Pet in a Pocket

Brian's pet, Dot, is a very active rat and is always scurrying around on you when she's out of her cage. Brian finally found a well to help her calm down... a pocket! She loves hanging out in a pocket and just sticks her head out to look around. Isn't she adorable?

The forgotten piggy

I posted about Hurly, Tristan's new guinea pig, but I never posted about this little fellow.

Meet Koda, Carissa's guinea pig. He joined out household in July. His name comes from the main character in the Disney film "Brother Bear". Unlike Hurly, Koda does not have an unruly thatch of hair. Instead he is sleek and smooth with multiple patches of color. He's much louder than Hurly and often squeaks and squeals. He's Carissa's little buddy and likes to sit in her lap and squeak. He's adorable and he's well-loved.

Childhood Memory

I was on the phone to Disney this morning ironing out some details for our vacation and got placed on what seemed like eternal hold. While waiting a song came on that reminded me of a happy childhood memory that I had all but forgotten. The music was the theme song from the film at American pavilion at Epcot - a song that I haven't heard since I was a kid. We went to Disneyworld as a family when I was about 12 and while there my parents bought the record (yes, the RECORD ... vinyl! LOL) with the theme park music from the international pavilions of Epcot. I clearly remember waking up to that music playing downstairs on Sunday mornings and the smell of the waffles and eggs my father was cooking for breakfast. It's amazing how one little tune can bring back such memories. And it's amazing to think that I had almost forgotten.

The finished project...

Earlier this summer Brian started his new tattoo. This was sort of a 35th birthday/college graduation tattoo and is something that he and I have been discussing and designing for the last 3 years. After 3 sessions, hours of drawing and tattooing and a very bloody leg, his tattoo is finally finished. Here's the final project:There's one sea turtle to represent each of us. Brian up at the top, followed by me, then Chase, Tristan and Carissa at the bottom. Each person had some say in what was put on their turtles shell. Overall, I think it came out fabulous and Brian has received so many great compliments about it.

Like death warmed over...

...that's a pretty accurate description of how I've been feeling the last few days. I was fine all week until Thursday afternoon. I had a busy day - worked, went to exchange some shoes at Koh's, visited with my Grandma and Aunt - then came home to get ready for book club, which I hosted this month.

Around 4pm I started feeling a little off but thought it was just from being tired. Got involved in preparations for book club, had dinner and started feeling a little warm. I was fine by the time book club started but by thend it was all I could do to sit through the rest of it.

It was all downhill from there. I've suffered through this unidentified flu for 4 days so far (all the symptoms and timing point to the Swine Flu, though Kaiser doesn't even want to see you much less diagnose you with H1N1). I've had fevers, chills, coughing, congestion, headaches, body aches, skin sensitivity and just about every other thing you can think of.

I'm totally bummed because I missed going to Bremerton for Virginia's baby shower on Saturday. And now I'm not sure we'll be able to go visit before vacation. And I always feel bad about taking days off work, especially knowing that I'll be taking so many off for vacation. But really, I'll just be glad when this is over and I'm healthy again.

Happy Halloween!

Halloween has come and gone and it was a long, fun day. It was nice to be a Saturday this year, as it stretched the holiday out a bit. I had parties at the preschool on Thursday and Friday, where I dressed as a kitty.

The kids had parties at school on Friday and dressed for those. Tristan and Carissa went as a vampire and vampiress. Chase had a last-minute change of heart and decided to dress up. He went as a doctor.

Tonight was trick-or-treating and the younger two were very into it. Chase wasn't so much. Grandma Imlah flew home from Wendy's house in time to spend Halloween night with them. We all went out for a while but Brian and I soon returned home to hand out candy and let Grandma finish trick or treating with the kids.

Happy Halloween all!

The excitement is building and our Disneyworld vacation is quickly approaching. I was giddy when I picked up the mail today and received our very first piece of Disney vacation documents - our luggage tags and boarding passes for Disney's Magical Express. Wahoo!!!

The Bat Rescuer story

Me: "What do you want to be when you grow up?"
Carissa: "A vet."
Me: "Even with the blood?"
Carissa: "I forgot about the blood. Really, I just want to be a bat rescuer."
Me: "Why a bat rescuer?"
Carissa: "I read this story about Australia and the Mom bats are dying because they get bit by a tick and it makes them die. There's a place they take the baby bats to rescue them. I want to work there and save the baby bats."

