Dentist and Salmon

Yesterday, Synnove and I went to the dentist for our 6-month cleaning. I was planning on going home right afterwards to cook up the rest of the salmon Synnove caught on Saturday. While waiting for her cleaning to finish, I browsed through the May issue of Food Network Magazine. As I was drooling over all the pages, I came across a recipe for curried salmon cakes with mango salad. They looked absolutely delicious! So, I snapped a photo of the recipe with my trusty iPhone and headed to the store to pick up the ingredients. I had planned to mow the lawn that evening, but the prep for these cakes/salad took up quite a bit of time and the kitchen was a disaster when I was done. They were really good, and even the kids liked them! I found the recipe on a blog HERE.

They turned out so fabulously that I had to put them on a fancy platter and take a picture. The picture doesn't do the cakes justice :)

Oaks Park

For Father's Day, we were all invited to Oaks Park amusement park in Portland. Patty wanted to celebrate Steve's Birthday and Father's Day with cake and a potluck. The weather was a bit drizzly, but everyone still had a great time. The kids didn't know where we were going, so when we arrived, they were beside themselves with excitement! I had never been to Oaks Park and didn't know what to expect. It's kind of like going to the state fair. The kids AND the adults had a blast. Since it was Father's Day, all the dad's got to ride the rides for free, and Steve gifted all of the kids with wrist bands so that they could ride to their hearts' content. Thanks Steve!

I got a large handful of photos, but many came out blurry...but here's a few of the kids having fun on all the rides...

Synnove wasn't too sure about this one...

This was Soren's favorite ride...it was like some sort of Lewis and Clark expedition ride and he loved the big scary bear. I think he went on it at least 4 times.

Target practice

Island Fishing

Though the weather wasn't supposed to be that great, Dad wanted to risk some rain to take the kids fishing on Saturday. It actually turned out to be a great trip! The rain stayed away and we only felt a few sprinkles. Adam wasn't able to come as he was stuck home sanding the Montero, but he wanted to be there. We headed out late morning, and after some engine trouble, we ended up on one of the many islands on the Columbia east of Astoria.

Taking the zodiac from the boat to the beach...Synnove wasn't so sure she wanted to go...

The first thing Synnove did when she got on land...

After some waiting, and some prayers, we caught our first fish. Synnove practiced reeling in her first fish bigger than a trout...a steelhead.

After we caught the first fish, it took a while to get another bite. We sat around the fire, looked for treasures on the completely man-made island, ate, and read magazines.

Dad caught a few Z's...sorta

Finally, the pole bell rang and Synnove reeled in a jack salmon!

The happy fisher"woman" on her way home...

First Glimpse of Summer

Our first beautiful day since mid-May...

We raced home from Hillsboro on Saturday to enjoy our first mow of the field and splash in the pool of the summer.

Aunt Genie and Uncle Bill

Last Friday we got a last minute call from Adam's Aunt Genie saying that they were going to be in town Saturday morning and that they would like to see us. So, we reorganized our day so that we could visit them over in Hillsboro the next morning. It's not everyday that relatives drive all the way from New York for a visit.

Normally, Uncle Bill travels across the country on his Harley while Genie drives. They usually and end up here sometime around Memorial weekend. Although, last year Genie had some serious health issues and they couldn't make it. This year, Genie is unable to drive such long distances, so Bill promised her that they would go together this year and bring Harley (their dog).

We decided to all meet up at McMenamins Cornelius Pass Roadhouse. Faith hadn't seen Genie and Bill in over 10 years, and it had been a handful of years for Amanda as well...so it was a fantastic reunion. It was the first nice day we had in June and outdoor eating was perfect. Although, the service was horrible. We ended up visiting for quite some time! We wanted to get back home so that we could get some much needed work done and enjoy some long-awaited sun, but we didn't end up leaving till around 2:00. We raced home and got back by 3:30 to mow the lawn and the field. It was a good day :)

Uncle Bill giving Cash a ride...

The kids found some cherries on the grounds of the restaurant. McMenamins Roadhouse is a beautiful place in the summer...they were even hosting a wedding that day.

Faith, Genie, Adam, Bill, and Amanda

Goonie Reunion

My friend Gina started planning for this reunion well over a year ago. At the 20-year, she even got Sean Astin to come for a visit in the middle of his Lord of the Rings fame. This year, she had lots planned and Goonie fans came from around the world (yes...I said "world") to come to our podunk Astoria. To come to the events, you had to purchase tickets at the "Goon Docks" down by my sister's coffee shop. On Saturday, there were so many fans down there that my sister ran out of ice cream! It was a great success for Astoria's economy!

