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.

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

It's Safe to Say, We've Been FAIR-ly Busy

It's hard to believe, but my kids didn't roll out of bed till 10 AM this morning! I can count on one hand the number of times that has happened in my kids' lifetime. Exhaustion has been commonplace around here for a while now...for varying reasons. Fortunately, the reasons are good :)

I suppose the madness started to creep a couple of weeks ago. Synnove was starting up swimming lessons again and I was looking forward to using our lazy mornings/afternoons visiting family and friends that I hadn't seen in a while. Well, those mornings/afternoons soon became filled with other plans and the week flew by in a flash. We went to Portland for a shopping trip, spent some warm afternoons at Fi Fi's house playing in her pool, took a quick trip to Longview, and my MIL and niece, Brandi, came for a visit. On Saturday, Adam continued work on the chicken run in the blistering sun while I finally finished laundry and cleaned the house. I was up late that night printing photos and framing them to enter into the fair the next day. On Sunday, Adam left the house early to meet up with his friend Chris and visit his Dad before heading to PGE Park to see his sister Amanda graduate from college. It was gonna be SUPER hot in Portland that day, so I opted to stay home with the kids. I had to do some last-minute things to get my entries ready for the fair, dropped the kids off with my parents, and headed to the fairgrounds. That night, Adam didn't get home till pretty late because the Civic busted a hose. Talk about deja vu!

On Monday, the heat was almost too much to bear. The animals were in survival mode and the bunnies' fur was all sweaty. Bunny-Him was the worst...so Adam brought him inside and put the fan on him. He didn't even want to jump away...he loved the fan! Adam then put one of our window fans above their cages so that they would be cool through the night.


Tuesday was the the beginning of the fair. Elise had asked Henry and I if we would volunteer our time to come and work in her coffee/smoothie booth. I thought it sounded like fun! It was gonna be a bit tricky for me though since I needed someone to watch the kids. Mom was busy working at the shop in town, Fi Fi was busy at the fair all week, and Dad was only really available for one of the days. It was quite the juggling act...especially since Synnove had swimming lessons every morning.

Henry worked Tuesday morning, so I didn't come in till around 2ish. Of course, right when I got there, I headed to the exhibit hall to see how my entries did. My cross-stitch got a blue, and two of the 4 photos I entered got ribbons...one got a third place ribbon, and another got a champion ribbon with a special "judge's choice" award. I was pretty excited, so I snapped a picture of the display.

After that, I headed to Weesie's booth and lived there off and on for 5 days. I don't think Elise realized how busy she was gonna be. We hardly ever sat down and were completely wiped out by the end of each day. Elise was there every day from 6:30 AM till around 10 PM. Henry usually worked in the mornings and late evenings, and I worked everywhere in between. Dad watched the kids on Tuesday. Fi Fi watched the kids at the fair for a few hours on Wednesday till Dad got back from a meeting in Portland. Thursday was tricky because Dad went tuna fishing and took Henry for the entire day. Adam went too and got seriously seasick...poor guy. Anyway, we stayed the night at Mom and Dad's on Wednesday night. Mom got up at 4:30 AM every morning to make fresh cinnamon rolls for the fair...so, she made them, dropped them off at the fair, and came back to be with the sleeping children and take Novie to swimming lessons. I left when she got back to work at the fair the entire day. I was there for like 13 hours without a break...Henry came in the late evening to help Elise close up. On Friday I was draggin' my feet. Dad watched the kids for a couple of hours until Mom got home from the shop (the shop was busy too, so Mom was pretty exhausted every day as well). On Saturday Adam, of course, watched the kids. All three of us (Elise, Henry, and I) worked the entire day. Henry had to leave at around 8, so I stayed late and helped her pack up some of her stuff to take back to her shop in town. I got home at around 11. The whole week was a marvelous success for Elise, and it was great exposure for her coffee shop in town. She'll likely do it again next year.

