Baby "B" Will "Bee" Here SOON!

I don't think it really hit me till last week...the excitement, that is...that my little Sis is gonna have a baby! Quite honestly, I can't wait till little baby B comes in November. I've been an aunt since I got married, but now one of my siblings is having a baby! WOOT!

Of course, it was only fitting that I throw her a baby shower. With all of the busy-ness of my life, I was actually having a hard time devoting enough of my energy to making it great. I thought about it all summer, but knew I still had time so procrastinated. After Labor Day Camping I kicked it into high gear and eked out slots of time to work on it. I was thrilled that Elise had chosen a bumble bee theme for her nursery. I had never been to a bee-themed shower and was excited at all the possibilities. After much searching I found a fantastic custom jpeg kit on Etsy.com and went from there. Everything that I couldn't print, I had to make or find supplies for. But, I enjoyed every detail...especially the embossed bee and honey stamps (dug up from some old Winnie the Pooh stamps I had as a kid) on the outside of the invitation envelopes. When you have a great theme...it's easy to go the extra mile :)

The shower was set to take place on September 18th, so I spent all of the day prior, my birthday, getting things ready at my Mom's house. Sounds kinda sad, but it really wasn't...I got to sleep in that day, Adam and the kids took me to lunch at "The Logger" and then mom and dad took me and the kids to dinner at "Fultano's" (only the BEST pizza place EVER)! I stayed late at my mom's that night prepping and baking. I was saved my my Grandma Barb who pitched in and bought all of the fruit for the event and then stayed to help cut it up. Writing it all down makes it sound like a lot of work...it was. There were close to 50 people invited!

The morning of the 18th I skipped church to head back to my mom's to finish up the cupcakes. I was making special pudding-filled "Boston Creme Cupcakes" and they had to set for at least an hour before serving. Then we started carting everything down to the basement. We had no choice...the basement was the only place that would accommodate that many people.

Of course, several didn't show, but we still had a large crowd. We played games, and enjoyed the food. Elise had fun, and that's what matters :)

Boston Creme Cupcakes

Party favors...honey sticks

Chris and Elise's friend Heidi Fastabend brought her this creative crown that says "preggers" on it :)

Aunt Alice and Fi Fi made her a diaper "cake" loaded with goodies

Vickie Howe (pictured left)made this beautiful bee quilt for the baby. Vickie owns the hair salon next to Elise's coffee shop and she used to live across the street from our house when we were kids. Vickie made both Elise and I beautiful teddy bears when Elise was born that we still have :)

With all the games and visiting, the shower lasted quite a long time. Weesie got lots of great stuff including lots of green, yellow, and white clothes. It's fun not knowing if you're gonna have a boy or a girl!

Our Car Accident 1 Year Ago

It happened September 25th, 2010. We were on our way to the Enchanted Forest when only 25 minutes into our trip, Synnove decides she needs to go potty. We take pull up to take a left into the Clatskanie boat launch when an oversized late 70's model Chevy Blazer (stopped to pull into traffic) misses seeing our little car and rams right into us. If you've ever been in an accident you know that you can recount ever moment as if in slow motion...and that's how it plays in my head. Minus a few details, I look back at the kids and see they are stunned to silence and then blood begins to pour from Soren's head. Adam has to force the door open to get out while I reach over and grab Soren to pass to Adam once he gets out of the car. Bystanders immediately begin to help while I frantically think of what to do next. 911 has already been called so I call my dad cause we're gonna need a ride. He's about 45 minutes away...but is on his way as fast as he can go.

Synnove is silent. By now I've assured her that everything is OK and have gotten her out of the car. I can hardly think straight. I just stand there by the side of the road listening to Soren's crying "daddy daddy daddy..." over and over again. I can tell that he's going to be OK. The driver of the other car is sick with grief over what he's done. He's only just a couple years younger than I with kids of his own (not with him). I talk with him and calm him by trying to lighten the situation with smiles and pats on the back. I notice Synnove going back to the car ever so quietly. She grabs the blanket in the back...for Soren. She is still silent. The police are taking forever to get there and the ambulance/fire rescue finally arrives. By now the traffic is successfully being directed by bystanders and we have a fairly large crowd of people. A nice older woman has grabbed several towels (for the blood) from the restroom and is helping to calm Soren down. She was a breath of fresh air. I stand with Synnove as Soren is being strapped to the board and onto the gurney. I look over at Synnove...she is white...fading. I yell, "she's going, she's going!" and have to literally force her to lay down. She is in shock. I am appalled by the apprehensive volunteer fireman standing right beside me who does absolutely nothing until I have her down and resting. He checks her vitals. We caught her in time and I force her to stay completely down for the next half hour.