Anyway, I bought tickets for the premiere of the movie, and documentary. I'm as much of a Goonie fan as anyone, but wasn't bursting out of my skin to be there. I bought tickets at the last minute, thinking that it would be fun date for Adam and I. I was running late, and my mom had reported that people were already lining up at the theater at least an hour and a half before the doors were to open. Frantically, we met up with my sis and mom downtown and they took the kids for the night. We ended up being two of about 30 people waiting at the front of the line...woo hoo!!

While waiting, we got to see Gina and Adam snapped a picture...she's the real star, in my opinion!

It was really fun to observe all the Goonie-crazed fans. Several dressed up in pirate attire, or decorated their cars. There were camera crews there, including Channel 8 News. It was fun to watch the reporter do several takes of her report...she was actually kinda funny with those of us watching and made jokes about herself...and her hairbrush :)



When the "stars" came out, the fans were very excited, but subdued. We all waited in anticipation for them to get to us at the front of the line, but they all got stopped in the middle for interviews and handshakes.

Below is Curt Hanson (Mr. Perkins) and Jeff Cohen (Chunk)

Below is Joe Pantoliano (Francis Fratelli) and his daughter (behind him in the pink shirt)

Chunk loved the attention.

Once in the theater, the mayor, senator Betsy Johnson, and all the cast members that were there got up to speak. I was surprised at how genuinely grateful they all were that we were there. It was really fun and I'm so glad that we went. For more info and photos from the entire event go to http://goonies25thanniversary.com/

Trouble with the Neighbor

Shortly after we moved into this house, we started getting a random horse in our field. I say random, because we had no idea where it came from. We didn't mind too much, as it kept it's distance and trotted away if you ever got near it. Later, we found out it belonged to our neighbor. To this day, I have never seen or talked to this neighbor of ours. We share a property line, but you can't see their house or fence from ours, and you have to drive up the road passed one of our other neighbor's to even see their house.

This neighbor of ours has lots of animals...including peacocks. The peacocks make lots of noise at dusk during certain times of the year...and they used to terrify Synnove. She couldn't sleep because of those obnoxious things! We would never actually see them though. We tried convincing Synnove that the "heacocks" were harmless, and even showed her many youtube videos and photos online. Nothing worked. One day, Adam was driving with the kids and passed by our neighbor's house when the peacocks were in view. Adam stopped to show Synnove and the neighbor came over to meet Adam. At this point, Adam told her about her stray horse and she said that she didn't know her fence was broken and would try her best to fix it.

The horse stayed away for a while after that. A few months later, it started to come back....and it started to bring a friend. Suddenly, the harmless horse that stayed away turned into two not-so-harmless horses that liked to hang out in our front driveway! I was starting to get pretty ticked because every time they came around, I had to make sure the kids were inside. The second horse was quite friendly, and I didn't know what could could happen if it got near them. I tried shooing them away many times. Sometimes it worked...but most times it didn't. After enduring about a month of this nonsense, there was an accident that happened when one of the horses impaled itself on the broken fence and died. No, it wasn't our fault, and we had no idea it had happened until the police arrived. It was hunting season, and the neighbor thought the horse had been shot. Of course, she found out otherwise after tracing the blood trail. It was a sad situation, but we hoped that her fence would finally be fixed for good.

An entire horse-free year passed by. However, a new problem emerged: beagles. From what I've heard, this neighbor of ours has many dogs of many breeds...but none more than her pack of beagles. Sometime last summer/fall her beagles had puppies and she decided to keep them. I saw them a few times when I was driving down the road...in the road. They were idiotic and they wouldn't move...I always had to drive around them. Then, we started getting early morning wake-up "barks" at 5 and 6AM when the dogs were on the trail of some deer or other critter near our house. There were at least 6 of them; two adults and a handful of puppies. I wish I could accurately describe the sound this pack of nuisance's make. It's like the sound that most dogs make when they are hurt all of a sudden...that screechy yelp. Multiply that screechy yelp by 6! It was awful!! Not only would it wake me up, but it would wake my kids up. That alone ticked me off more than anything.

