At the Beach...In March!

Last weekend, we sacrificed a day of working at home in the beautiful weather to take the kids to the beach. Jones Beach is just 20 minutes from our house. I had never been there before, but Adam had taken the kids there sometime over the summer. It's a fun little beach on the Columbia River with lots of fun hills and valleys to take 4-wheelers. The kids ask to fly their kite every time they see the slightest bit of wind outside...so we brought it along too. In the pics, it looks cold outside, but it was actually quite warm. It was a fun break.

There were countless amounts of mini clam shells to decorate castles...oh, and a nice dried out orange peel...you know...for color =)

After a while, the kids were able to fly the kite themselves. Every time it fell, they would take turns picking it back up. I loved watching them play. Oh, and there's a "papa does" (ship) in the background!

The wind picked up and Soren turned into a butterfly!

Synnove, taking Soren for a ride

Dear "Nobody"

I've got a good grip on life and how it all works, but there are still so many things I don't understand. Thankfully, I don't have to, but I'm a girl who likes to be in complete control of my environment. As a mother, I've got two more lives I try to control. I've got to provide a haven for them; a safe and secure home, yet teach them a good handful of life's hard lessons. It's those hard lessons that I struggle with. Where do I draw the line? When do I let them get their hearts broken? When do I let them experience new things that may or may not be beneficial? I don't have all the answers, but I feel comfort in knowing that God is on my side.

There have been a few things weighing on my mind, especially in the last week or so. Some are trivial, and some are not. But all of them make me angry. Sometimes I wish I could voice my concerns to the blog void...you know, the void that nobody reads? Ha ha! I can't stop others from saying and doing the things that they do. We all have to live in this world, and somehow we all have to learn to live with one another. You may be asking..."is she talking about me??" Likely, no. But even if I was, would I really admit it? Muah! ha! ha! *evil smile*...you'll never know!

Writing has always been a way for me to organize my thoughts...get the words out...the right words out. Though I love to talk, sometimes I say the wrong thing...the thing I didn't intend. Some say that writing is a cop out...a way of avoiding confrontation. Maybe it is. But in the heat of a confrontation my mind goes blank and I can't clearly voice my thoughts and it often ends in hurt. It's hard to take back words that have already been said...virtually impossible.

The other day, as we were driving home from Oregon City I couldn't stop thinking about something that somebody said to me a while before. Why I was stuck on it at that very moment is a mystery. But, I was so incredibly stuck on it, that Adam and I barely spoke during the entire trip. I spent nearly 2 hours talking to myself...arguing in my head. I asked myself all the obvious questions; who? what? where? when? how? WHY? I felt a handful of emotions; anger, empathy, frustration, confusion, heartache. I didn't know how I was going to get to sleep that night. It wasn't until Adam said..."whatcha thinkin' about?" that I finally was able to release some of the tension. We talked, I felt validated, I let it go....sorta.

With that, and those few other things weighing on my mind, I guess I just wanted to write. I used to write letters to "nobody" when I would get angry. I guess I felt that "nobody" would understand, that "nobody" would care, and that "nobody" would fully listen. "Nobody" was a pretty great pal if you think about it. But since I'm not writing to "nobody" I can't fully say what I want to. So, sorry if you just wasted 3 minutes of your life reading this entry with no story, plot, or point. At least I feel better now =)

Surprise! Adam's 30!

Adam's thirtieth birthday had been on my mind for quite some time. I wanted to do something special, but I was having a hard time finding the time to plan anything. So, at the last minute, I decided to throw a small surprise party with just close family and friends. Fortunately, most everyone was going to be able to come! I spent all of last week planning, cleaning the house, and avoiding spilling the beans to Synnove (she just can't keep a secret). I actually had a very close call when I mentioned the party to some customers during one of my MK deliveries. Synnove got so excited and asked about the party. With some last minute clever thinking, I managed to avoid disaster and Synnove remained somewhat clueless. Phew!


Anyway, the plan was for everyone to be at my house before 1:00...just in time for Adam and I to get home from church. Murphy's Law kicked in at the last minute, and church didn't end until 1:00! I was already cranky with a throbbing headache, and to make matters worse, Adam told the kids that we could go see the elk after church. Ugh...I wanted to scream..."can't we just go home!!!" Adam even wanted to go to my parents' house after church to pick something up! Thankfully, he seemed OK with my emphatic "no, I'll pick it up tomorrow" response. I avoided every urge of frustration and just played it cool. I knew he might want to go out to eat after church, so I made up a fake plan the night before to go out on a birthday date that afternoon while Heidi watched the kids. I even pretended to look up movie times on my phone on the way home from church...when, actually, I was texting my family to start up the BBQ.