Planning Mode

In June Brian and I sat down and crunched the numbers, calculated how much we'd saved and how much we'd need. Perfect timing, as Disney sent us a special offer for free dining in December. So we decided that we could finally afford the dream of seeing DisneyWorld in it's Christmas splendor. Hopefully it will look something like this:


We're so excited to be going but, of course, I get in planning mode. I've searched and scoured and am as prepared as I think I possibly can be at this point. We've got dinner reservations at all the appropriate places, have flights and are soooooo excited to be staying in one of the Disney hotels this time (our first time ever!).

So the planning has kept me busy, especially when compounded with work, scouts, taekwondo, cheer and swimming, all of which are happening this month. It's busy, but I'm counting down the days (43!) until we leave for sunny Florida.

Beyond that, not much new here. We've had the sickies around the house. First Chase with a "viral infection" that really resembles H1N1 symptoms. Then Tristan got it. Chase missed a whole week of school and with mid-school that means TONS of work. He spent days and days doing his make-up work. Needless to say, he's going to have a lot of catching up to do after Disneyworld. The boys got well and then last week I got a cold. It's been hanging on and not letting go. This is day #8. I really hope this thing gets better soon.

Chase went to his first school dance last week! He was really on the fence about going but the day before the dance he decided to go. He had a good time, danced a lot and enjoyed hanging out with his buddies. So all in a all a good first impression of school dances. On a side note, when we went to mid-school orientation last spring he said he was going to skip the dances - had no interest in them at all. Amazing how a few months in a new school can really change your viewpoint. *sigh* He's growing up way too quickly!

Sunday before last Brian declared it "Mom Appreciation Day". They made me breakfast in bed (pancakes, sausage and eggs ... I didn't know he could cook so much and so well! LOL). Then he let me choose our family activity for the day.

I chose the pumpkin patch, since the weather was nice and I knew it wouldn't hold out for the month. Well, it was a beautiful day. We went to the patch on Sauvie Island. It was packed but fun. Here's what the kids chose out:

Finally an update!

It's been a while, yet again. And I know that I still have a few friends and family members who check this thing so I'm finally updating it. Lots and lots of pictures coming up...

Brian sat down for session #2 on his new tattoo. This time they added the kids little turtles. The kids helped pick designs for theirs. From day 1, Carissa wanted a sunshine. Chase wanted a variety of things but finally settled on a shooting star. We were having a hard time with Tristan and thought about having a skull for him, since Brian calls him "Boney", but that didn't really fit in. In the end he settled on a moon.

One more session to go and then this thing should be done!

Tristan celebrated his 11th birthday last month. He had a sleepover/bowling party with a few of his best friends and a family party with us. The big gift this year was his Flip video camera. He has videotaped lots of very shaky videos so today I gave him my mini tripod to help out. I have a feeling this thing will be put to good use a lot, as the boys are always making up little plays and acting them out. Can't wait to see what he records!
Brian and I went to the Nickelback concert last month too. They are my FAVE band and I was so excited to go. It was a great concert and it was nice to have some "adult" time with Brian. In celebration of our big 15th anniversary, Brian and I stole away to the beach. We got a hotel room, which we rarely do, and stayed the night. We just relaxed, walked the boardwalk, ate a leisurely dinner and enjoyed our time together. We both marvel at the fact that we have made it 15 years already. It doesn't seem like it has been that long, or that we're old enough for it to be that long! LOL

The first day of school has come and gone and the kids are now well situated in their new classrooms. Carissa went on to the 3rd/4th blend, where she'll spend the next 2 years with the FABULOUS Mrs. Fisher!

Tristan went on to the 5th/6th blend with Mr. Sipp, or "Sippo" as they all call him. This is Tristan's first time having a male teacher and he thinks Sippo is super cool!

