Catching up…again

I’m so behind on photos and blogs, so I’m just gonna go for it.

We finally had a birthday party for Elise with her friends. Her first one! She had her friends from church plus the neighbors and her sisters. It was a Tinkerbell Party at the park, despite the cool weather. The girls played, made fairy wings, ate cake, and had lots of fun!

On Father’s Day we had my folks and my grandma over for Sunday lunch and made tacos. I think we actually did the same thing last year. Ed fried corn tortillas and everybody gobbled it up. Gave my dad and Ed some presents…

Who do you think is the most excited about Super Mario Galaxy 2 for the Wii? Becca or Ed?

My two favorite guys with four of my favorite girls. See their wall-hangings? Courtesy of Treasury of Memories. “Dad Rocks” and “Grandpa Rocks”. So cute. For their office-areas.

Ed’s been begging for a new profile pic for Facebook. This oughta work, right?

On Tuesday I met up with my God-send friend, Tracey. You can read about how I met her by clicking here. Yes, I went to Canada to see her. Yes, that is a Tim Horton’s behind her. Yes, I had their coffee and their donuts. Twice. In 3 hours. I hate to admit it, but yes, it’s delicious. It’s no Woods, but it was seriously good coffee. I brought home donut holes, (properly known as “Timbits”) to my family. I am now allowed to go to Canada anytime I want.

Strawberry season is in full swing. YUM-A-LICIOUS! I found a new recipe for strawberry shortcake, which was soooooo melt-in-your-mouth good.

No, Becca is not dressed up as Native American here. She is an Egyptian Princess, of course! She was invited to go to a Bible School (which for some reason they called “day camp” and which I thought was weird, so I just called it Bible School) at a local church with our neighbor. SHE. LOVED. IT. Every minute. She sobbed and sobbed when it was over. On the last night they had a little program and the kids sang songs and the leaders told all about what they had done all week. It looked like it was a very well-run Bible School, so I’m guessing we’ll be doing that one again if it works out.

 

On Saturday my folks took the girls berry picking. Look at all that berry-liciousness!

My new most favorite-ist thing to do with strawberries these days is freeze them whole on a cookie sheet. Once they’re frozen, I slide them into freezer gallon bags. Then, whenever I want, I take out a handful, throw them in the blender with some vanilla yogurt and viola! A yummmmmmmmy smoothie!

Of course, berries on angel food cake with chocolate syrup and whipping cream is pretty amazing, too.

And then, some random daily cuteness!

My friend Dee

has been gone since June 10. And I hardly saw her much before that because I was so busy. She's not coming home for like, forever. I miss her.
And now my friend Amy is gone, too.
And my friend Janet, who I don't see enough the way it is.
I miss them.
Good thing I'm going camping with other good friends pretty soon. And good thing I got to see my friend Tam this week. And good thing I got to see my friend Tracey this past week. And good thing my neighbors are usually home. Because I think otherwise I might go crazy with friend withdrawl.
Come home soon, friends. We need to go have coffee. Or scrapbook. Or take a walk. Or, something.

GEMS Camp 2010

Earlier this month, Sarah, Bethany, & I went to GEMS Camp. Since I’m the AC for the area (Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Nevada) I was heavily involved in planning this camp. It was such a wonderful blessing to be able to do that and to see how God worked in the lives of the girls at camp.

We had 123 women and girls at camp this year and that was the first blessing! We had been getting worried because registrations weren’t coming in, but of course that was needless worrying. We worried about the weather, but it was beautiful and warm. We worried about many things, but God provided through it all!

Camp began on Friday night, but Sarah, Bethany, & I left early in the day to see if we could get my camera fixed and we did! Hooray! I am so excited to have a properly focusing camera again. We had lunch and did a little shopping together. It was fun. We headed to camp and the girls helped us put signs on cabins and all that kind of stuff. Friday evening consisted of registration, mixer games, chapel, snacks, and cabin devotions. Everyone arrived safely, and camp was off to a good start!

