Father's Day Bowling

We didn't have anything planned for Father's Day this year.  My parents were in Massachusetts for my Dad's pilot simulator training, so celebrating with them wasn't an option.  At the last minute we got a call from my Bro-in-law asking if we wanted to go bowling after church.  So, we made a day of it and invited Chris and Tonya too!  The kids were pretty excited to see Faith (Chris and Tonya had JUST gotten back from the long drive to California to pick her up the night before!) and Forrest.  Us moms played with the babies and the dads bowled with the kids.  After a couple of games, Elise, Synnove, Evie, and I headed to Astoria High School to watch Heidi's dance recital.

I love this picture.  I asked the kids to say "cheese"...and Faith put her arms up...lol!

Forrest wasn't happy he had to smile for the camera...so he didn't :)

The kids played in their own lane, while the guys played in another.  Of course, Chris Bigelow won.

We had pizza delivered to the alley...I made the Dads pose :)

Night Sledding

It's becoming a tradition! FiFi got the ball rolling, and by afternoon we had a small party of family committed to a sledding party on Monday night at our house. We had a splendid time!

Adam's Week Off

Once in a while it's fun to map out a detailed week-in-the-life....so forgive the length of this post.

When Adam takes time off, there is no rest at the Brown house. There is always places to go, people to see, and LOTS of things to do. Adam had planned to get a good handful of things done during his week off, mainly clean the embarrassingly messy shop. But, after evaluating his long list, he decided to do something else...[insert sarcastic remark here]. He actually worked really REALLY hard all week building a cool loft in the shop. No, building the loft wasn't top priority, but it was something he was excited to tackle. He did a professional job, and I'm quite proud of him. I don't have any pictures yet, but I will.

Adam's little vacation started on Saturday, June 25th. Adam worked in the shop while the kids and I went to a birthday party. Saturday was the beginning of a long trend of late nights. We left at 6PM for the 1.75 hour trek to Vancouver with a truckload of Adam's Mom's stuff that she has been storing at our house for the last 2 years. This needed to be done in order for Adam to start his loft project. Fortunately, the timing was perfect as Steve and my MIL's basement dwellers (Steve's son and wife) had just moved out and Patty had a place to actually put the stuff we were bringing. We made good use of the trip by planning to visit Home Depot just a mile away from their house on our way home. We didn't arrive at Steve and Patty's till 8 and Home Depot closed at 9. Steve and Adam went to Home Depot while Patty, the kids and I visited and played with sidewalk chalk. They got back from Home Depot a little after 9...just in time for us to head to Red Lobster for a late night dinner. The kids held up very well considering! I think we got home around midnight.

Sunday, June 26th was another very big day. Crossroads Church (the Svensen Friend's church) was having a 50-year anniversary celebration service just 2 miles down the road from our house. Adam and I don't attend that church, but I wanted to go to the celebration because my great grandparents (Warren and Ruth Thompson) started the church and eventually helped build the building. My great aunt and uncle (Naomi and Gene Brown *not the same "Browns"*) came up from Eugene for the celebration as well. Naomi brought great grandma's scrapbook from the start of the church and it was fun to look at photos and hear stories. Naomi and Gene were also celebrating their 49th wedding anniversary. They were actually the first couple to be married at the new church building.

After the celebration we all headed to Grandma and Grandpa Thompson's house for Grandpa's 76th birthday party for good food, family, and fellowship.

FiFi and Weesie...matching eyes

Musta been and good one! (Gene and Naomi in background)

I think, due to technical difficulties, Grandpa didn't get to make his 76th birthday wish...

On Monday, June 27th, we all spent the day at Uncle Don's cutting and splitting wood. Oh man...it was backbreaking work. My back was already sore from when I tweaked it packing furniture on Saturday. Adam worked ALL day, while I just helped from 11 till 5. It rained off and on all day and we worked later because Synnove's game got cancelled. I left at 5 to go home and shower before heading over to Kara's ("Miss Kara") house for a scrapbooking night. I got home at 1AM.