Chase has made his way to the big bad world of middle school. He's got a locker and different teachers for each class. He's also got the huge challenge of Algebra. He tested so high in math that they put him in high school credit algebra. So it's a big challenge for him, since he didn't officially take pre-algebra (he taught himself from math packets and print-offs from the computer ... this is the stuff he likes to do in his free time. LOL). We did stress the importance of good grades, as this goes on his high school transcript. But he is soooooo excited about being in Algebra, especially since there are only a few other 7th graders and a handful of 8th graders who are taking it. It has given him such an ego boost to know he's smart enough. Anyways, he's liking middle school and all that has to offer, including the 2-3 hours of homework he has every night.

Oh yes, Chase had a birthday too and is now a big bad teenager! He turned 13 a few days ago and his big gift was a laptop. He's been wanting one for a while and he's been very responsible with his computer use so we thought we'd go for it. Now he can use it to type up all his reports (you get extra credit for typing so he's all over that! LOL), play games, research, etc. He had no idea so was very surprised when he opened it.
Tristan tested for his next belt in Taekwondo. He worked really, really hard to earn his green belt and he did fabulous at testing. Broke all of his boards, did awesome on his forms and performed well in sparring. At the end of the long testing process he was finally awarded his green belt. Way to go Tristan!!!

Carissa is cheering this fall. She is the kind of girl who likes to sing and dance so cheering is great for her! She had her first game last weekend and looked adorable out there!

Last week we got wind that the school had received complimentary tickets to the big Miley Cyrust tour, which opened up in Portland. So on Monday night she, I, her best friend Shaylan, Shaylan's mom Kathy and their friend Ashley all went to the concert. We had awesome tickets in the 200 level straight back from the stage. It was a long show and a long night, but the girls had a blast. They were absolutely awestruck when Miley finally came on and all just sat in their chairs for the first 3 or 4 songs. It was a neat show and a first concert for all the girls in the group.

Well, I think that's it. Updated all I can think of for now. Hope your life is going grand. {{{HUGS}}} to all my friends and family out there. We miss you!

This is what 35 looks like...

When I was a teenager, 35 seemed downright ancient. 35 year olds wore outdated clothes, drove boring family cars, worked stuffy grown-up jobs and had lost the luster of youth. And while this is somewhat true, 35 still isn't exactly what I envisioned. Sure, I'm older and the luster of youth is starting to tarnish a little. Yes, I drive a minivan. And no, I'm not trendy. But I do have a pretty great life. I have such an awesome family. I have good friends and a fulfilling job. I have a wonderful man that I look foward to getting old with. This is what 35 looks like - and it's pretty darned good!

The Kite Festival

On a whim we decided to make a day trip to the beach on Tuesday. We went to Long Beach for the Washington State International Kite Festival. We had never been to the kite festival before so this was all new to us. The weather was beautiful and it was the perfect day for kite flying. There were hundreds of kites in the sky - big twirling kites, huge animal kites, spinners and foils in every size and shape imaginable. They even had choreographed stunt kite teams flying to music. It was amazing to see so many kites in the sky at one time!

By far our favorite display was this one:

Hundreds and hundreds of kites lined up one after the other, streching as far as the eye could see (and then some). We were told there were 250 kites on this line, which is easy to believe. Just looking at it from the ground it seemed that they stretched all the way up to the sun. It was unbelievable!

On our second time past this display the kite owner asked the kids if they wanted to try to pull the kite in a little. Of course they said yes! They tugged and could get it down a little but they also learned how much pull kites have once they are up in the air.

We wandered around the kites for a while, the kids dipped their feet in the ocean then we went and explored the booths of kites, crafts and food available. And, of course, we went to visit Jake the Alligator Man. A trip to Long Beach just isn't complete without seeing that creepy little thing! LOL

Long time, no post...

As always, summer gets away from me. It has been hard to find much extra time between teaching summer camps, camping with the family and chaperoning Boy Scout camp. Thankfully this is my last week of summer camps this year and I get 3 full weeks off before returning to a new year of preschool. We're hoping to end the summer with a few more fun family activities and maybe a trip to see my brother, sister-in-law and adorable nephew.

