Mr. and Mrs. Thompson

Daniel and Heather got married on Monday, April 9th...yes, Monday.  Apparently, the number 9 has some meaning...don't ask me what.  It was a whirlwind day, but absolutely beautiful considering they had 5 weeks to plan.  As I type, they are headed to Florida with Heather's parents on a trip that's been planned for months.  The trip was a gift for Heather's graduation from massage school and they invited Daniel to come too.  So, they decided to get married two days prior and make it a honeymoon as well!  Though it was a short engagement, this was no shotgun wedding.  I think they are just two love birds who know what they want and wanted to take the next step.  When they got together last July, I admit I thought they were an unlikely pair...but as the weeks passed, it was hard not to see how perfect they were.  I'm so happy for them!

I took quite a few pictures, and it was hard to pick just a few. I decreased the size of these so they aren't the best quality...but you get the idea...



Emily (a friend from massage school) and Heidi were bridesmaids.  Faith and Tyler (Heather's niece and nephew) and Synnove and Soren were flower girls and ring bearers. Not pictured...Steve Tadei and Henry Balensifer (groomsmen)

Getting ready to walk down the aisle

Lots of happy tears. Daniel giving his dad a big hug.

teary mommies

My great grandma Ruth Thompson made the cake for Don and Alice's wedding 24 years ago, so Doris (Alice's mom) thought it was only fitting to make the cake for Daniel's wedding.  She even made the groom's cake...Daniel's favorite (and mine)...chocolate.  Usually, I'm a white cake girl...but Doris' chocolate cake is to DIE for!  She even let me take the extra chocolate cake home! YUMM!

Synnove and Faith watching the cake cutting.



Off to their new apartment in Warrenton...Daniel had to go to work the next morning :)

Heather's Bridal Shower

Daniel (my cousin) and Heather got engaged on February 29th...and long story short, decided to get married on April 9th. That's 5.5 weeks to plan a wedding (pics to come)! Lori, Heather's mom, was on top of it, and managed to get all the invites out on time and helped to plan a bridal shower for her too.  The shower was on March 25th, and there was a huge turnout!  I took quite a few pictures, but here are just a few...

See the mountain of gifts?! I bought her and Dan a big cooler to take camping...apparently that was Daniel's favorite gift...go figure :)

Synnove and Miss Evelyn

Elise and Sarah holding Evie (Evelyn) and Avie (Avyrie)...they are about 4.5 months apart.

Aunt Alice has been saving charms for Daniel since he was little, and Alice gave the bracelet to Heather in a very heartfelt and tearful exchange.

The Moms...Lori and Alice.

Sarah Got Married!

On May 7th one of my dearest friends, Sarah, got married. She had waited a long time for this day to come, and it was so exciting to see her so incredibly happy. She got married at the Edgefield Hotel (one of the many beautiful McMenamins sites) in a sweet little ceremony followed by wonderful food, drinks, and dancing. The ceremony had some classic "Sarah" touches including a beautifully subtle Lord of the Rings processional, and a Star Wars "Imperial March" recessional. Haha! She's such a nerd...and that's part of why I love her so much! The reception was donned with Japanese flair including paper cranes and pink cherry blossoms. Sarah has been on two English-teaching stints in Japan over the years and has always loved Eastern culture. Her and K.C. honeymooned in Egypt. I can't wait to hear all about it :)

K.C. took this photo of Me, Sarah, and Natalie...and it's the only photo I got!

Goin' to the Chapel...

On March 26th, my darling Mother-in-law got married. She and Steve have been dating for two LONG years. I say "long" because it was shortly after they met that they realized how perfect they were for each other and Patty wanted to make a commitment early on. Well...it took a little longer than that, but they finally decided to set a date only about a month before they actually got married. Through my sis-in-law Faith, Patty discovered this elegant little wedding chapel and reception area in Vancouver. Everything fell into place, and the day went smoothly. It was very important to Patty to have ALL the grandkids participate in the ceremony...and somehow it managed to work out with outfits and attitudes (for the most part). I took quite a few pictures, but it was a 7:00 wedding, and most didn't turn out. No, I still haven't found the time to figure out my camera yet! It's unbelievably frustrating for me!!

Patty's grandkids are on the left and Steve's are on the right

Synnove wouldn't stop fiddling with her dress, and when told to smile, Soren gave this face... Patty and I in the bride's room just before the ceremony

Each of the girls had their own flower basket, and each of the boys carried a rose and were asked to give the rose to one of the ladies in the audience. Soren was the last boy to walk down and ran out of aisle-seat ladies to give his rose to...so he gave it to a boy :)

Adam agreed to give his mom away. He wore the tux he bought in high school...the same tux he ended up having to wear for our wedding! Still fits!!

Just announced as husband and wife...

At the reception, just after signing the marriage license. The best man was Steve's brother, and the Maid of honor was Susan, a friend to both Patty and Steve. The pastor was also a friend.

The chapel provides all-inclusive packages...everything from the cake, music, catering, bar, emcee, etc. Patty even purchased her dress at the chapel weeks before.

There was a garter and bouquet toss, as well as a bride and groom teddy bear toss for the kids...Obviously, Samantha caught one...

There was lots of dancing! The kids had a BLAST sweating it out on the dance floor!

Congratulations Patty and Steve!

Labor Day Weekend

Labor Day weekend was a welcome break. Our family was plum pooped and we needed some lazy days sitting by the fire. The weather was decent and nobody was sick...so we were already off to a great start! Usually, Labor Day camping is the BEST because most everyone is available to come. However, we were missing a few this year, and it was quieter than normal. It was great to have Jeremy and Jessica and their kids there. Our kids love camping, but they love it even more when they have friends to play with. So, between my kids, their kids, and Faith they kept themselves pretty busy.