I was so happy to see that Adam was truly surprised when we pulled up the driveway. We ate burgers, visited, and watched Adam open some awesome gifts. Afterwards, we lit up 30 candles on the cake (homemade by Jeb!) and sang rather quickly as the wax oozed onto the frosting.

Always gotta have the kid photo-op

We finally got to meet Chris's darling girlfriend, Lindsey! Jeb and Chris are two of Adam's closest friends, and I was so happy they made the effort to come out!

Soren felt the need to help daddy with his gifts.
There were so many candles...small coals flew onto my shirt as he blew them out!

I didn't know how I was going to get a cake to the party seeing as I was going to be gone for the wedding for most of the weekend. I had arranged all the food...but I hadn't figured out the cake until Jeb offered to bring it! Hooray! My problems were solved and everything was arranged. It was a great surprise.

Sweet Nuptials

About a month ago, while attending Hannah's bridal shower, I was asked if I would be willing to come early to the wedding to help with makeup. Of course, I was all for it and made plans to do so. Mom, Elise, and I were going to go up a day early to visit with the family (whom we don't see enough of) and go to the rehearsal. Elise ended up getting sick, so Mom and I headed down to Oregon City on Friday by ourselves. Long story short....we got lost...Facebook for iPhone saved us.

We stayed late chatting and finally got to the hotel at around 11. We got up early the next morning and headed to the church. Everything was well organized and we were on a tight schedule to get everything done. I was told I was going to be helping just 3 or 4 people with makeup. By the time I was done, I had made up 7 faces. All seemed happy with the results, and I was happy to do it. Just being present in the bridal party room is always a fun privilege.

Dad, Adam, and the kids arrived a bit before the ceremony so that they could get a good seat and I could fix Synnove's hair. The kids looked so cute in their Easter outfits. I just couldn't resist saving them till Easter!!


The couple (Hannah and Zachary) broke tradition to get photos taken before the ceremony. I wanted to stay and watch the photos, but Mom and I had to rush back to the hotel before lunch to check out and get our dresses on. When we got back, I did MORE makeup! The girls were all so sweet. I wish I had taken some pictures of them, but I was too busy to pick up the camera.


The ceremony was perfect. Hannah and Zach actually had their first kiss when the pastor announced "you may now kiss the bride." It was QUITE the kiss. I can hardly imagine how incredibly special that must have been for them. Hannah could barely stand after the 5-10 second kiss...she was so weak in the knees!

The reception was filled with good food and fun. One of Hannah's bridesmaids actually made the cake (it was soooo good!), and Hannah and Zach managed to make quite a mess with that first slice. They were so taken with one another....so in love, and having so much fun. Their first dance was a joy to watch...as they both know how to dance. Afterwards, Tim got to dance with his little girl...literally. I think he must tower at least 2 feet above her!

It was getting late and the kids were getting antsy so we headed out to the car. On our way, we caught a glimpse of the getaway car! They had plans to stay in Portland a couple of nights before heading to Hawaii for 10 days!

For those that don't know, Hannah Roach, and her family, are good friends of our family from a loooong time ago. Her Dad, Tim, was my Caravan's (kind of like girl/boy scouts at chruch) leader and took me to my first DC Talk concert at Jesus Northwest back when I was in like 6th grade. Kelli, Hannah's mom, taught me how to tole paint. Tim, Kelli, Hannah, Caleb, and Bethany moved to Tillamook something like 17 or 18 years ago, though they still remain our dear friends.

Coco Chanel and Movie Night

A few weeks ago we did a bunny switchero. Peppermint Patty went to live with the Thompsons, and the Thompsons gave us Coco Chanel. Patty wasn't very happy living with us and wasn't all that friendly with the kids and Coco is a very good-natured, attention-loving girl. The kids love her and ask to visit her daily. She's already pregnant and we hope to have little babies in couple of short weeks. Anyway, this week was "R" week and preschool. Normally, Synnove's sharing day is on Monday's, but she was sick, so we brought Coco on Wednesday...you know...since she's a "R"abbit. I was a bit nervous about it, but Coco seemed just fine. She never seemed scared and tolerated all the little hands on her soft fur. At one point, every single kid had at least one hand on her...at the same time.