Boy Scout camp with Chase was good. We went to Camp Hahobas in Washington and it was a GREAT camp! The staff was amazing and the boys all had a great time. I only stayed a few days, just enough to help get the troop settled, get all the paperwork done and help organize the boys schedules. Then I took off and let Chase and the other boys enjoy some "non-Mom" time at camp. Chase earned another 3 merit badges there and brought home 4 partially finished merit badges. He also earned his star rank, one of only 4 (of the 20) boys in the troop to have achieved this rank. He's doing just fabulous in scouts and I couldn't be more proud.

Since I'm so bad at posting pics of myself, here's one taken by my good friend Tammy who has braved camp with me every year since our boys started scouts. 6 years and counting!!! Anyways, this is overlooking the Hood Canal at a spot not too far from our campsite.

Since last update we have taken another camping trip to the beach, this time to Pacific City. Usually we LOVE Pacific City and it's our fave camping spot of the summer, but we hit a bummer of a weekend.

The first day we got there was sunny but so windy. We walked on the beach, the wind blowing stinging sand at our bare legs. It distinctly reminded me of a windy summer day I spent on the beach as a kid with my brother and sister, the stinging sand hurting us but not enough that we gave up the beach. Of course, despite my fond memories, none of us really wanted to get hit by stinging sand so it wasn't too long before we headed back to the campsite and donned our bathing suits for a swim in the indoor pool.

The next 2 days were all overcast and dreary outside, though we did find time to go to the beach and see the tidepools. The kids did the obligatory climb of the sand dune. Carissa was first to the top, winning for the 3rd year in a row.

Now, a huge shout out goes here to Tristan, who labored up the hill to the first burm (where the race ended) and then continued up ... all the way up to the tippy top of the dune. And it's a LONG way up! It took him a while but he kept trying and trying, long after everyone else had given up. And he made it! Way to go!!!

We spent much of our time in the pool, swimming for an hour or two at a time 3 or 4 times while we were there. It was fun to just relax and play together.

I did get the kids to sit still long enough for me to take some portraits of them. Here are some of my faves:

Brian got some new ink. He had his first session a few weeks ago and got the first two turtles put on. He goes back in later this month to get the final 3 turtles put on. When he's done he'll have 5 turtles, 2 adults and 3 kids, each with a special design on their shell selected by each family member. Here's what it looked like when it was getting worked on:

and here's a done-for-today picture (the redness has gone away ... it's a black-and-white tattoo:

Last, but certainly not least, we welcome a new addition to our home. Tristan's rat, Lucy, has been sickly since we got her. If you remember a post a year ago, she had gotten pneumonia and had to go through 2 rounds of antibiotic shots. She got better but has never really been "well" since. Her time finally came and she is now buried in our yard.

When Tristan went to pick our a new pet we talked to the pet store about an alternative to rats, which don't have great lifespans. They suggested guinea pigs and as soon as Tristan saw this little guy he was sold.

He named him Hurley, after the punky little guinea pig in "G-Force", which we had seen just a week earlier.

This little piggy has the cutest little punky hairdo. This little piggy cuddles. This little piggy loves lettuce and timothy hay. This little piggy jumps around when he's happy. This little piggy is adorable, even if you can't tell front from back. This little piggy already has us wrapped around it's little finger.
Well, that's the news from here. Hope your summer is great!

I admit that I LOVE summer! The lack of schedule, the relaxation, the not having to get up early. *yawn* Yet things are slowly shifting and changing. This year it isn't so relaxing. I am having to get up early (albeit 8am! LOL). I do have a schedule. And I don't have much time "off". So it's been a busy time already.

We got out of school late this year, on June 17th. Had to make up all those snowy days right before Christmas break. I did actually have a little time off right away, time to decompress and take a few relaxing breaths. It was great. The next week we went on a trip to Newport. I hadn't been back in a while and we were really looking forward to it. We stayed in a yurt at Beverly Beach and it was fabulous! I love not lugging around a tent, I love having heat and lights but still hanging outside and having campfires. It was the best of both worlds.


The first day we drove down to Newport and quickly met up with Darla. She is my late best friends mother and is raising her oldest daughter, Jayde. This was also her visitation weekend with Kim's other daughter, Kaitlyn. So we planned to meet. We haven't seen each other since about a year after Kim died. It was Chase's 6th birthday party and Darla brought Jayde up for it. That was nearly 7 years ago. So this visit was long overdue.