It was fun, the 3 of us working together.

Nice, Henry...

Through all the madness, the kids got to come to the fair like 4 times. Once with Papa, once with Fi Fi, once with Grandma, and once with Daddy. This year, Soren actually rode the rides without being scared. I was sad to have missed it all. Here are a couple of pics Adam took...

Soren didn't want to ride the "alligator" (as the kids call it) on the first day, but rode it on the last!

On Sunday we all slept in and I headed to the fairgrounds to pick up my exhibits. Apparently, Elise slept in too and I ended up meeting her and my parents there to help clean and pack up her booth. Once at home, I spent the entire day cleaning up my messy house while Adam continued to work on the chicken run and finally fix the hose on the Civic.

The next day (yesterday) I spent the day helping my Dad can the tuna they all caught on Thursday. We filled 96 pint jars! Then we all had a big BBQ tuna dinner with Chris and Elise, Jack and Jeanne, Grandma Barb, and Henry and his new girlfriend Kiley. We didn't get home till after 10.

Today, I plan to do a lot o' nothin'.

I Don't Think the Laundry Will EVER Get Done!

No, this blog has very little to do with laundry, and mostly to do with how my family has been occupying their time in the last couple of weeks. Because of the busyness of our summer schedule, the laundry has been piling and if I finish one load in a day, I'm doing quite well.

I'll try my best not to make this entry drag on too long, as I don't have any visual stimuli to keep you reading. Yes folks, I accidentally deleted all of my most recent pictures. It's a tragedy, for sure. I plan to steal some from my mom of our most recent camping trip, and I'll post those as soon as I get them. But, for now, all you get is the boring text.

The week after 4th of July flew by in a flash. My old high school bud, Rachel, came for a visit with her two lovely daughters before heading back home to California. We had a nice time chatting and catching up on some old times. Adam busied himself fixing the Montero and gathering materials for the chicken run that he's now building. I took the rest of the week doing chores and getting ready for our next camping trip that we were to head off on in a week.

Adam had to be at the Toledo mill (don't know the name of it) to help with a safety audit on Monday, which also happened to be our 7th wedding anniversary. Adam was scheduled to be there the entire week, so instead of leaving us home, he brought us all with him! He had the great idea of bringing the trailer and camping out all week...kind of like having a free vacation. My Mom and Dad caught wind of the news and came too! It was perfect!

We weren't allowed to check into the campground till 4:00, but Adam had to be at work around 2:00. So, Adam and I dropped the kids off with my parents and drove our trailer down to Toledo. On the way, we stopped in Newport for a little anniversary lunch at Sizzler. Once in Toledo we had to find somewhere to park (said a big prayer on that one) that was close enough to the mill that he could walk. There's a rule at the mill that people can't park trailers on site. God led us to a public park just up the hill from the mill...woo-hoo! I took a nap in the trailer, and Adam headed off to work.

Meanwhile, my parents took their time driving down the coast, making sure to stop at the Tillamook Cheese Factory for ice cream and squeaky cheese. Adam got off at a reasonable time, and we made it to the park 15 minutes after my parents did. We stayed at South Beach State Park which is only 1 mile south of Newport, and like 10 miles away from Toledo. The park was quite nice and looked just like Fort Stevens campground. Campground camping isn't as much fun as camping in Naselle, but we still had a good time. The weather was a bit chilly at times and foggy because of how hot it was inland...but it didn't rain!

While Adam was a work we played tourist. We saw the sights, visited a couple of beaches (South Beach and Fogarty Creek), and went to the Lincoln City outlets. My friend Jessica even came for a visit on Tuesday with Jailey and Josiah. I think the kids enjoyed that...but they didn't enjoy the very long walk to and from the beach. Unfortunately, all the pics I took of that day are lost since Jessica didn't bring her camera. On Friday, Adam didn't have to work, so we chose that day to visit the Oregon Coast Aquarium. The kids seemed to like seeing all the fish...especially the sharks. Then, we played tourist a bit more and headed home.