On Tuesday, June 28th Bible study got cancelled because of the poor weather. During the summer it's difficult doing BS on rainy days because all of our kids are out of school and having the kids play indoors would be insanity! I was glad because I had much to do at home to prep for camping. Adam worked on his loft. By early afternoon I had a pretty bad headache from working so hard the day before. I drugged myself up before being picked up by my mom at about 4:30 to go with Elise to Cornelius to pick up a nursery set she found on Craigslist. First, us three girls packed in Elise's oversized crew cab in Warrenton and drove 1.5 hours to Coastal Farm and Ranch in Cornelius before it closed at 7PM. We are all about efficiency, so it made sense to pick up 22 fence posts for the fence Adam and I will be building soon before picking up Elise's nursery set. After picking up the set, we headed to Walmart to pick up a few camping essentials and pulled into my driveway at roughly 10:30 to drop everything off. The nursery set was poorly painted, so I told Elise I would fix it up and paint it for her.

Wednesday, June 29th was mostly laundry and clean-up for me. The kids were always busy riding their 4-wheelers. In fact they had been riding non-stop since the week before when Synnove finally scored her "home run." Adam continued to work on the loft. At around 11:00 I headed to town to Elise's coffee shop to meet up with My great uncle Jim and his wife Corky. They were road-tripping the western USA visiting family here and there and everywhere. I don't think I left until 2. I had planned to go to the store to do camping shopping, but it was impractical as I didn't have enough time to get everything done before I needed to get back home to pick up my family and go to the movies to see "Cars 2" with my mom, Elise, and Chris. We got out of the movie close to 8PM...just in time to go to Home Depot to pick up more lumber for the loft. We closed the place down and arrived home just before 10. *Sigh*...another late night.

On Thursday, June 30th Adam headed out early to visit his Dad in Beaverton and make another trip to Coastal Farm and Ranch for more fence supplies. I was really dragging my feet. I really needed to head to town to do my camping shopping...but I wasn't feeling too great. My head was still aching and all I wanted to do was plant myself on the couch. The kids were perpetually outside riding 4-wheelers and using their imaginations. One thing I thought was pretty cute is that they made a storefront complete with signs and "inventory." This actually went on for several days and inventory ranged from huckleberries, to flowers, to tortilla chips.

Synnove's side...

Soren's side...

Adam didn't get back home till around 5. That evening I headed to Warrenton to do a MK delivery and finish my camping shopping. I was exhausted and felt pretty miserable. I was at the store for over 2 hours along with every other person doing last-minute 4th of July shopping. While I was there I called Kara to get a yummy dessert salad recipe. She didn't answer so I guessed what was in the salad. I didn't get home till after 9PM and she called me back when I was about 10 minutes from home. I had gotten every ingredient right except for ONE! Worst part was that it needed to be cooked, set overnight, then finished the next day! The store in Svensen closes at 8 and I wasn't about drive 20 minutes to the nearest store. So, I asked Adam to wake up at 8 the next morn to get it and I would try to make it without letting it set overnight. Being the nice husband that he is, he agreed. It ended up working out OK.

Friday, July 1st...CAMP DAY! The day started off without a headache...woo hoo! I hadn't packed a single thing and got busy right away. I thought we would try to leave early, but we found out that the road was being worked on so we wouldn't be able to get our trailer in for a few hours anyway. Adam was happy to stay home and work on the loft. The kids were soooo anxious to leave town and Synnove helped me pack things down to the trailer with her 4-wheeler. Amidst the bustle, I received 3 sales calls. Two were MK calls, while the other had to do with Young Living products. Those calls/consultations/deliveries sucked a good 2.5 hours out of my already busy day...however, I grossed about $250 in sales (WORTH IT!). Then, as if that wasn't enough, received two last minute t-ball calls where I had to contact all the parents with cancellation/game/picture information (I'm the "team mom"). I suppose it was a good thing we got delayed because I don't have cell service where we camp and there might have been a lot of angry uninformed people out there! We didn't get to camp till around 7.