The kids all played in the cold Pacific while Brian and Darla chatted. I was busy with the camera! LOL
My fave lighthouse... Yaquina Head. I grew up just a few miles from here.

I caught Carissa complete with her 2 missing teeth, leaving her with the two big front teeth and nothing next to them! LOL Here are all the kids playing in the water. And one of Kim's two daughters. Darla had to get Kaitlyn home but she and Jayde came to the campsite later that day to hang out with us and share BBQ and s'mores. Jayde (the oldest) reminds me so much of Kim. Seeing the girls made me miss her and lament how much she's missing, but at the same time it gave me hope. It is her tie to this world, her only known blood relatives (she was adopted). To see those girls and know that they are a piece of her made me happy.

The next day we took the kids to the Oregon Coast Aquarium. We had a great time looking around, seeing all the sealife, touching the anemones, watching the seals. But the best part was their special exhibit, Oddwater. They had some of the most unique sealife. It was amazing! Chase's faves were the lionfish. The kids also though it was fun to hang out in the bubble of this tank full of huge, flat silver fish.

Fish faces were a big hit this trip. LOL Here's a shot of all the kids that I like, taken near an outside exhibit at the aquarium.

After leaving the aquarium we headed back to the campground and out on to the beach. In typical Oregon fashion, it was windy and cold. But we zipped up our hoddies and braved it anyways. We all worked together to build a sandcastle (yes, I put down the camera long enough to help! LOL) After the sandcastle building they decided to build a huge moat down to the ocean, hoping that the waves would push water up their moat and fill the area around the castle. That didn't happen, but they did build the moat.

This is just a random shot of Chase I took and liked. Definitely captures that line between child and teenager that he's walking right now.

Here's another picture that captures that line ... him stuffing his face with marshmallows! How mature are we now? LOL We made s'mores each night, which is our favorite part of camping. We love it! On our last night we let the kids loose on the leftover marshmallows. And just for the record, a 12year old boy can stuff 6 full-size marshmallows in his mouth and can still giggle, laugh and say "6 Chubby Bunny". Then he can proceed to down them all without spitting any out. Amazing! LOL

Oh, and the rest of us did manage to have some s'mores too, despite Chase's run on the marshmallows. ;)

One of our days we walked the bayfront in Newport. Across the street from Mariner Square, which both Brian and I worked while teenagers, there is a little dock you can walk out on. I harrased a stranger into taking pictures of our family with the bridge behind. A little fancy shmancy with the Photoshop and here's what we've got:

*sigh* I love my family!

Well, our final day of the trip was finally here and we left the yurt early to drive up the coast. We stopped first in Depoe Bay and nearly turned back to the car, since most shops were still closed that early. But we decided to walk back on the other side of the road, the one overlooking the ocean. It was then that I noticed a little spray of water. Then another. Then another. I realized that it was whales! We spent a good hour watching grey whales spout right outside the mouth of Depoe Bay. I got some great pictures, including this one. But more than that we all came away feeling so awed by these massive animals. I grew up at the beach and don't remember seeing them so seeing whales now, 15 years after I moved away, was a wonderful experience.

After the whales we headed to factory stores in Lincoln City to look for some school shopping deals. We picked up a few things, including some shirts at his favorite store, Quiksilver. Tristan also found an ADORABLE hat there and Carissa got a skirt and shirt from Gymboree. Then we loaded up in the car and returned home. It was a great trip!

Sunsations Softball

Carissa was part of the Sunsations softball farm league team this year. She had Coach Randy and Coach Mike again, her 3rd year in a row with them. It was a great year! We had a wonderful team with a lot of fun and talented girls.

Carissa could, of course, be counted on to do her own thing at times. When she was bored she would play in the dirt with her toes or just crouch down and relax. Once, when she was in the outfield, she decorated her entire mitt with things she found in the field.

When she wasn't bored she did very well. She showed a lot of progress this year, throwing harder, hitting better.

She even got the chance to pitch one game and did well when she calmed down.

All in all another great year of softball with her awesome group of coaches.

Summers Here!!!

Finally! It seemed like such a long school year, mainly because we added on so many days because of the snow days we took this winter. But today was the last day and the kids are officially done with school!