Saturday morning we heard girls squealing very early. Like before 6:00 a.m. early. The night before I had promised a surprise for the cabin who was in line for breakfast first. Breakfast was at 8:00. The first cabin got in line at 6:55. I soooooo did not see that coming! I saw them around 7:45, gave them their pack of Smarties and said, “Go play!” I will never make that promise again.

During the night Friday night a girl in my daughter’s cabin got sick. She threw up inside the cabin, all over the floor. The counselor called me at 3:00 a.m. – they had no paper towels. So, Tami & I trudged up there with some paper towels. I’m guessing the girl didn’t dare get up and run to the bathroom because I had made such a big deal out of “Don’t go to the bathroom alone, even in the middle of the night. You have to take someone with you.” Ugh. Live & learn. The girl seemed OK and stayed through the rest of camp.

Saturday was filled with fun and games, as well as two sessions with our awesome speakers, Miss Ruth & Miss Krissy. Our prayer and goal for camp this year was that the girls meet Jesus. Miss Ruth & Miss Krissy made sure of that. Our new theme for GEMS is going to be “Feed the Fire”, with a special emphasis on

P – Pray constantly

A – And

S – Study God’s Word

S – Serve Others

I – Interact with God’s people

O – Open Up and talk about God

N – Notice God in the ordinary

Miss Ruth & Miss Krissy told stories of 3 women in the Bible who were passionate about Jesus: Esther, Mary of Magdala, and the Shunnamite Woman (yeah, I didn’t know that one either). It was phenomenal. They are the best story tellers and kept the girls (& the counselors) on the edge of their seats. They had activities intermixed and it was awesome.

On Saturday, we also went swimming, had a craft, ate, and had a campfire with singing and s’mores, of course!

Saturday night I told the girls there would be a surprise for those who slept the longest. Some came to breakfast on Sunday in their pj’s! Good job! They got to eat first. We had chapel again on Sunday, during which Miss Ruth led the girls in a prayer of commitment or recommitment to Jesus. MANY girls prayed this prayer with her and we were so blessed to witness that.

Unfortunately, two other girls got sick at camp on Saturday night and had to go home. We felt fortunate that no more got sick, considering the way germs can spread in situations like that! They all recovered quickly, for which we are also thankful!

Just a few pics…I was pretty busy and didn’t have time for too many pictures.

Sarah and her cabin. She had two friends along; a neighbor and her lifelong friend from MV. Such fun.

Bethany and her counselor and two best friends on the very miniature train.

Playing mini-golf

Learning to line dance

(I have more pictures of Bethany because when we separated between older girls and younger girls, I had the younger girls.)

Camp was lots of work, but tons of fun, and totally blessed by God.

The Last Day

of school, that is.

I’m bummed because I don’t have a picture of Becca with her teacher on the last day of school, but that’s because her last day of school was before the other girls and I didn’t go to school on her last day. :( I did get a picture of her with her teachers at the Mother’s Tea, but unfortunately that is no longer on my computer and I can’t get to it at the moment. Maybe soon…

But, here are the big girls on their last day with their teachers.

Sarah is off to Junior High next year!

And Bethany is off to a new building!

Thanks for a good year, as always, teachers at LC!

Field Day, Part Deux

Kindergarteners don’t have field day with the rest of the elementary school. They have field day with the preschoolers. I took my preschooler along and boy, did she have fun with her sister!

Sack races! So much fun.

  They got to be partners for the 3-legged sack race. That was pretty funny.

Becca and her friends. So cute.

Look at that focus and concentration! I think that child is ready for first grade!

Flowers

• Friend Dee gave me these flowers and this gift certificate for taking these photos of her cute Katie. Thanks!

• More of the flattened peonies from my yard. Love them now!

Elise’s Birthday

Elise turned four a week and a half ago or so. We had quite a few celebrations! First she had a birthday dinner and cake at my parent’s house with my grandma. I had to take pictures of her with every single present she got. Which, if you know my parents, was A LOT. It’s just one box, of course, but there are 3 dolls on the bow and inside there are always a few books, some clothes, and some toys. Always. And I had to take pictures of her with every single thing. It was pretty funny.

I chose just one sweet smile of her with her new Tinkerbell sunglasses. She’s on a real Tinkerbell kick lately.