The beagles visited our house several times daily. They were harmless, but incredibly disturbing. I chased them off our property many, many, MANY times. I say "chased" because that's literally what I had to do. It was enough to just shoo them up the bank, I actually had to run them up the bank. If I stopped, the dogs would stop. They would look back at me like "can I stay...please?" But I had absolutely no sympathy for their pathetic hound faces. Adam even had a live trap set out to catch a critter that was attempting to get at our chickens. He caught a beagle in that trap at least 2 times...it might have been 3. Still, the beagles continued to visit for several months.

By mid-winter, the beagle visits dwindled. I was so thankful! Then, the peacocks started to visit in the early spring. I was weird, because I had NEVER seen them in the two years we had been here. One morning, I was still in bed and it sounded like there was a goose outside my window. I looked out on the deck and there was nothing. I went back to bed, heard it again, but ignored it. About 20 minutes later I went downstairs to find about 4 peacocks outside the sliding window! My first thought was "seriously...is this ever going to end?!" They visited on and off for about a week, but I haven't seen them back since.

About 2-3 weeks ago, we started seeing the neighbor's mangy looking sheep in our front driveway (there's like 5-7 of them). Fortunately, all I had to do was open the window and say "go home!" and they would run back home. But, in the last week, they have gotten much more bold. They now visit several times a day and have proven to be the worst nuisance of all the animals that have ever visited. Not only do they leave their droppings EVERYwhere, but they have eaten half of our chick food in the garage. I've caught them in the garage at least 3 times. Each time they have made a huge mess. Shooing them has become extremely difficult...so, we've had to use varying other methods. Yes, we've called the neighbor, but she hasn't done what she said she would do. Last night, I spent a good hour scooping up sheep poop from all over our entire yard and driveway.

Adam and I are at the end of our rope. We're trying our best to be good neighbors...but our patience is running out. We knew that dealing with a stray animal here and there was a part of living in the sticks...but this is just plain ridiculous.

Muddy Memorial

The Pacific Northwest is such a wonderful place to live. We've got most everything here, including sun. However, it doesn't come around much...and it was certainly absent for most of Memorial weekend. As usual, we've been looking forward to camping season ever since camping season was over. Synnove has been talking about it since at least January. The weather is always somewhat of an issue. It used to be even more of an issue when we were tent campers. But still, the rain has never kept us away from the campfire.

As most of you know, I'm quite the motivator for everyone else when it comes to camping. I use every possible tactic to ensure their arrival...and rely heavily on guilt. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't...but at least they know we WANT them there...right? It's great to be somewhat relieved of these "duties" as the Wilson's are now just as gung-ho as I am...just more polite about it =) It's a good thing too because I caught a bad chest cold a mere two days before we were set to head out. I wasn't miserable...but almost. I had hoped that my at home remedies were going to help me escape the bug faster. They didn't work too well. Still, I tried my best to push through the packing and getting ready. The rain only dampened my desire to do much of anything but lay on the couch. So, that's what I did.

We had high hopes that the Mitsubishi would be finished enough for us to be able to cart the kids' 4-wheeler, but the weather never improved enough for Adam to be able to paint it. So, we hauled the little 4-wheeler in the Civic. Yes...I said "the Civic." We had to move the spare tire, so when it was finally in, it sat cock-eyed. Without noticing before it was too late, gas started leaking all over. I could barely breath to begin with...add a bunch of gasoline fumes to the mix, and I was on the verge of passing out on the way there. Even with the window rolled down with my head partially out in the pouring rain, I could not get clean air. I pulled over; Adam fixed the leak. Still, the smell was unbearable and so I continued to drive with my head out the window. If I wasn't miserable before, I was certainly miserable then.

Throughout the evening, people slowly trickled in. I spent much of my time dilly-dallying in the trailer and helping Adam try to get the refrigerator to work. After much trial and error, it finally fired up. We put the kids to bed fairly early for a camping evening, and I stayed in the trailer while they settled down. Synnove finally fell asleep, and then Soren started to complain about his stomach hurting. Great. He was acting strange and seemed to be in a lot of pain, so I quickly went out to get my mom who has experience with both hernias and appendicitis's'. I thought it could be painful gas, but Soren's pain seemed to be getting worse. So, at about 10:30, Adam and I headed to the ER...at least a 25 minute drive. Fortunately, Soren settled down during the drive, and we headed back to camp. Phew! He went to sleep and his tummy only hurt a little in the morning. Gas.

