Readers Beware: Graphic Images

I wasn't going to blog about this, but the story is almost too unbelievable not to share. While my in-laws were visiting, in the wee hours of the morning, Adam woke to some "sounds" outside. He woke me up and told me he thought something was in the live trap he had set in the garage. We have a pesky raccoon who loves Charlie's food and have been trying to catch him for the last few weeks. I questioned how he would actually hear an animal trapped clear in the garage...but when it comes to animals, Adam has a pretty keen ear...even in a dead sleep. Anyway, he ran outside, only to return seconds later to retrieve a flashlight. I didn't know why he would need a flashlight in the garage...but whatever. Seconds after he went back outside, I heard a little squeal/scream. Adam then came rushing back in the door yelling profanities under his breath. He darted to the basement to retrieve the appropriate gun and came upstairs to load it. He then informed me that a mink was INSIDE Bunny-Him's cage trying to eat him! I couldn't believe it! I thought that maybe the kids had left his cage open...but no, the pesky varmint had literally "weaseled" it's way into the cage by half-way pulling out the food trough (not an easy task). And, for those who don't know, our bunny cages are at least 4 feet up off the ground.

Mink are aggressive little carnivores, and, when hungry will even attack small dogs. There was no way Adam was going to stick his hand in that cage, and our bunny was running out of time. Once the mink was taken care of, I went out to assess the damage. Both Adam and I questioned whether or not Bunny-Him was unharmed enough to be spared. I was surprise he hadn't died of shock! This was the second time Bunny-Him had been attacked. Last time, his cage had been torn down and rolled down the field by a couple of dogs. The dogs never managed to open the cage, but the poor bunny endured quite a scare.

Bunny-Him's face was quite bloody. I tried to take a picture, but he was having a hard time holding still. Because he's a lop and has a flat face, his nose is quite a bit lower than other bunnies, therefore his nose was still in tact. However, he was having some trouble breathing freely. Upon further investigation, we discovered that half of his right ear was missing! Poor little guy was in bad shape. We decided to wait till morning to reassess.

Bunny-Him's ear...

His poor little face :(

The next morning, I discretely went outside to check on him. I didn't want the kids to see him yet, so I was careful not to say anything. I took some celery with me, as I decided he would rather eat something fresh...and I wanted to see if he would eat it at all. I stuck my hand in the cage, and he reacted in his usual fashion. I gave him the celery, and he started in before I could put it down. I was happy, but still unsure. His breathing was still labored and his eye was starting to swell.

The next day, we took Aunt Alice's advice to apply some antibiotic cream. I was hesitant to do so as the wounds were starting to scab up and I didn't want the bunny to try to wipe the ointment off and aggravate his wounds. That was a few days ago, and he seems to be improving. Today is a hot day, and I'm still very concerned about his breathing. I don't know if his nose is actually damaged, or if it's just overly swollen. In hot weather, bunnies almost pant like dogs...but through their noses. So, Bunny-Him is going to have a rough day. I hope he heals.

After some research, Adam learned of the mink's particular breed, and that it was not native to Oregon. In fact, it was one of the many mink released by animal activists several months ago at a farm in Svensen. Check out this activist blog link regarding the story.

Visit with Cousins

My sister-in-law, Amanda, was in NY last week, so my mom-in-law watched Samantha and Carter. We don't see them too often, so it was a nice to have them visit for a couple of days last week. Grandma Patty had promised Synnove some new additions to her "fairy garden" that they started last year, and she wanted to do some fun crafts with the kids all together. Faith and her two kids came too, so we had a full house! The kids enjoyed all the company and played for hours outside. Patty had planned to stay the night, and thought that both Faith and I knew. Communication isn't a strong Brown-family characteristic...lol! I wasn't doing anything for the next couple of days, so it worked out fine, but Faith was a bit bummed that she didn't come prepared to stay as well. She had an appointment the next day and didn't want to be all frazzled. Still, she stayed till almost 11:00 that night visiting and loading up on coffee for the drive home.

Quite the fairy garden, if you ask me. Notice, Synnove is watching Grandma work...lol!

Samantha playing peek-a-boo with Cash and Synnove and Soren through the window.

