Portland Pics :)

Portland was wonderful. I totally want to move there! Here are a few memories of my trip there...


Awesome beer at McMenamin's Kennedy School!



Miss Valerie had this berry lemonade grown up drink that was too good. We could have easily had several!


We walked to the bridge over the Willamette River to watch the fireworks...


And they were gorgeous!


The next day we went to a berry farm and picked all sorts of goodies... blueberries, currant, black cap raspberries, and tayberries. Jim looked just like a migrant worker out there with his big blue tub :)


The fruits of our labor! HAHA


Then we took a drive to the Rose Garden and had lunch there. On the left is my new friend Kelly. There is a house next to hers for sale so I decided when I move to Portland we will be neighbors ;)


Sorting the berries for freezing, canning...


and of course MAKING PIES! yummmmm



Then we visited Jeanine and Jared at their BEAUTIFUL home...


and their daughter Simone showed us just how bouncy her bed is :)


On Saturday we went to Saturday Market. One of the first (and my favorite!) booths we saw was this glass artist who creates Calder-inspired mobiles. I got one to add to our art collection. I love it!! As soon as it's hung up in our house I will take pictures of it :)


In some of the older parts of town, there are these little rings attached to the curb where you would tie up your horses. They aren't used anymore... or so we thought...

HAHAHAHA


And finally, Madison House... the maternity home where Jim and Val live as house parents. Built in 1905, it has so much charm and beauty... they are working on getting the funds to renovate and restore it once again. It has so much potential! I can't wait to see what it looks like after all the work on it is done. :)

5 days is not enough!

Back from spending 5 nonstop days with Val. And still it was not enough time to do and say and see all we wanted. We had a lovely time together, though... picking berries, making jam, making pies, walking everywhere, discussing the history of her 102 year old house, shopping, visiting art shows, seeing Irish movies, meeting new friends, having coffee in real cafes (not Starbucks!), seeing my wonderful cousins... the list goes on...

I have loads of photos to share but too much catching up on all the house-stuff I missed out on while I was gone. I will post them soon!! :)

I am off!

Heading to Portland to visit Miss Valerie :) :) :) :) :)

I will be back Sunday night, and I am sure there will be plenty of stories to tell!
Have a safe & happy 4th of July!!

Updated my website again!

Added the Seniors section - finally! Check it out and tell me what you think! (click on the picture above to go to my new & improved homepage!) The blog link isn't active yet - I am working on a business blog that will be separate from my personal one. There are a couple little things here and there I need to add, but otherwise it's all up and running!

OH... and coming soon to an Etsy Shop near you... Good Art By Riley :)

Violet's been doing chores and working around the house to earn an iPod... she jus made her goal last week but decided to get a sassy cool digital video camera instead. Riley said he wanted to make money too so he could get a Wii. LOL. So we are making him a Wii Chart just like Violet had, and for every big chore he does he will earn a mark. He thought making art was better than doing chores, so we decided we will create a collection of paper constructions and see how it does on Etsy. All the proceeds will go to the Wii fund. Our goal is to open up shop by the end of the month! :)

Paper Construction by Riley

We did a little "craft time" last night.

I pencil drew a basic dinosaur outline on a blank piece of white cardstock. Then Riley cut out pieces of green patterned paper and glued them over the outline. He also drew the facial features and signed it, then I went over everything with a Sharpie. I think he did a great job! We matted them and framed them and the dinosaurs are hung up in our hallway right now. I love them :)

Seven.

So, she's seven now!
No High School Musical 2 on TV, though... I think we got our dates mixed up for that. Papa and Mamalali came over and we had pizza (Violet's choice) for dinner, followed by cake, ice cream, and puzzles and games.So much better than TV... and a perfectly fun and happy day!

From Riley... to Violet

Happy birthday to my favorite friend who makes me laugh and laugh all the time :)

Violet's birthday party

Violet had a pool party again this year for her 7th birthday (which technically isn't till Tuesday, but that's okay!)

My cousin Leslie came over to be in charge of games and entertaining the kids. Let me just say that was a completely fantastic idea. She kept them entertained, they were all happy, and I could focus on other things. Perfect!

First there was a water balloon fight...


And Rick was showing off ;)


Then more water games - Riley was totally into them!


The birthday girl getting completely soaked by Leslie!!


The Aunties greeting me in Korean ;)


And the cake - she requested cupcakes this year. :)


Of course guess which one was hers!


After cake and presents, one last dip in the pool!


She got a Target giftcard, a Justice giftcard, some cute clothes, Polly Pockets, skate shoes, Barbies, and a new watch! Woohoo!! :) She can't wait for her actual birthday on Tuesday cause I guess it's the premiere of High School Musical 2! YEEEE HAAAAA!

Fine, Shontell.

Here is my update.

I got Rick a ping pong top for the pool table for his birthday, and proceeded to beat him constantly. Cause I am that good.