My Mom baked her a cake and my Dad decorated it. She blew out all 4 candles in one blow!

Then on her actual birthday we went out of dinner, of course. Elise chose Billy McHale’s which we all love, plus we have good coupons to eat there.

The girls made a sign to put on the train that runs above diner’s heads at the restaurant.

The waitress brought an ice cream sundae and a bunch of the staff came and sang to her. She wasn’t so keen on the singing, but she was pretty happy with the sundae. She shared it. Until it was almost gone.

Yeah, I think she enjoyed that.

New Collection

Last summer I started collecting old cameras. I happened upon an old, totally non-functional, cool-looking camera at a garage sale for $5. I loved it. Bought it.

What does one do with just one old camera? Not much. That’s not a very good collection. I needed more, but I never found any.

Until March. That’s when Ed & I went to San Jose for his work and I played in the sun with a bunch of Logos wives all day. You can refresh your memory about that trip here. One of the fun things we did was browse through a couple antique shops. And we found old cameras. And so my collection grew by one.

In April, I begged my brother to give me back my old Pentax K1000 which I had in high school. I gave it to him, years ago, for some unknown reason (he must have promised me his car or something). He seemed hesitant to return that camera to me, after all these years of him not using it and storing it and carting it around the country. So, I told him, that he could make sure he got my name in the gift exchange next Christmas and he could give it to me for Christmas. He seemed open to that idea. Blogging about it here is just a reminder to him. :)

THEN! A couple weeks ago, I went to some garage sales with my friend Beth and I totally SCORED!

L-R: I think the guy at this garage sale thought I would take all his camera stuff off his hands, so he offered anything I wanted for free. Heh. The other stuff was junk…old slides and whatnot. But that little camera was kind of cute, so I bought it took it off his hands. I found the brownie in the middle there and while the bulb is missing from the flash, it still looks cool. It was only $5. The one on the right is totally bizarre. I’m not 100% sure it’s even a camera, but the lady claimed that you would buy this box, take 118 pictures, then take out the film inside and send it in to get the pictures developed and you were left with this box. Anyhoo, it looks cool and was also only $5.

So now, I need my friend Tamara to help me display this stuff properly. She’s an organizing and decorating genius and someday, after she’s all finished being pregnant and has gotten used to having 3 children under the age of 3, she’s going to come over and rescue my house. Because she needs more to do.

I think that for the most part, the collection is pretty complete. I’d have to find something pretty awesome in order to add to it at this point. Unless of course my brother gives me my old Pentax back. That would be pretty awesome.

Field Day

Sshhhhh. Don’t tell Ed, but I’m editing photos and blogging instead of working on the booklet. No, the booklet is not done yet. Yes, I’m totally procrastinating. It’ll get done. I work well under pressure. That’s my story and I’m sticking with it.

After the excitement of the surprise visit from my brother’s family, we had TONS of end-of-the-school-year-stuff. First up, FIELD DAY for elementary and middle school students!

See that girl in the front? That’s my future track star. See that boy in the back? Yeah, he was about 150 yards ahead of her when she got the baton from her teammate. She caught him. She passed him.This is in the 4x800 relay (each person runs 200 meters as fast as they can). And I’m not actually just bragging here. Her PE teacher told me she really is fast. It’s not just my mom-perspective.

Handing off the baton

Sweet Bethany outside at her last elementary field day. Can you believe that cute thing is going to be in 5th grade? My guess is she’ll have braces on those teeth by the time that happens.

This was too funny. All her hair just went up and down and up and down as she jumped across the lawn. I could put in a bunch of pictures and you could try to scroll through really fast and then it would be like you were really there watching her jump in her sack. Or maybe not.

This was the efficient method of removing the children from the sacks. Dump it upside-down and the kid comes out. Usually.

I then headed back to the high school track to get a picture of Sarah and her friends. Field Day was pretty much over and they were hanging out and waiting for their treats. Aren’t they cute? I wonder how they’ll all look in about 74 days when it’s their first day of 7th grade? Yikes.