The next day, Patty and I spend a lazy morning visiting while the kids played outside. My fridge wasn't full enough to create a suitable lunch, so we headed to town to have sandwiches at the Wheelhouse. Coincidentally, Patty and I both were in dire need of oil changes, so we got that out of the way and headed to the beach.

The weather was surprisingly beautiful! I took them all to Fort Stevens to explore Battery Russel before finally ending at Peter Iredale Beach for a quick run through the sand. I actually wasn't planning on going, so I didn't have my camera with me. I could have got some really great photos of the kids playing in the little pools created by the shipwreck. Though the beach isn't far, it's rare for us to actually go there. In fact, I'm pretty sure I was pregnant with Soren the last time I was at Peter Iredale. Peter Iredale Beach is less than 5 miles from my Parent's house. I suppose knowing that it's there is enough for me :)

Cash Michael Turns 1

On Saturday, the 14th we went to Vancouver for Cash's birthday. We were having a mini heat wave so we decided to take our gas-guzzling truck with working air conditioning. I'm so glad we did! Of course, that gave Adam an excuse to find something big to buy on Craigslist that just happened to be located in Vancouver. He bought a roof rack for his Beast...we picked it up on the way to the party.

We arrived on time...most everyone else was quite late. I just hate that. Anyway, he opened his gifts and we started in on the food. Cash looked so dapper in his tie and suspenders, but was later stripped naked to take a dip in the kiddie pool. The heat would have been stifling, had it not been for the slight breeze outside.

He's so stinkin' cute!

Grandma Patty with all her grandbabies

When the party was over, talk of IKEA crept into conversation. I had only been once, and Adam was game to go...if only to quench his slight curiosity. Plus, IKEA has cheap dinner!! SO, Faith, Alice, Adam, the kids, and I headed over there. Patty, Carter, and Samantha were gonna meet us there a bit later for dinner. There is just something about IKEA that makes me love it. Maybe it's the meatballs??

They had a special on crawfish...Faith had never had them before

We must have spent a good 2-3 hours there. Even Adam wasn't too unimpressed with all the Swedish particle board. By the time we left the store, it was about 8:45. The kids were flat-out pooped and were asleep within just a few minutes of us getting back on the freeway.

Bathtub Sillies

Chris and Elise and Chris, Tonya, and Faith came for another Friday night dinner on the 13th. We ate homemade pizza on a HOT day. During bath time, Faith and Soren were practicing putting their faces in the water. I caught a shot of them just after they lifted their faces...too funny...

Afternoon at the Salisbury's

So, the next few blogs will be me trying to catch up from the last couple of weeks. I've finally found some patience to deal with my large file sizes! Ha ha!

On Thursday, the 12th, I met up with my friend Melody and her 3 darling boys at Tracy's parents house. Tracy is my MK director and good friend (if I haven't mentioned that before) and we spend quite a bit of time together. Tracy and her son Kevin are actually living with her parents, Dave and Shari Salisbury. The Salisbury's and Melody's parents are old friends. ANYway...just trying to share the link we all have.

Melody and her husband moved to Kansas last year for work/school and they happened to be in town for a few weeks. I love getting together with Melody, and her boys are so lovable! It was a chilly morning when we arrived. Tracy made coffee and tea and we visited (or at least tried to) while all 5 boys and Synnove played. We ate quesadillas and sugar snap peas for lunch as the sun started to peak through. Sure, there were a few squabbles and tears, but I know the kids enjoyed their visit.

Melody with her oldest, Justus.

Tracy, trying to get a smile out of Synnove with a kiss...it sorta worked :)
6 little blondies: Justus, Benjamin, Soren, Kevin, Synnove, and Gabriel

The kids spent most of their time on the trampoline. I actually got quite a few funny pictures! My new camera takes great action shots!

At the end of our visit, each kid took a turn down the hill with the power wheels (dead battery). They all got a bit kick out of that little thrill.