We need to get rid of the chandelier hanging above the table otherwise Rick will be constantly using it as "interference" instead of just losing fair & square ;)

Then Mel came over yesterday to try her hand at it.
I beat her too.

OH YEAH THAT IS RIGHT!!!!!!

So... update on the kids....

Violet had Field Day at school...

This meant LOTS of running,

hula-hooping,

popsicle-eating,

and getting WET!

Riley has started mastering the monkey bars! Check out his mad skills...


Ohhhhh yeah!

Here's a pic of Violet from Drill team tryouts - her friend didn't make it onto the team with her. Must've been the number.

I enrolled Violet into a day camp for the next 3 weeks, and it's awesome. All performing arts stuff. Ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop dancing, musical theatre, gymnastics, and cheerleading. She goes from 9am-3pm every day. It's over by Rick's office so he takes her and picks her up. Every day she is completely exhausted and sweaty, but oh so happy! And every day she falls asleep ("rests her eyes") on the way home. It is seriously the perfect camp for her!

Also... since Violet has a summer birthday, she got to celebrate it with her class on the last week of school. We brought cupcakes and ice cream in those little plastic cups with the wooden spoons. Her request. I totally remember loving those things as a kid. Let me tell you that the lovin' isn't there as an adult. lol

Violet with Mrs. Kaiser :)

OH.
And the LAST DAY OF SCHOOL.
So.
Riley and I got there about 20 minutes early to say goodbye, hug everyone, and thank Mrs. Kaiser for a great year. Riley was sitting next to Violet while I was standing nearby talking to Mrs. Kaiser. And I heard him say, "Violet - DON'T TELL MOM." So I looked over... and he was pulling something out of his pocket.

AN EGG.
A raw egg.
FROM HIS POCKET.
I cannot believe it somehow made it from fridge to car to classroom without getting broken.
So I asked that precious son of mine... "Why, honey, do you have an EGG at SCHOOL???"

And his response?
"I wanted you to hot boil it for me, Mommy!"

Isn't he precious?

So last night, in the car, on our way to Home Depot, Riley pipes up from the back seat...
"Dad, can you make me a hot-boiled egg tonight?"

To which I responded...
"DO YOU HAVE AN EGG IN YOUR POCKET???"

Time for an update...

Neighbors are installing a new heavy duty door... they are doing much better now. Still haven't caught the thieves though.

School is out TOMORROW. What on earth am I going to do all summer? I have Violet in performing arts day camp for the rest of June and Riley starts gymnastics and tumbling in mid-June. Otherwise it will be a lot of seeking out ways to cool off!

Melinda and Luke come back the 15th!!!! YAY!!!!! They will only be here for the weekend and then they start their big surf trip up the California coast. We will see them again at the end of July when we go on our vacation (vaction) in San Clemente.

Violet is very proud to report that she made THE DRILL TEAM at her school! The parent meeting is this afternoon so I will find out all it entails for next year. There were a LOT of girls trying out for only 4 spots and I was pretty sure she would not make it - but she proved me wrong and I am pretty glad about that!

I beat Melissa at ping pong, not once, but TWICE, the other night.

Rick gave me the best birthday present ever (don't worry folks, my birthday is in July)...July 4-8 I get to fly to Portland to visit Miss Valerie for 5 whole days!!!! YAY!!!

I am proud to report that I am completely on top of my laundry situation. Since Saturday. This is a new record for me!

I am not, however, on top of my weight situation. Still trying to figure out the best diet/exercise for me that also lets me eat cookies when I want ;)

I have a photo shoot, cousin Michael's birthday party, and Violet's birthday party scheduled on Rick's birthday. That should be interesting!

Did I tell you guys that I got a new computer?? It's freaking RAD. It is sooo fast and finally I can edit photos without sitting around waiting for each little action to process. YAY for technology!!!

Ok - gotta go start my Day of A Million Committments! :) Have a great one!

Freaked

Today the house across the street was broken into. The police officer's house. The family had gone out for the day at about 10 am and returned about 7 pm. Sometime between those hours the door was kicked in and stuff was stolen. Including one of his guns. Someone was at our house all day long. And we didn't hear anything. Our neighbor was burglarized and we heard nothing. I feel sick and nothing even happened to me. :(


I can't imagine how they feel right now - or how their kids feel.

Retreat is...

Time with friends...


Even the scary ones!


Old ladies in red socks...


Other friends wielding crochet hooks...


Terrified waiters...


Time to ponder...


Or get your neck adjusted.


My unsuccessful attempt at creating a scarf that didn't look as though it was covered in tumors...


Being sassy in the mirror...


And even getting a chance to see God change a life for good.






awesome. :)

FACT: Bears eat beets.