Yes, it was quite a busy week. Adam didn't finish the loft...but he got the bulk of it done. Our busy-ness continued through last week and doesn't show any signs of stopping...

A Little Bit of June

• It's been quite some time since I've sat in front of this computer to do anything other than scour Etsy and EBay for treasures to adorn my freshly painted bathroom walls. Yes, I've started projects again! Oh how I LOVE projects! A couple of months ago I got the itch to paint something, so I painted a bookcase for our bedroom. That wasn't enough to satisfy my, so I started to brainstorm ways to spruce up my kitchen...but that's gonna take a while....so I decided I was sick of looking at my hideous guest bathroom/laundry room. I've been brainstorming, painting, collecting, shopping, and decorating for the entire month of June thus far. I suppose it's now finished enough for me to be satisfied for a while. In fact, I finished today.



• All of my other time has been spent doing various other things. For one, I've enjoyed many lazy days with my Bible study girls. Oh how I love these girls! One girl in particular has a house/farm that is in dire need of demolition. However, she's making the best of it and we're doing a makeover on her bathroom...among other things.



• The kids got a nasty bout of illness last week, and we're praying that's the end of sickness for a while...and if God answers my prayer...FOREVER! Wouldn't that be nice??



• Synnove started T-ball and it's a joy to watch. She REALLY didn't want to play t-ball, but I sorta forced her to. I told her that she didn't have to play next year if she didn't want to. Still, she cried and pleaded with me and said, in typical teenage fashion,"why are you doing this to me!!??" Turns out, she kinda likes it...go figure. Her Grandpa made her a deal that if she hit the ball passed the imaginary base line that she would get a spankin' new 4-wheeler to ride. The whole ordeal is kind of a long story...but she has yet to hit passed the line. We're hoping that tonight is the night because she only has two more games until our 4th of July camping trip! She got to ride it on Father's day, but wasn't able to take it home from Grandpa's house. Of course, she's thrilled...and loves that it has "reverse."



• Adam has been working a lot...this week in particular. He's been prepping for this week's chemical safety audit for quite some time. He's also been working Saturday's and has spent many late evenings at home on the computer. That, as well as last months 2-week annual mill shut-down has kept him away from home waaaay too much. We're looking forward to his week off next week!



• Hmm...what else? Well, last Sunday was the first Sunday since Easter that we were actually able to attend church! Birthdays, graduations, weddings, work, baby showers, sicknesses...you name it. Our May/June gas bill was horrific.

Last minute family BBQ... first weekend in June

Lighting off the burn pile while being entertained by the "kids" on their "toys"

Because of some sort of miscommunication, Knappa's t-ball teams are the only teams that aren't coed. So, unlike the other teams, we get pink and purple shirts! Synnove is #9 with the dark helmet on.


Another last minute BBQ at the Kinder's with their family and another family I met through preschool/bible study. From left to right...Jim O'Connor, Synnove, Breanna Kinder, Kade Kinder, Tucker Regier, and Soren.

I thought that this shot captured the Summer Solstice quite perfectly...

Easter

Easter was pretty fun this year. The kids couldn't wait to color and hunt eggs...and get presents from the Easter Bunny. We went to an egg hunt the weekend before Easter that was actually a fundraiser for a sick baby in our little town. I was so impressed with the huge crowd and all the volunteers. There was fantastic face painting, crafts, raffles, pictures with the Easter Bunny, balloon animals, and even the always popular bouncy house!

I think there were hunts for 4 different age groups.

Synnove had more eggs than she could fit in her basket!

On the Saturday before Easter, I took the kids to my Grandma's house for what I hope will be a new tradition! Back when I was a kid, my cousins (Wendey and Wesley) and I would always go to the annual egg hunt at the Warrenton High School and then head over to Grandma's house for all-day egg coloring, candy eating, and egg hunting. This year, it was fun to see our kids participating in the same fun. Unfortunately, Wesley's kids were sick and couldn't make it. It was a gorgeous day, and all the mess was able to stay outdoors.

The kids really enjoyed mixing and sharing colors...and they all got along!

My favorite part...basket filling time!