I was able to attend the awards ceremony and field day at Tristan and Carissa's school. The kids both got awards from their teachers. Tristan got the "Truly talented artist and 'creative juicy word stories that come alive' writing award" from Mrs. Fisher. Carissa got a writing award and her word this year was "gentle", very close to "kind", which is what Ms. Carolyn gave her last year.



After the awards it was field day. The kids had a great time going to all the stations, playing and chatting with their friends. It was just a fun day. Here's a few of my fave shots from the day.

Just hanging around...

How hard can you stomp the stomp rocket???

Carissa on the obstacle course
Tristan running for the finish line

And now school is over for them. They move on to 3rd and 5th grades next year. Because they have mixed-grade classrooms, this means it's time for them both to move our of their classrooms and into the next blended class. So Tristan will be moving into Sippo's 5/6 blend and Carissa will move up to Mrs. Fishers 3/4 blend. As much as they love their old teachers, they have had them for 2 school years and are both really looking forward to moving on to new teachers next year.



Another change next year will be Tyten's departure. He and Carissa are such sweet friends. And somehow they always manage to end up together - by chance or by choice I'm not really certain. I do know that they like each other and they really are so adorable. She's really going to miss him and I'm going to miss his mother Nikki and her other kids, Kyah and Azlynn, who were in my classes this year. I wish them luck in Spokane, but they will be leaving a void here in our lives.

I missed Chase's award ceremony, but he came home with an armful of awards. He received an Academic Honors Award, another for no detentions and was given the best boy speller award. He is also EXTREMELY proud to have received the Presidental Education Award for Oustanding Academic Excellence. What excited him most about this, besides the cool pin that came with it, was the it's signed by President Obama. He's been showing that thing off to anyone that will look. LOL

Oh, and he came home with his report card. Straight A's again - that makes straight A's for the entire year. Way to go!

Well, it's been a wonderful year but I'm really looking forward to a little down time. Next week we head to the beach for a few days and then it's back to work for me teaching summer camps on and off for the rest of the summer. But for now I'm just enjoying the bliss of knowing I don't have to get up in the morning!!!

Obsessed (Again)

So in my mind I had my summer reading planned out. I would start the Twilight series again, the series that I became obsessed with last summer. But this time I would slow down, savor every word. I envisioned evenings outside on the porch swing, book in my lap, watching the kids ride their bikes and play with their friends. So it was with this anticipation that I started reading Twilight last week. And then it hit. The obsession of it all. The feeling that you just have to keep reading, have to keep turning the pages. The need to know what happens next, even though I already know. And so my summer full of Twilight turned into a week of obsession. And 2,444 pages later I'm sitting here wondering what the heck I'm going to read this summer!

Many Welcomes ...

Today is a day of many welcomes.

First and foremost, I welcome SUMMER! Today was my last day of teaching for this school year. I bid goodbye to my classroom and my preschoolers and look forward to the fun and freedom of summer. Tomorrow night is graduation, so I still have that to get through. But the teaching part is done for now. Of course, I do still have plenty of summer camps I'm teaching this summer (my first is Fairy Camp, which I'm SOOOOO excited about!), a few trips to the beach, theater camp and Boy Scout camp on my agenda. Oh, and how could I forget the most exciting - the Nickelback concert we're going to see to celebrate our 15th Anniversary!!! So a great big YAHOO! to summer!!!

My other welcome is to the new members of our household. After having Peach put to sleep last week, Chase took some time to get over it. A few days ago he came to me and told me that he was ready to start looking for a new pet rat. One trip to the pet store and he found it. Of course, Brian fell in love with one too so now we have 2 new pet rats. They are sharing a cage and are getting along well together. In keeping with out tradition, we chose Disney names for them.

Here is Chase and his new rat Minnie. She's a little older, a young adult rat. She's beautiful and quiet and a perfect match for Chase. He loves her and she's already perfected the art of patiently sitting on his shoulder when she's out, peering over at the book he's reading or the game he's playing. It's adorable.

And here is Brian and his rat Princess Dot. She's still a baby and takes a little to warm up. She gets startled easily by noises and did NOT want to have a bath! While Minnie loved being blown-dry after her bath Dot just got scared by it all. But she's young and she'll learn. She is also great at shoulder-sitting and likes to hang out with us.