The ambulance leaves for Longview's St. John's hospital with Adam by Soren's side. I stay and talk with the police officer (who I'm pretty sure arrived AFTER the ambulance left) with the other driver and wait for the tow truck and my Dad. Synnove is still laying on the ground on the side of the road. I have already refused several offers from bystanders and the other driver's wife (arrived after accident) to drive Synnove and I to the hospital. I'm waiting for my Dad...not only will he take me to Longview...but he will make it "all better."

I watch as the tow truck driver loads up our little car and drives away. I think of the many recent discussions Adam and I had had about which car we were going to purchase after the new year to replace the little Civic. That little Civic was purchased as a commuter for Adam until a few short months later when a lady hit him in our Ford Explorer. Money was tight, so I drove that little car for 2 whole years...weird that the Explorer was also totaled in September two years prior. Adam had actually put quite a bit of time and money in that little car for maintenance...in fact he had just put in a new alternator the week before and we had JUST sent in the check to renew our tags...arg! It's not important...my little Soren is on my mind.

While sewing up the details with the police, my dad finally arrives. He is a welcome sight. Synnove is still on the ground and he sits with her while I finish up. She is happy to see him and in a few minutes feels well enough to sit up and eventually stand. We get in his truck to start heading to Longview but stop a few hundred yards away at a service station to grab a snack. I run into a bystander from the accident...he makes it clear he doesn't like the other driver too much and is glad we are OK.

Once at the hospital I get stopped to do a bunch of paperwork. I'm the only one allowed in, so my dad and Synnove sit and wait. I enter the exam room to find a lady literally poking and prodding at Soren's heavily gouged forehead. She's feeling for tiny shards of glass. I wrote a bit about it in a prior blog HERE. Adam and Soren had already been there for quite some time and I was there with them for at least an hour more...that's a lot of poking and stitching! Soren was an angel.

We left the hospital. Soren was in a dazed state...tired, yet wide awake. We decide to head to Rainier to find the car and photo the damage and get our belongings. It was sort of on our way, so it was going to save us a trip later on. Here are some of the photos from the accident...

At the accident site. It doesn't really show much other than the rear tire seal is busted and the rear window is shattered.

You can see why Adam had a hard time opening his door...

Soren received all of the impact. I'm pretty positive, from the injuries he received, that he was looking right at the Blazer when it hit...he calls it a "monster truck" (that's what it looked and sounded like!)

His carseat was bent and saved him from a lot more hurt

After the accident we endured a LOT more headache with the insurance. It was kind of a mess that I'd prefer not to delve into. Soren followed up with a couple of visits to a laser dermatologist in Portland. He healed up nicely and didn't need laser but had another small procedure done to improve his raised scarring. We have been religious about keeping him in hats when in the sun and today his forehead looks amazing. I credit that to God and the amazing ER Dr. who sewed him up.

It didn't take us long to decide that we needed to opt for a full-size SUV instead of the mini that we were discussing prior to the accident. We found one with top crash-test ratings and excellent reliability.

I feel very blessed...it could have been so much worse...especially in that little car.

Labor Day Luau

We were certainly blessed this camping season with lots of decent weather and very few raindrops. We were especially blessed for Labor Day camping! The weather was warm and sunny the entire time! The last camping trip of the season is always bittersweet, and this was the first year that I had a kid going back to school the very next day. In the past, Synnove has started school the week after Labor Day...but now she's a big first grader!

I think that every camping trip has something special about it. We were all excited for this trip because we were actually going to bury an entire pig (small one) in traditional khalua fashion. Doris Warren (Aunt Alice's mom) provided both of the animals. Alice's sister and bro in law prepped the pig while the rest of the men devised the best ways of cooking the lamb. They chose to put half of it in the pit and cook the rest on a spit over the fire. While we all waited for everything to get cooked up, we dressed up in leis and listened to luau music. We had a lot of fun with it. In the end, every little morsel of meat was incredible...it really was awesome!