Bright and early the next morning, the kids found their gifts from the Easter Bunny. They had been begging for Hungry Hungry Hippos for months...and they finally got it! They just HAD to try it out as soon as they got back from church!

Our church had a special service at the Astoria High School Auditorium with special speaker Josh McDowell. I hadn't heard of him...but from the buzz around town in the weeks before, I realized he was kind of a big deal. Even Adam knew who he was...I was clueless. Anyway, he spoke on the resurrection and shared tidbits from his own horrific childhood. It was a great service. Afterwards we headed to Ridgefield, WA for our annual family dinner at Aunt Kathi and Uncle Steve's. Unfortunately, I didn't capture any photos, but the kids enjoyed hunting eggs with their big cousins along with Lyndel and Kevin's little one, Bristol and her brother Trenton.

Needless to say, the kids have enough candy to last them till next Easter!

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.

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.

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

Easter, Etc.

Saturday started off early with the annual Easter Egg Hunt at the Svensen church. It was raining, but the kids went anyway. Adam picked up Heidi beforehand and they all went together. I stayed home to prep for egg decorating.

Synnove found the golden egg and won a prize!

After the hunt, they all came home to color eggs and hunt them all afternoon with Heidi. It was raining for most of the day, however, I think they managed to hunt outside a bit...but mostly inside. I'm still hoping they found all the eggs! While they all played, I attended a funeral for Grandma Barbara's daughter-in-law Pam. She became my aunt when Barbara and my Grandpa married several years ago, however, I didn't know her well. Pam had only just turned 47 when she died last Wednesday. So heartbreaking.

On Sunday we all went to church and then headed to Ridgefield to have our annual Easter celebration. It was also Lyndel's 2nd birthday! The kids had a great time playing with the cousins that they hardly ever see. Kamille and Heidi hid eggs, and managed to do it before it started pouring outside. We stayed late visiting and didn't get home till 9:30.

The hunt.

While trying to get a shot of Heidi and Kamille, the neighbor's dog came by and freaked Soren out. It made for a funny picture!

The little ones pose with their birthday hats.

He's only 2, but he sure knew how to blow out candles...drool and all! Yuck!

On the 1st Weekend of Christmas...

The first weekend in December was jam-packed full of fun! We had several plans for Saturday, but we ended up ditching them all for varying reasons. So, we spent the whole of Saturday getting the house ready for Christmas. We had heard of a u-cut tree place way out in Brownsmead, so we headed out late morning, hoping to find some signs to follow. We ended up at Aldrich Point Dairy and found the perfect Noble Fir for $25!

The kids really enjoyed decorating the tree this year. I wasn't as into it, and didn't care how the tree looked. In fact, I only put out a couple of decorations. We didn't even put lights on the house. I don't know what my deal was. That all changed last week when my parents' house flooded when a pipe broke in their attic during the freeze. I volunteered to have Christmas at our house! Sitting 30 people down to dinner will be a bit of a challenge...but I'm up for it!

On Sunday (the 6th), we headed up to Vancouver to Steve's house for a Christmas party. Patty even invited Santa and Mrs. Claus over for the fun! The kids were so surprised when he and his wife arrived! Soren was a bit reserved at first and wouldn't even sit in the picture with all the kids. Synnove enjoyed visiting with Mrs. Claus for the majority of the time that they were there. Santa gave each of the kids a gift while they sat on his knee and asked him for what they really wanted for Christmas. Before the afternoon was over, EVERYone had sat on Santa's knee...including Steve's reluctant sons and their wives.

Once Soren saw that Santa wasn't so bad and that each kid was getting a gift, he started to like him. I even caught a picture of him on Santa's lap...smiling!

Synnove loved Santa this year! She was a bit shy as usual, but was anxious to go up and talk with him. He really was a great Santa...with a real beard!

The party was nice. We got to meet Steve's 2 son's and their families, and hope to meet his daughter soon. We all enjoyed cookies, candy, and cheese fondue! However, while eating some cheese, my crown popped off! I have a root canal scheduled for after the new year. Merry Christmas to me!!