So there you go... that's the news from here. Hope all is well with our friends and family. Stay safe and have a great summer.

Sad Days

The reality of life and death can be pretty harsh, especially for kids. And that's very apparent in our household this week, as it's become evident that Chase's dearest friend, Peach, needs to be put to sleep. She's a little over 3 years old and blind in one eye. But we can deal with all that. What we can't deal with is the huge tumor that is growing on her side and has now gotten so large that she can't move well any more. Tumors are very common in female rats, especially when they reach this advanced age. But her quality of life is starting to suffer and this is where we feel the need to have her humanely put to sleep.

Yet, this is a sad decision to make. To have to sit down with your 12 year old and discuss the reasons why he should or shouldn't make the decision to end her life is very hard. And Chase is, obviously, distressed by it all. Yet in the end we had to admit that it was time. So we're taking our last few days to say goodbye to a wonderful, wonderful rat that we all love.

Peach is Chase's little buddy, sitting in his lap while he reads and, before getting too big, hanging out in Chase's shirt, peeking out through the armholes. She is absolutely the most sweet and calm rat and has been his best buddy for 3 years. She will be sorely missed.

New Moon Trailer ...

The movies are nowhere near as good as the books, but I am REALLY looking forward to New Moon nonetheless. The first trailer just came out and it look awesome!!!

For those who don't know, this it the 2nd movie in the Twilight series. And now that the first was a big hit they're pretty much throwing money at them so this movie will be bigger and better. I can't wait!!!

Check it out here: http://www.mtv.com/videos/movie-trailers/395235/trailer-premiere-new-moon.jhtml

Oh yeah! Proud Mommy Bragging ...

My oldest, Chase, is a whiz kid. Always has been. Spells awesome, is a wonderful writer, reads like there's no tomorrow, is so inquisitive and just an amazing learner. His state test scores this year were phenomenal, scoring 99% in language and 98% in math.

So we decide that we should have him TAG tested. Try to request it and get such a run-around from the school. His teacher told me that he "wasn't gifted, he's just a quick learner". I felt in my heart that he was truly a gifted child but no one would stick up for him. They had to have a whole meeting to "decide" whether he was worthy enough to test. I literally stood on the TAG coordinators doorstep once a week for over a month to finally get the testing done.

Well, today was the day. He finally got his TAG test. And you know what, he soared right through it! He didn't just pass it, he creamed it! A score over 116 is considered gifted. You have to have an IQ of over 126 to get the 97% you need in Oregon to be designated TAG. He well overshot that.

So after all that hard work to convince the school to test him, to keep on their arses so they didn't just let it slip through the cracks, we come out on the other side with victory. YEAH!!!

Now the fight begins to actually have him receive those services that he qualifies for ...

No news...

... is not necessarily good news here. I haven't posted lately for a lot of reasons - Carissa's softball, Tristan's taekwondo and Chase's scouts are keeping me busy, the school year is ending and I'm working on all those final details for the year, Brian has been away at training and that leaves me doing most of the works, it's been beautiful weather and I've been spending my free time outside, the list could go on. But it all came to a halt this week when we learned that a boy in Chase's class had died. 12 years old. "Accidental hanging" is what it's been called and we're just all a bit in shock. This was a decent kid, one who sat with Chase at lunch, one who was energetic and loved science. And now he's just gone. It's been a bit surreal. I know unexpected deaths happen, but this one really brought it home. So take a few minutes to be thankful for those kids around you, thankful that they are healthy and alive.

What Makes Me Happy...

Today is one of those days when I need a little pick-me-up. So I'm going to focus on what makes me happy. Here they are:

• The sunshine and beautiful weather!
• "Sadie Hawkins Dance" by Reliant K. That song just makes me smile. (Click one of the videos on the left to hear it).
• Tristan laughing at the park while spinning uncontrollably on the playground equipment.
• Carissa smiling again after being sad and sick the last two days.
• Chase's state testing scores. They were amazing this year!
• Air Conditioning. It's a marvel of engineering, I tell you. It's how I survive the summer.
• RitterSport Milk Chocolate and whole Hazelnut candy bars. YUM!
• A partially clean house. Hey, partial is something. Right now I'll take it.
• An unexpected night home tonight with Brian.
• Counting down the last month of school days. I can't wait for summer!
• Having 2 layouts requested for publication today.
• The new camera lens that is on it's way to me as we speak.
• The afterglow of a girls scrapbook weekend.
• Did I mention the sunshine?