The last day of the surprise visit

It’s about time I get these photos finished. The visitors left about 9 days ago. It was a sweet, sweet visit and a hard good-bye. We cannot wait to have a whole week together at Christmas time.

This picture by Becca says it all

Yes, we love them. We miss them. We’re so glad they came. It was a well-timed gift from God.

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Junior

When my brother & I were scheming about what we all should together during their surprise visit, of course, we both naturally checked the Mariners’ schedule to see if they would be playing at home. Sure enough, the M’s would be playing the Twins on Monday night. Mike wanted to take Josh to Safeco Field and I *always* want to go to Safeco. I love Safeco.

What’s not to love about that?

And that?

Besides, as everyone who knows me knows, I had, at that time, a 10-0 record at Safeco. Seriously. I was the Mariners’ good luck charm. And as everyone who follows baseball knows, the Mariners needed their good luck charm in attendance. Badly.

We headed down to Seattle on a beautiful afternoon (well, actually, it was rainy and yucky at home, but when we got to Seattle it was sunny & beautiful!) which is really the best time to be at the ballpark. The roof was open and we settled into our seats in section 331. That was the problem.

Usually I sit in 337.

I’m sure that’s why they lost.

Not that they didn’t give it a good try in the 9th. We actually got to within one run of the Twins. So, of course, as any good Mariners fan knows, it’s time for Junior. That’s right. Ken Griffey, Jr. We’ve had visions of 1995 ever since he returned to Seattle last year. But guess what, Junior isn’t 25 anymore. And 1995 did not happen again.

Junior went up to bat, and almost hit into a double play. The only reason it wasn’t a double-play was because the Twins’ second baseman bobbled the ball and didn’t get it down to first base soon enough. So, technically, that’s not even a hit for Junior. Poor Junior.

Little did we know then…

But that was Griffey’s last at-bat in professional baseball. Two days later, he retired. I’m so sad to see you go, Junior. You were one of the reasons I became a baseball fan. You, and Joey Cora. Oh, and Dan Wilson, Jay Buhner, and Edgar Martinez. Thanks for the memories, Ken Griffey, Jr.

Next time, I’ll sit in 337. But overall, a 10-1 record is still pretty good.

Memorial Day Mariners Photos

Lisey-Baby!

My baby is four. What else can I say?

You are the sunshine in my day.

Happy Birthday, sweet Lisey-baby.

My Brown-Eyed Babe

Do you remember when we used to sing
Sha la la la la la la la la la la te da.

Sorry, I got carried away there for a minute…But oh. my. word. Are his eyes not the most…the most…everything…you’ve ever seen?

Over the last couple of months, I have found that I *adore* being an aunt. I always loved it and I always loved my nieces and nephews, don’t get me wrong. But the last few visits I have had with all nieces and nephews, on both sides of the family, have been simply amazing. I can’t put it into words. But The Pioneer Woman did. Click on the link and read her post entitled “Not my Baby, But Almost”.

And that baby’s brown eyes just sealed the deal for me right there. It’s almost enough to convince me to have another baby. That and the fact that tomorrow’s post is about my baby turning four. But then…I remember. And I feel content with the nieces and nephews.

Click here to see most of the pictures from Memorial Day (all the way up to the baseball game).

Last week Sunday

A full day with my brother and his family. We had *such* a good day. We started with brunch (well, I guess my parents and Josh started with church. The rest of us skipped.) and hung out for a while together. In the afternoon we headed to the Ski to Sea Race since my sister-in-law’s dad and brother were both participating. We went separate ways for a while, walked the street fair, found each other, split up into different groups again, and ended up all together at my parents’ house by 6:30. Lots of fun. We invited my grandma and aunt to come over and didn’t tell them why. They showed up and were VERY surprised to see the visitors! We even managed to convince the girls’ piano/violin teacher to come by for our very own recital since we had missed the official recital the day before when I was picking up the travelers. The girls spent the night there at my parents’ on Sunday night because their FAVORITE thing to do when cousins visit is to have a sleepover!

On Friday the 28th, my nephew turned one and that was the day he took his first steps! He practiced his walking a lot for all of us while he was here. I love this age!

Click here for an album of last Sunday’s pictures.