Over the weekend I got busy catching up on chores and yard work while Adam began constructing the new chicken run. It's quite impressive. I'll post pics soon. On Saturday night, we invited the Thompsons over for dinner. Good times. On Sunday, my friend Margo came over with her two girls. I only get to see her like once a year (if that) so it was great to catch up with her while the kids played outside making potions out of blackberries and huckleberries. After Margo left, I took the kids over to Fi-Fi's house to see the baby bunnies that Peppermint Patty had birthed on early Saturday. Alice was bunny-sitting our pregnant Patty while we were in Newport. I can't remember the count, but I think she had like 8 bunnies! 4 survived...until last night. I guess Patty squished them on accident and they all died. She wasn't a very good 1st-time mom...maybe next time?

When the Thompsons were over for dinner on Saturday, Alice and I made a plan to take a trip to the Goodwill Outlet in Hillsboro. She hadn't been to the one there, and wanted to know where it was. So, we planned to go Monday. Synnove had swimming lessons that morning and I was busy trying to find a buyer for our portable air conditioner (what a hassle!!). It was a crazy morning. My dad said he would watch the kids while we were gone, so I dropped Soren off at my parents' house. Synnove decided she wanted to go shopping with Fi-Fi...go figure. Meanwhile, I was trying to deal with a somewhat shady character that wanted to buy my air conditioner. He lived near Portland, so we drove it up with us and met him in Scappoose. I could go on a rant about inconsiderate Craigslisters right now...but I won't.

Anyway, we spent a good 3 hours at Goodwill Outlet sifting through "the bins" as people call it. We ended up with 2 cart-fulls for $40. We even got to watch a nasty old lady cat-fight! It's always something at that place. If you've ever been to one, you know what I'm talking about. Here's a link to an article someone wrote about "the bins." After that, we meandered a few other places, and headed to Red Robin for dinner. Synnove was a trooper during our "Girls Day" and I think we all had a good time. I can't wait to do it again!

I'll try to get some pics of our Newport trip up soon.

But, for now, laundry is calling my name....ugh...

Aunt Faith's Visit

Monday morning, I headed down to do check my email and found that my sister-in-law sent me a message asking if she and her daughter, Alice, could come for a visit. I was free for a couple of days, so I said, "sure!" and she was here by that afternoon.

Though last minute, her coming was a great diversion from the day to day. The kids had a great time playing with their cousin outside picking huckleberries and going on mini adventures.

Faith and I spent our time, for the most part, drowning ourselves in adult conversation (a rare activity among stay-at-home moms). During one of those conversations, I asked her if she would foil my hair. She, though not a professional, is quite versed in the knowledge of dying hair. Since I have known her, I have seen her hair become virtually every color of the rainbow including...

She's gonna KILL me for showing these...but oh well. Sorry Faith!

Yes, Faith has a very fun and eclectic style. And since almost every time I see her, her hair is different in some way, I decided that she would be perfect for the job. She was actually quite nervous to do it. She had only foiled a handful of times and didn't want to mess up my hair, but I wasn't too stressed about it. I only had a store-bought highlighting kit, but I also had foils, toner, developer, and other stuff left over from a previous home dye job. Anyway, she foiled the top half of my head. We had a few snags and freak-outs here and there, but in the end, it turned out looking pretty darn good. I was impressed, but didn't like the brassy bleached look. So, after a little research on the Internet, we found that the toner I had stowed away would work to tone down the yellow...go figure. We put that on the next morning (should have left it on a bit longer) and toned down the brass. And it looks pretty darn good!! So, thanks to Faith, I have a professional looking foil job that cost me 1/10th the price!

I'm sad to say that I only have one photo from the 3 days that she was here. Adam caught this not-so-great pic of the kids while they were winding down before bed.