Later that day, after my monthly preschool board meeting, I had plans to meet Tracy and Kevin at the Columbian for pizza and a movie. Tracy is my MK director and very good friend, and Kevin is her son...who is also in Synnove's class. The kids had all seen "The Princess and the Frog" but loved being able to eat pizza on a couch in a movie theater. Kevin is very loving and sweet, and any time he got the chance, his arm was around Synnove. So cute =)

Mitsubishi Montero Madness!

Adam has been searching on Craigslist non-stop for the last year or so. It wasn't enough for him to find his cheap "beast car" (what the kids call the Montero), he had to keep the search on for parts and ideas on how to restore it. He works on that rig on and off and is constantly trying to find ways to improve it; mechanically and cosmetically. Last Friday (over a week ago) he found a used Montero on Craigslist that seemed to be in pretty good shape. Normally, he would just pass it up, but the price was too good to overlook. Casually, he showed me the ad, and even I was impressed. I said "contact him, I think you should buy it." Now, it's not like we've got extra money lying around to just buy cars willy nilly, but it would have cost Adam more money to buy the parts than it was going to be to buy this whole car! There was no phone number in the ad, so he emailed hoping to hear from the guy soon.

The next day we had a lot planned. I was attending my recruiter's director debut (yay for Tracy!), and then we were planning on heading to Beaverton for Brandi's 15th birthday party. We still hadn't heard from the guy with the Montero (it was located in Eugene), and we were getting anxious. We were already heading south for the party, and we didn't want to have to take another trip on Sunday, so we packed up some clothes, just in case he called while we were gone.

While at the party, and after playing some phone tag, Adam made a deal with the owner to go see it the next morning. It was already late (for the kids) when we left the party, so we decided to find a hotel in Albany (about 45 minutes from Eugene). The kids were so excited to stay there! We could have stayed someplace cheaper, but for $15 more, we decided the nicer hotel with free HOT continental breakfast was a better deal. We didn't reach the hotel till around 10:00. The kids, though they had stayed at a hotel before, were amazed that there were 2 beds, a TV, AND and bathroom! We let them stay up till almost 11:30 eating snacks and drinking pop from the vending machine.




Adam and I both slept with one of the kids. I don't think either of us got much sleep. I ended up crouched at the foot of the bed because Synnove is QUITE the wiggle worm..sheesh! We had a very nice breakfast with eggs, bacon, sausage, and waffles and headed to Eugene. Thankfully, it was a beautiful day, so it made the long day in the car much more bearable. We were at the owner's house for about an hour. We were very fortunate to buy it because we were the first of over 30 emails the owner received within one night! I know...unbelievable for such a hunk of junk. But, apparently, this "old school" Mitsubishi Montero restoration is sort of a "thing" among guys everywhere. This particular Montero came from Nevada. The owner was fixing it up, moved to Eugene, and decided he didn't have time for it anymore. I don't think he realized how desirable it was going to be...otherwise he would have sold it for more money, I'm sure.

To break up the nearly 4 hour drive home, we stopped in Corvallis to visit the Carrolls. Like I said, it was a beautiful day and the kids all played outside. It was great because they were pretty tired when we finally decided to head home, and they slept all the way to Longview where we stopped and had dinner. Once at home, though time for bed, the kids took a ride in the "new beast car" around the field with daddy. Adam took it to work the next day, but it hasn't left the shop since.

He now spends every spare moment working on it. Within a few days, the entire interior was ripped out. I didn't even have time to take "before" pics. The interior was/is in pretty good shape and it doesn't reek of cigarettes (like the other one). Adam plans to paint it inside and out. Yesterday and today I helped him get it ready for paint. I took off the window tinting, pin stripes, emblems, and trim with a razor blade. Adam has already painted the dash and will soon paint the interior wall panels. He's also prepping the floor to paint it with some special bed liner-type paint. After that, I'm sure he'll begin sanding the exterior for a fresh coat of black.

I'm sure this project will be never ending, but I hope to post some "after" pics relatively soon.

While I went shopping and ran some errands yesterday, Adam built a fire for the kids outside the shop. They were out there from 8:30 AM till my parents came over for corned beef and cabbage dinner. It was a fun day for them...and they even got SMORES!

Today, we were all planning on going to OMSI with Faith and the kids, but Synnove got sick with a horrid cough and stuffy nose late last night. So, we stayed home and dinked around on the Montero even more. I snapped a couple of pics of it all torn apart...