to a bridal shower, the guys attended the spring scrimmage Duck football game.  We used that as our excuse to host a bbq.  Given we'd made some changes to our backyard, we thought we'd throw a wide net of invitation from family friends our age to college students.  God must have known that I would not make it if we had a ton of people over (I was so tired before the bbq even began), so it turned out to just be the Johnsons, Quigleys, Heather, Michael, Kyle, Kaela, and Becky.  Everyone was out of the house by 7:30 - at which time I IMMEDIATELY collapsed in bed, later on retrieving ice packs for the mounting headaches.  Note to self:  two parties in one day is too much!  (But, it seemed like such a good idea knowing I'd only be cleaning the house once!)

First up, some pictures of our side patio - having been decorated with some flowers purchased and potted this last week.  (It made me so happy to have the sunshine to do that).

Next up, a reveal of what our new back yard looks like.  I thought I'd put this picture up to remind you what our yard looked like (wasn't she pretty!) in February.

And, "Ta Da" - here's roughly the same angle of perspective as to what it looks like now:

That big light up there shines directly down on the court and leads to very little spill-over into the neighbors' yards. 

It's not put up right now, but that net hanging on our house wall can easily be put up with a pole that comes up from being stored in a shaft at half court.  And there you go - now it's a volleyball court.

To the left, is a ball bin that holds all the balls (and we feel like it was custom made to sit in that little corner) - and then the net on this side is called a "rebounder" so it is extra strong.  If you played baseball, you could pitch against it.  We use it to serve volleyballs against or just pass and set into it.  It's awesome...

And, we didn't get rid of the trampoline - though it did get itself a new net and poles.  The netting was "in construction" when this pic is taken.  Also, the pebble gravel we had before was replaced by wood chips, with a layer of landscaping material underneath, so Sydney is no longer able to dig.  During rain or shine, she comes in clean!!  (I am finding a lot more wood chips in my carpet, small price to pay, though!) 

Now, on to party #2 - the bridal shower formality was transformed into bbq casual.   (We had plenty of "fancy food" leftover too...the mantra of the evening was "EAT!, PLEASE EAT MORE!)

 

And, this sight....yes, this is what our dream was when we decided to go for it with this backyard remodel.  If it is not raining (and even sometimes when it its), the kids are out there.  Brayden's friends come by just to be able to play on it - and even our own kids often find themselves not arguing and playing together. 

  

 

 

Grillin' time...

This guy is Solomon, he's actually a couple of months younger than Brayden.  Crazy, huh?  We love this guy - he's always smiling (he was trying to follow directions in this picture to give a good pose...).  He is one very positive kid and we enjoy having him around.

 

Brayden can't be around Michael Chase very long without intentionally antagonizing him and ending up in a position like this...

 

This is us making plans for our next activity - Heather checking her calendar and me checking mine...

Upon looking at the calendar and realizing Kaela's birthday was on the upcoming Monday, we spontaneously decided to put a candle in one of the brownies and ambush Kaela as she came out of the restroom.  Heather was behind the camera at this point and Michael insisted on taking the lead in one of the worst renditions of "Happy Birthday" that I've heard in a while.

 Onto some side patio photo ops!

Since I don't think I've taken many pictures with her - I took this opportunity.  This is Becky, such an amazing young lady I am so blessed to spend time with on a regular basis.  She was my co-conspirator in putting the bridal shower together.

It was "awkward photo" time.  Michael and Heather are not a couple, FYI - more like siblings in their friendship. 

Everyone was gone by the time dusk came - but because of the snow collapsing our side patio gazebo (the second time that has happened), we had to put up a new one.  I think John did such a beautiful job with the lighting as well...

Woah, what a day. It was a very gratifying day, but so exhausting.  Unfortunately, that headache has kept me from doing anything substantial today, but I think that's okay!  It's been a cozy, kick-back day - time to recover!