"Your Images are NOT Being Uploaded to Blogger"

For the last half hour I've been staring at the phrase "your images are being uploaded to Blogger." I knew that this would be an issue when downloading photos from my new camera. I love to blog, but a good portion of my time is taken up by photo uploads. Even with my point and shoot set to to the very low 1-2 megapixel setting, it still takes a good 5 minutes to upload 5 photos. My new camera is a 15.0 megapixel camera, and as much as I would love to take 15.0 megapixel pictures, it's just not practical. For one, my computer hard drive would fill up alarmingly fast, and two, I would NEVER blog with pictures. Currently, I have my camera set to 8 megs which, in my opinion, is very high quality. Still, each photo size ranges from 3.5-4.5 MB (my point and shoot boasts mere 800 KB file sizes) and uploading is horrendous!! Of course, I could reduce the file sizes, but that also takes time...time I don't have. It's also tedious, and I've been known to accidentally ruin photos by doing so.

Lately, I've noticed that by the time I get my pictures up, I'm just about out of my "allotted" time so I rush through the actual blogging. I suppose this equally frustrates me, as I would like to put more thought into what I have to say. I'm tired of the "yesterday we went to so-and-so's and it was fun...the end." BOR-ing! I suppose you're tired of it too? No, Mom, I'm not talking about you.

Anyway, I have lots of photos to share from the last week or so, but I'm just too tired of waiting for my antiquated computer with it's Pentium 4 processor from 2003...*GASP*!! Maybe I'll have more patience tomorrow? Until then, I'll be dreaming of Core processors and uploading medium-quality 30-second movies in less than 20 minutes! Wouldn't that be a feat?!! The sad thing is, I'm not being sarcastic.

You Want Whip With That??

All of last week was devoted to the fair. I was pretty excited for this year as Tonya, Weesie, and I would be working together. Unfortunately, I started coming down with another cold on Monday night. I couldn't believe it...third cold of the summer!!! The weather wasn't supposed to be that great either. Last year, the business was non-stop because of the heat wave, but this year the weather was supposed to be cloudy and drizzly. Like last year, I was going to have to juggle the kids around. Dad was working, and mom was at the coffee shop. FiFi was able to help entertain the kids a bunch while they were at the fair, and Don and Alice pitched in too. Adam drove out after work when Dad wasn't available and Mom came out after work as well. Somehow it all worked out.

Tonya came in early with Elise all but one of the 5 mornings...6:30...uck! People wanted their coffee in the morning even though the fair didn't actually open till 9. All the kids and parents who needed to take care of their animals every day had to be there early like us. At around 10:00 we would get the carnie rush. And they ALL loved their 20 oz. white mochas with extra shots. Weesie was an animal on the coffee machine! Because it was a rented machine, she wanted to be the only one liable, so she made ALL the coffee. Tonya and I would prep cups and steam milk. By day 2 we had a pretty good system.

Elise had ordered a bunch of smoothie mix and brain freeze mix because last year we sold SO much and had to frantically order more. This year, she sold a LOT of hot coffee drinks and not so many of the other. We still made our fair share of cold drinks though. Unfortunately, she has a lot of product left over. ANYway, our busiest days were Friday and Saturday. Tonya had planned to go up to Portland on Saturday to do some dress shopping for her wedding next month, but she sooooo nicely went on Sunday instead. Elise was going to shut down the shop in town so that Henry could work if Tonya couldn't be there. It's really hard to run that booth in a rush with only two people.

Because of my cold, I didn't sleep well all week, and by Friday I was starting to really drag my feet. I told Tonya she could sleep in on Saturday and that I would come in at 6:30. So, on Saturday, I woke up at 5:00 and didn't get home till around 10:30. I was beyond exhausted. So exhausted I was wired...so I didn't get to sleep till after midnight. Sunday, I slept in a bit and woke with a headache. Even Soren slept in till 10:00 that morning!! The kids had a very eventful week and had late nights as well. We didn't go to church. I picked up my exhibits at the fairgrounds that afternoon and went to the grocery store. I had entered a couple of photos at the last minute and got a 2nd place ribbon on my picture of Soren with his baby chick (see 2nd photo down from THIS blog). I wasn't expecting to get any ribbons because the photo was a bit blurry...but in Clatsop County there aren't that many folks who know how to take pictures :)

Because I was in the booth all week, I didn't really get a chance to see much of the fair, or take any photos. I brought my little camera to get pictures of us girls and a few of the kids. Dad took the kids on the rides on Thursday after taking the kids and I out to breakfast. They rode the rides ALL day...literally. Dad sent me updates every so often on how many rides they went on. They would take breaks and come to the actual fair for food, but they didn't leave until at least 8:30! The kids stayed the night with Grandpa that night :)

Me, Wessie, and Tonster on the first day. We're wearing our Shanghaied in Astoria pins and our "I 'heart' Mary Kay" pins. I was doing a $50 drawing for MK at the booth....and Weesie and Tonya are my "MK groupies."