I had too many fun pictures from the 4-day weekend, so I selected a good handful for a slideshow...enjoy! You'll have to click on the link to view them...can't get the slideshow on blogger for some reason...

https://picasaweb.google.com/101845145426293001798/September262011?authuser=0&feat=directlink

The Enchanted Forest

From August 31st

It was the week before Labor Day weekend, and we were swamped with things to do. Adam had taken the week off to do some deer hunting (never happened) and to do the large scheduled maintenance project on the Honda. I had endless things going on...I recall some MK, school orientation, canning tuna, getting last minute parts for the Honda, and getting ready for camping. So, it greatly surprised me when Adam announces on Tuesday night that he wants to take the kids to the Enchanted Forest. He wasn't even halfway done with the car, and I was planning to be out camping by Thursday. I really wasn't keen on cramming one more event into our already packed week. But, despite my protest, Adam's stubbornness won (that's the nicest way I can think to describe it...lol!)

I was already set to meet my dad at his house at 9:00 the morning Adam had intended to leave to can tuna, so I convinced Adam to leave a couple of hours later so that I could be a part of the kids' adventure. He was happy to wait. It was just last September when Adam had decided he wanted to take the kids to the Enchanted Forest and we got into a car accident on the way. He wanted to make sure the kids got there before they were too old to appreciate it. I had never been, but Adam really enjoyed it as a kid.

So, at about 11:00 we began our 3-hour trek to Turner, OR in our 1980 Mercedes Benz. The kids, including Adam, thoroughly enjoyed themselves while I played photographer.

Entering the park...

Once we got through the whole park, the kids wanted to do it again

Date(s) of Loss: July 19th and August 18th

It was the week the kids were going to vacation bible school when I was getting frustrated with my car. Adam had ordered the factory manuals and was planning on doing a very large overhaul of several "engine-y" things that were strongly suggested per the Honda Pilot scheduled maintenance plan. On top of that, it had been making a myriad of clunky noises in the wheels/bearings/brakes...really, the issue was a mystery. The issue was getting worse and more noticeable with each day and I wanted to just park it and drive the truck until Adam had a chance to give it a good look. To that suggestion he replied..."just drive it!" So, the day I had suggested to "park" it I drove it to drop off and pick up the kids from VBS and got home sometime around 9PM.

The next morning (July 19th) I had some errands in town so we all packed in the car only to find that it wouldn't start. REALLY?! I was irate. I knew it wasn't something I could fix (battery) because it was actually trying to start. So, I just left the car, hopped in the truck, and shed a few ticked-off tears. I had been "giving my car to God" for a few weeks already because I was allowing the issues to continually chip away at my sanity. This time I said an even bigger prayer.
That evening when Adam came home from work he got in the car to try and start it (duh...it didn't start). He opened the hood and started snooping around for problems. After about 1/2 a minute Synnove pipes up and says "I hear a squeak!" The hairs on my arms stood straight up as I began to realize it was a RAT! Not even two months before, my friend had a rat get into her truck that did some damage and another friend had told me a story about a rat that had gotten into the walls of her Explorer and die. I had suggested to Adam that maybe we needed another cat for the shop since Charlie seemed to do a pretty good job in the garage. In fact, I had JUST cleaned the garage the week before and found zero rat/mouse droppings.

This rat was the biggest rat I had ever seen in person that wasn't a pet. AND, it was a momma! It probably had 8-10 fresh babies she was protecting from our reaching hands and tongs. Long story short, we ended up pushing the car out of the garage to try to hose the thing out. We never caught it, but by the next day we were sure it was gone.

Momma Rat

Baby Rats

Because of the contents of the rats nest, I was sure that the rat had only been there since the night before. And, from what was visible, it looked like she had done quite a bit of damage to several wires. Not thinking of the insurance option, Adam thought he would need to rewire everything himself. It seemed daunting, especially with all of the other work he needed to do. It took us a couple of days to get our heads screwed on straight and go the insurance route. We were sooooo happy to discover that "varmint damage" was covered under our comprehensive policy less a small deductible. I didn't get to drive my car for roughly 10 days. The total bill including towing, parts, and labor was about $1800!