Saturday started out with our usual "cowboy breakfast" on a brand new giant fire grill/grate courtesy of Uncle Don.

The day was virtually rain-free. We ended it with delicious steamed oysters from Darrell and Jodie and mouth-watering chicken fajitas from Lori and Ed. We ate good that night...then again, we always do.


Doug brought lawn golf, and many played throughout the weekend...but none better than Taylor and Bronson! Below, the Holthusen's dog "Spicy" dug for at least an hour! She was intent on catching something, but we stopped her before she could actually get anything.


The discovery of the giant marshmallow played a large role in nightly campfire routine. Below, Synnove is trying her best to get her half-roasted marshmallow off of her hand. She tried for quite some time...

...It was funny until it flew across the fire and onto my pants...(see it stuck to my knee)

Sunday it rained. It was a bearable rain, but still rain. The kids weren't too phased by it, and always found a way to have fun. They did get to watch a movie in the Wilson's giant trailer though!

While the kids watched a movie, and while Adam was at the house taking care of the animals, I popped a couple of Sudafed and felt good enough to go on a couple of rides with Weesie. Her new 4-wheeler is awesome...even though we got stuck.

Sunday night was the big pit BBQ. Stephanie and Wes braved the weather and came out for a couple of hours. Tay was soaked to the bone by the time they left. The meat was awesome! We stuffed ourselves beyond capacity and indulged in Auntie Jeanne's version of peanut butter bon-bons and Wesley's scotcheroos.

Brielle is only 2 months old! She's a trooper =)

Noodle fight!

I don't know who this guy is...

Monday morning, the Holthusen's left early. We found out later that they had a blow-out on the Meagler Bridge and had to limp across. I guess they did some damage to the trailer. The rest of us enjoyed cowboy breakfast with Lori's homemade biscuits and gravy! Yummy!!

Then, we all packed up and prayed that our trailers would make it up the incredibly muddy road. A couple of vehicles didn't make it and had to stay until it dried out a bit. A couple of days later, Dad went back to help Doug flip the axles on his new toy hauler to that they would make it out OK!

By the time we got home, the sun was shining, and I was feeling well enough to mow the lawn. Figures.

Hawaii Day and Graduation

It's hard to believe, but the preschool year is over. And yes, I'm a bit sad. I loved Synnove's preschool. So very much has happened since she has started there! Not only has she leaned a great deal, but she and I have gained some wonderful friendships. In the last month the kids have gone on several field trips and have done many activities. In fact, there were so many that I decided not to try to catch up the blog with pictures. I figure Soren will be there for the next two years, and I'll have many more opportunities to blog in the future. However, last week was super special because it was the last week of school!

Miss Kara planned a Hawaii Day for the last day of school complete with hula dancing, coconut bowling, Hawaii "surprise" (plaster of paris with shells, sand, glitter, and glass stones), Hawaiian pizza, and pineapple smoothies (thanks Cassie!). All the kids dressed up in their best Hawaiian attire and they even got to make paper leis. All the parents were invited to come for the second half of the day to celebrate with the kids.

The kids were split up into groups to go to different stations. This is the hula station. Unfortunately, the CD player stopped working and they had to improvise the music.

It's really hard to get Synnove to smile...

On Thursday night, the kids were set to graduate. Miss Kara does such an incredible job with the kids! The program was priceless! Normally, I wouldn't put the entire event on videotape...but I did. The kids performed with big voices and hand motions. They sang various songs including This Little Light of Mine and Lord I Lift Your Name on High. Each one of the 24 graduating preschoolers (2 classes) memorized different verses from the Bible and recited them individually in the microphone. They had been practicing for a few weeks, and the practice paid off. Even Daisy, the shyest student in Synnove's class, said her verse. All of the kids have come such a long way since the beginning of the year.

Each student was presented with a certificate and their very own Adventure Bible. They also got to take home their cap and tassel (Knappa colors, of course). Synnove has since hung her tassel next to mommy's above the TV.

I had a few pictures, but many were blurry. I'm still using my old camera, and have decided to live with it until I save enough money to purchase a "fancy" one. Uncle Don came to the graduation and took some pictures of the program...but I still haven't asked him for them yet. I only have a couple of shots of the kids getting ready...

Synnove, Carlie, Grace, and Cody


Pre-Program-Pep-Talk