Faith is slightly terrified of the ATVs, and so we all did some coaxing to get her to overcome her fear. She did NOT want to be on the 4-wheeler! Once the weekend was up, she was an avid rider :)

I told him to smile...

On Saturday, Adam and I had to run home to shower and head to Vancouver for our friend Kristin's wedding. No, I wasn't too happy to leave camping and be in the car for 4 hours, but I wouldn't have missed my friend's wedding. Ultimately, she's the reason I even met Adam! It was a beautiful, intimate, backyard ceremony. If you wanna check out some of her pictures, they are posted HERE.

Just before everyone started to leave on Monday, they all gathered to move the BIG woodpile under cover for the fall/winter. Earlier in the weekend, they all went out and did some ATV logging and cleared more trails.

We only had Lucy for one short week before taking her on her first camping trip. I was a bit nervous, but she fared OK, considering. We gave her some Dramamine for the trip there and back, but both times she got pretty darn sick. As the weekend progressed, she had to be kept on the line more and more. She would bark and whine because she so desperately wanted to be with everyone else and play with the other dogs, but she was just too mischievous. At night we had to keep her in the trailer (not my first choice!) because there were lots of coyotes out. Amazingly enough, she stayed quiet and did awesomely in the trailer! Next year will be a completely different story...I'm sure of it.

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!!

Surprise 25th Anniversary Party!

I suppose I had been planning this party for the better part of the last year, however, I didn't really get started till about a month ago. With my siblings on board, I decided to throw a small surprise 25th anniversary party for Mom and Dad. I could go into great detail on how elaborate our plan was to surprise them, but I'm afraid this blog would go on for quite some time. It's hard to keep a surprise in such a small town, let alone Synnove (she LOVES to spill the beans!). We covered all of our tracks and made sure that the party was a well kept secret.

The plan was to invite them over for a "pre-mother's day dinner" at my house. Henry was leaving for Junior's Abroad with GFU to Australia and Dad was going to be working on Mother's Day (their actual anniversary), so it was a good excuse to get together. I told them to meet at my house at around 1:30. It worked out perfectly, because we had to find a way to get them here after everyone arrived...but everyone goes to church (some of them the same church) and if they left early from church, that would look quite suspicious. Fortunately, my church gets out quite a bit later than everyone else's, so it was a logical reason to meet at my house later than they would get out of church. Make sense? We, of course, skipped church to prep for the party. We decided to try to hide everyone's car for a true surprise. Adam spent all morning clearing out 3 of the 7 bays of the shop (yes, every one is FULL) and strategizing. He successfully hid about 6 cars!

Grandma Barbara offered to make spaghetti and and bread and left church early (and yes, my parents asked where they went!) to come over and finish making it. All morning I was stressing out about Mom and Dad's arrival. It wasn't until my brother texted me saying "Grandma Backe just told mom and dad that Grandma Barb (her daughter...not to be confused with Grandma Barbara) is headed out to our house for a party!" I couldn't believe it!! I was sick. For those that don't know, my Great Grandma Backe is 99 years old and lives in a retirement/care home...the same place where a gentleman at my parent's church lives. Normally, I think, my grandparents (the ones who left church early) take him home after church. BUT, since they weren't there, my parents did...and when they did, they decided to visit Grandma Backe, whom they haven't visited in MONTHS!! That day...of ALL days...WHY!!?? ANYway, my Dad corrected her and said something like "no, we're going over to Nicole's for a Mother's Day dinner." No suspicions arose, no damage done. Phew!

Elise and I strategized on how they would arrive. They would all go in one car...Elise's truck. That way, they wouldn't have the chance to turn around in the driveway and risk seeing the cars parked on the side of the house. Like I said, it was an very well thought out plan.

All the guests (just the Thompson families and the Balensifer families) arrived on time and we anxiously awaited Mom and Dad's arrival...they were 30 minutes late. I stood at the top of the stairs with a video camera while everyone stood silent hidden in the living room. Mom didn't even seem to think it was odd that I was holding the camera while they walked in the door, and it took them a while to finally realize that the party was for them. It worked out perfectly. The party was awesome...just plain awesome. It was so nice to give them a special day complete with cake, gifts, toasts, family, and food (something they didn't get when they eloped 25 years ago!).

I included a bunch of pictures, but they are all terrible...taken with that camera that I took back. But, they're all I got!...

The cake "table"

Waiting for Mom and Dad to arrive. I stole 5 photo albums from my parent's house of the "early years" from before they met till Henry's birth.

Just coming up the stairs and realizing that the party is for her :)

Still arriving...Dad's finally cluing in.

All of the people present on their actual wedding day. To the right of my dad is my Uncle Mark (my Dad's brother) and to the right of my mom is my Aunt Jeanne (my mom's oldest sister). I was 4 when they married and proudly adopted by my Daddy :)

Some heartfelt and tearful toasts to the happy couple...

I stitched them up a gift and had it framed...a special anniversary record with names, dates, children, etc.

Dad, opening up the "2nd Honeymoon Fund." Instead of guests bringing gifts I told them to bring cash to put in a special gift box. It's hard for proud adults to accept money from their family...so this way they didn't have a clue who gave what!

Yes, we made them do it all...and they were gracious receivers.

Mom and Dad got the first bite...and Soren got the second :)

Thanks Mom and Dad for being such wonderful parents. I love you both so much, and it was a pleasure to surprise you. You deserved your day in the spotlight :)

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.