The fair sponsored a craft booth and FiFi took the kids there on several occasions. Synnove is a kitty, and Soren is a tiger (I think FiFi drew the glasses and 'stache.) He LOVED his tiger mask and growled at us all of Wednesday afternoon.
Soren wanted to scare mommy when I got home from my night. He did, and then he fell asleep. This is what I found when I went to check on him before finally turning in for the night...

On Thursday, it was warm enough for us to take our sweatshirts off for most of the day. Weesie had pink shirts made for us girls especially for the fair!

At our booth, we tried to play our own music, but the stage was pretty close by. A comedy duo called "Brothers from Different Mothers" played the stage at least twice a day and their music got to be obnoxious. Anyway, we would poke fun at all the acts to pass the time and decided we needed our own act....we called ourselves "Sisters from Different Misters"...I know...you can't contain your laughter.

Friends and Bees

Last week my friend Margo was in town. She doesn't come into town very often...so I get to see her about once a year. Fortunately, she was able to get together on Monday (my ONLY free day!). Synnove, who remembers her girls, Abby and Norah, was excited to have visitors. And thank goodness Soren is well-adjusted to being the only boy, because that situation seems to happen often.

As usual, Margo and I chatted while the kids played. We had few meltdowns, and only a smidge of whine (pretty good if you ask me). Abby, Margo's oldest, is quite the "pretender" and got the kids together to create a party with snacks and games for Margo and I. We played "toss the plum" and "find the plum" and had a mini scavenger hunt.

Self-portrait

Toeheads =)

Later that day, Adam planned on spraying the massive yellow-jacket hive above our garage. We only discovered it a couple of weeks ago and were shocked at the size!! I wish I would have had my camera out when Adam went on the roof to spray it. Adam didn't want to get stung so he put on a white "Hazmat-type" suit (something he inherited from his old job), two pairs of gloves, and a motorcycle helmet with a full face cover. OH MY GOODNESS it was HILARIOUS! He looked like an under-puffed astronaut. He didn't kill all the bees with the 2 cans of spray so he's gonna have to go up there again. Maybe I'll get a picture next time!!??

Another Week

I realize that I skipped a week in blogging...but the week before last was way too full and complicated to write down, so I'm just gonna skip it altogether. Last week was non-stop as well...


Monday, the kids went to swimming lessons (every day of the week, actually) and afterwards I planned to go just a couple of parking lots over to drop some MK over to my Aunt who works at Park Medical. As I was showering the kids after lessons, I noticed something black stuck in Synnove's hair. I thought it was a piece of fuzz and pulled on it and she said, "ouch!" I tugged a bit more, thinking it was a dark scab that was hanging by a small bit of skin, but upon further investigation, I discovered it had legs! It was a tick! I had never seen a tick before, but knew that if it wasn't removed properly, it could cause infection. So, instead of seeing Aunt Jeanne at Park's, I went to Urgent Care and Park's. Apparently it was still alive, and the doctor removed it without leaving anything behind. Yes, I could have removed it myself...but I just didn't want to risk doing something wrong. I didn't know how long it was there...it could have been there for a couple of days! I had just gotten back from Creation and Adam wouldn't have noticed it because he doesn't "do" hair. The only reason I saw it is because her hair was half up and I could see something black when I sprayed her head in a certain place.

Anyway, we saw Aunt Jeanne after that, then headed home, then came back into town. I had an appointment with a gal in Astoria, and the kids were gonna spend some time with Grandpa while he painted the house. When I got back, the kids were headed to Costco with Weesie and Grandma. We didn't get home till after bedtime.

On Tuesday, after swimming, I headed over to my parent's house to help my dad paint. I stayed there all afternoon and, again, got home after bedtime. That night I opened my camera for the FIRST time since it arrived on the Friday prior. I was SO excited to get my camera...but had NO time to even open the box till Tuesday!