A month later (August 18th) I ventured downstairs to go on the computer. During the summer, we spend very little time downstairs and I hadn't really been down there much at all. As soon as I reached the bottom of the stairs I smelled something rather foul. It wasn't overwhelming, but it smelled like dirty garbage. I started going around the basement sniffing for moldy sandwiches left by the kids. I couldn't find the source until I stepped over to the play area. The carpet was thoroughly soaked. Grrrreeeaaat. It seemed like it was a drain leak, but I wasn't sure if it was that or the outside hose. I had a lot going on that day and couldn't really deal with it. I pried off the panel that exposes the kitchen sink plumbing. The pipes weren't wet but there was a bunch wet sand everywhere complete with earthworms...gross! I pulled up the carpet, set up fans and left the house. I didn't even check Synnove's room for water (too scatterbrained I guess) but I was positive water had gotten underneath her new laminate floor.

Again, like with the car, I wasn't thinking of insurance. It wasn't until later in the afternoon when I was at my sister's coffee shop that I was convinced by my mom to call insurance asap. After a crazy series of phone calls the water was cleaned up and the claim was started. That evening Adam tested the drain and it seemed to be working. I took that as a go ahead to do some dishes the next day...but I shouldn't have. I found lots more water an hour later. I cleaned it up with my little carpet cleaner and ripped out even more pad. Because of some miscommunication, a plumber wasn't called until 2 days after I first found the water. The plumber was from Knappa, so he stopped at my house after work on Friday to inspect. He was sure it was a cracked drain pipe under the slab and he couldn't fix it till Monday. I was OK with that. He gave me a write-up to send to the insurance company to get things moving.

Bright and early Monday morning, the plumber showed up and fixed the crack within 2 hours. I was so happy because I was hoping that the smell of garbage that was now permeating throughout the house would finally subside. Unfortunately, he deduced from the look and smell of the surrounding sand that the crack had been there for several months and was allowing water to pass through for a while until it got too clogged. Insurance doesn't cover old cracks. So, my dream of having new carpet in my basement literally went down the drain.

What the playroom looked like when the plumber was there

The cracked pipe removed...

UPDATE on the car: Adam spent all of last week (he took a week off) doing the scheduled maintenance. He did a great job and I'm very impressed with his skills! However, most, if not all, the creaks and clunks are still there. The issue is still a mystery.

UPDATE on the basement: There is still a smelly hole that needs to be cemented. I'm hoping Adam will be able to fix that before I host Bible Study next Tuesday. Unfortunately, he's leaving for a 3-day bachelor party tomorrow.

Adam is just ONE man...and he can't do it all! Poor guy :( If only we could hire these things done!

Pit Pig Weekend

(From 2nd weekend in August)

On Saturday, we were invited to an Adoption Party for Keirra and Kellan Quale. Tom and Sherry Quale are long-time friends of my mother-in-law and their 4 kids are all grown and range from college-age to early 30's. Sherry has done childcare in her home for several years and a situation arose where a couple of siblings Sherry cared for needed a permanent home. Of course, the process has been long and messy...but Keirra (9) and Kellan (6) were officially adopted earlier in the summer. So, they had a BIG party to celebrate at Sherry's mother's home in North Plains, OR. They buried a pig and had a luau-themed celebration that was SUPER fun! The kids enjoyed a large bouncy house, lots of lawn activities and crafts, two pinatas, and incredible food!

The flip-flop/hat decorating station

The kids brought home TONS of loot

On Sunday we were invited to Craig Weaver's 30th birthday bash in Brownsmead, OR. My preschool/Bible study friend Andrea (Craig's wife) invited us along with about 30 other Knappites. They buried a pig as well...a fairly large one in fact. It was their first time, and unfortunately, the pig came out only partially cooked. Adam (somewhat experienced in pit BBQs) dug right in and helped cut up the pig to finish on the BBQ. It took a while and we were all quite hungry by the time it was finished. It turned out pretty good though!

Unearthing the pig