Okay seriously if you do not watch The Office you are missing the funniest thing on television. Just the other week, though, my absolute.most.favoritest.scene.ever happened. Jim came into the office dressed as Dwight. He is always pulling pranks on Dwight, but this one was so stinking funny. The best part, though, wasn't the scene itself. It was the fact that Riley was watching it with me and also thought it was hysterical. I was of course tivo'ing it, so we watched it like 5 times in a row, each time cracking up more than before.

Here is a link to the scene on YouTube in case you missed it... JIM AS DWIGHT
And then it was Sunday.
We were on our way to my parents' house for Mother's Day when Rick was telling me some sort of story, and ended it with "Fact."

And from the back seat we hear Riley in retort: "Bears eat beets."

It was all we could do to keep the car on the road at that point, we were laughing so hard. Turns out he pretty much could recite the entire scene word for word. So we had the kids perform it for Liane and Carl when we got to the party. And we decided Riley needs to dress as Dwight As Played By Jim for Halloween. ;)

I need to videotape the kids doing it. It is so hysterical!

We were *those* people

Liane and I were at Hallmark the other day.
Seriously I haven't been in Hallmark in a good 4 years cause I just can't bring myself to buy a card when I have a room full of scrapbook supplies. But we were out and about and decided to stop in there.

Oh my word.

Have you *SEEN* those cards that make sounds? The ones with music or movie quotes? They are freaking hysterical. And of course Liane and I were standing there, in the noisy card section, looking at every.single.one. Laughing, reminiscing, thinking of who we just *had* to get that card for...

And then it dawned on me.
We were being *those* people.
The annoying ones.
The ones that sit there in Hallmark and open every card and look at them. Like it is the greatest thing ever. The ones that the cashiers have to smile and nod at cause they want you to buy a $5 card cause it sings to you.

When we got up to the register I apologized profusely to the cashier. She was very sweet, saying it was no big deal and everyone does it. But I am sure as soon as we lrft she was thankful for thesilence in her store once again.

Yep.

:)

Baby Sage

Meet the little baby girl that has captured the hearts of our children:

Her name is Sage, and she is Liane and Carl's foster puppy. A month ago, when Liane and Carl rescued her, she was literally on death's door. She had been stuck at an overcrowded animal shelter and ended up contracting distemper. Because of the infectious nature of the disease, Sage had to be quarantined in a tiny little room - no bigger than a walk-in shower - with little to no interaction with dogs or even people all day. She stopped eating and could barely stand, much less walk. She was literally on death's door - and the Las Vegas Weim Rescue Club was just hoping that someone would take her home so she wouldn't have to die in that tiny room without anyone. Liane and Carl have the biggest hearts - and such a love for dogs - that they couldn't imagine that happening to a sweet pup like her. They agreed to take her home and make her last few weeks (she was given, at the most, two months to live) special.

Well as you can see, Sage is a completely different dog now. Signs of her disease have all but disappeared (she still can't be around other dogs yet - but the vets say it's only a matter of time before she can), she is healthy and happy, and she loves to romp around and play. And my children love her more than they have ever loved a dog before. Violet makes Sage artwork to hang in her "room" in their house, Riley always asks when we can visit Sage, and the kids just love cuddling with her, petting her, and playing with her whenever they see her. I am completely confident that Sage will make a full recovery - and then Liane and Carl can adopt her and be her "forever family". :)

Isn't she just adorable?

Interesting dream

So on Monday evening, Riley says to me "Mom - did you know that last night when I was sleeping I talked to God?"

Really? What did you talk to God about?

"God showed me what Heaven looked like!"

Tell me about it!

"It was so cool! With lots of RAINBOWS! And there was a jumper too so you could play."

Awesome! Did you see any people there?

"Yeah, but they were mostly sleeping. Some of them were playing too. And I saw Moker and Guard dog there, and they were playing with the kids!"

Totally awesome! Heaven sounds fantastic!

"I LOVED Heaven! It was really cool."

Jessica Junior.

This girl is incredible. And amazing. And frustrating. And overwhelming. All at once.
She is me, shrunken down to 4 foot size. With the same voice I had, and the same attitude too.
She is brilliant - just like I used to be ;)
At the same time, she is sassy. Just like me.
She and I butt heads.
A lot.
I know it's because I see stuff in her that reminds me of me.
And while a lot of that stuff is great:
her creativity.
her imagination.
her outgoing personality.
her silliness.
her love for her brother...
a lot of it isn't, either.
The temper.
The attitude.
The yelling.
The drama.
And this is why, I think, I am really hard on her. Harder on her than I am on Riley. Because I see things in her I don't want to see... the stuff I don't like about myself. The stuff I wish were different about me. I want her to be better than that. I want her to be more than that. I want her to be less of me and so much more of her. So that when I look at her I see the best of me all the time.

(sorry I know I was supposed to have something funny to post - and I will - I just had to write this stuff down, for me)

Remember when

I wanted to do a funny post with photos but Blogger was dumb and wouldn't let me?

yeah.
I do too.