One of the first pictures I took on my new camera on Tues.

On Wednesday, after swimming, I met a gal at the coffee shop for a little MK consult. Then, I went all the way back home to wait for UPS so that I could make a large delivery for a party I had the week prior. Then, I headed back to town to deliver the order, and afterwards, went back to my parent's to help my dad paint again. Dad was on his way out, so the kids and I were there by ourselves. After about 20 minutes my Grandma Barb showed up and we visited while I painted the house on the deck. She left, I finished the part of the house that sits above the deck, we ate dinner, we got home sometime after bedtime.

That night I stayed up passed midnight finishing the invitations for my friend Tonya's bridal shower...they turned out pretty cute.

Thursday we went swimming, did a MK delivery, then headed to Cassie's so that the kids could play. We stayed all afternoon! It was great fun! On the way home, though exhausted, I decided I needed to go to Safeway. Our fridge has been utterly neglected, and has been virtually empty for almost two weeks. That NEVER happens! But, I honestly haven't had the time to go to the store! Anyway, I stopped at Safeway and started to put the kids in the cart. I put Soren in the seat and put Synnove in the basket part. Synnove then decided to whine and throw a fit about not being in the seat. I told her if she continued to whine, then we would have to leave without getting dinner for Daddy. She continued to whine. We left the store. I was too exhausted to care and I don't remember what we even had for dinner...waffles maybe??

Jena and JR have a bouncy house at their house...SO fun!!

Friday was the last day for swimming lessons for that session. Synnove is still in the smallest class (has been to at least 6 or 7 two-week sessions) and will stay there till she puts her face in the water. Soren is in the class above her (has been to 3 two-week sessions) and is starting to learn the basics. I don't think I'll be putting the kids in lessons for the rest of summer. Synnove isn't progressing, and it costs me too much time and money. I think I'll continue Soren's lessons in the fall when Synnove is in school. We'll see.


After lessons I went to the coffee shop to get stamps from Elise for Tonya's bridal shower invitations and mailed them off. Then, I headed back home to meet Tonya and Faith for a playdate. My kids are so blessed to have so many little friends, and I'm so blessed to be friends with all their little friends' mommies!! It makes me almost wonder that if I didn't have kids...would I have as many friends??? Probably not!

Saturday we woke late, made a big breakfast, and got in the car to go to Seattle for the day. Adam's Aunt Chris got married last month, and they were hosting an open house. We don't ever get up to Seattle to see Adam's extended family, so it was a good excuse to go. Adam got to see people he hasn't seen in years, and I got to finally meet some of his extended family (that I hadn't met before). The kids enjoyed running around and playing with Alice and Cash. The drive home was a loooong one. I think we walked through our front door sometime around 12:30 AM.

Chris's husband Ed is a part of a "Mini" club. Here's 3 of the 4 that were parked by our car...

Sunday was meant to be a relaxing "don't have to go anywhere or do anything" kind of day...but it didn't end up that way. After going to church, we drove home to get Synnove fed and changed to go over to Grace's house for the afternoon. Our fridge was still empty and because fair was (is) going to start the next week (this week) I didn't know if a trip to the grocery store was (is) going to happen. SO, I sorta planned to make the trip to Longview to go to WinCo. But, I changed my mind. Sunday was the last day to enter in the fair, and I kinda wanted to enter some photos. I didn't really have any good ones from the year, but I had a couple in mind. I spent the next 2 hours fiddling on the computer and fighting with my printer. I finally gave up and took what I printed to the fairgrounds. Soren decided that splitting wood with daddy was boring, so he came with me.

Of course, when we got to the fairgrounds, I ran into half of my family and and handful of friends and chatted it up a bit. Then, I headed to Fred Meyer to get some semi-expensive groceries. And, of course, I ran into more family and friends. I stayed and the store way longer than planned and didn't get over to pick Synnove up till around 7:00. Once and Grace's house, I ended up chatting with Eddie and Rena (Grace's parents) for over an hour. Yes, over half of my daily existence is TALK!

I ended the week with a massive bowl of Tillamook's "Grandma's Cake Batter" ice cream (the LAST one at the store!!) YUMMY!!