Science Fair

Tristan is in the midst of his science experiment for the upcoming science fair. His topic: Whose mouth has more bacteria, a cat, a dog or a human? He's worked hard on getting everything ready and watching the bacteria grow in the petri dishes. We were suprised at the results. Pretty digusting bacteria! LOL

The Tulip Festival

If I were to have a favorite flower, the tulip would be it. I love them. I love seeing their brightly colored petals brightening up our spring. After this long, long winter I felt a trip to see the tulips would help bring spring into our lives. So after shceduling and rescheduling (the fields bloomed late this year because of the weather) we finally took a trip to the Woodburn Tulip Festival. It was meant as a trip for all 5 of us but at the last minute something big went down in town and Brian couldn't get away. But the kids and I carried on.

This was only our 2nd time visiting the Tulip Festival but it was absolutely beautiful. Fields and fields of the most gorgeous flowers you have ever seen. And we got there in perfect time because they were all in perfect bloom.

We started off by a walk in the fields. We stopped here and there to look around and point out particularly beautiful flowers. I do have to mention this flower. It's the one I'll be buying if I get any bulbs this year. It's named "Mickey Mouse"... how could I not have these?!?Wonderful strangers offered to take our photos so I got a few of all of us together.

While walking the fields I had instructed the kids to find their favorite variety of tulip to be photographed with. Once we reached the end of the field we turned back around and went back the way we came. We stopped at each childs favorite flower and I took photos of them.

Chase's flower was one of the most beautiful in the entire field. Absolutely unique in color. It was mainly pink with orange on the edges of the petals and this beautiful yellow streak running up from the bottom. They were aptly named "Temple of Beauty".Tristan couldn't find a favorite variety but chose a particular flower that could only be found in the mixed field. It was white with red streaks running up the petals. Very pretty, though we have no idea what it was named.

Carissa could, of course, be called on to pick a pink variety. Hers was called "Rosalee" and was actually pale pink with some darker pink and orange on it. Timelessly beautiful, just like her.

Yes, I even let the camera out of my hands long enough for the kids to snap a few photos of me.

It was a great time at the tulip festival. I'm sure we'll be headed back there for years to come. After all, we can't miss out on the kids favorite part ... the rubber ducky races!

Frog Season

These little frogs are everywhere... in the grass, hopping along the roads, hanging on the garage door at night. The kids love them. They pick them up, admire them, give them silly names like "Blades" and "Daredevil". They start out tiny and fragile and eventually grow large and fat. And every year in late fall they disappear. Yet each spring they return to our world. We're always thrilled to see frog season and enjoy all the little friends it brings with it.

Middle School???

Tonight was middle school open house. Middle School? Are you kidding me? There is no possible way that my smart, sweet, beautiful son should be getting ready to start middle school! Yet our presence at this event assumes that it's true.

I'm not entirely looking forward to this move. I was hoping to avoid the angst-filled teenage years, the girls, the friends, the inevitable mistakes. I was hoping to keep him young and innocent a little bit longer. I guess that's not to be, as those middle school days are surely on their way.

Happy Easter!!!

Happy Easter one and all!

Today was the annual Kiwanis Egg Hunt and, as is tradition, we took the kids. This was a bittersweet hunt, as it was Chase's last one. He's just growing up so quickly.

Anyhow ... we took the kids to the hunt this morning . Chase actually went early to do some community service time and help the Kiwanis, our BSA Charter Organization, in setting up the hunt. I picked up Tristan from his friends house, where he spent the night, and brought both of them along with me. We got there early to stake out a good starting spot. The kids waited patiently, just staring at all those eggs ripe for the picking.
Finally the time came for the horn to blow. The kids were ready ...

... and off they went. The eggs were picked up within 30 seconds and it was quickly over. We now have a nice little pile of candy and Easter goodies that the kids received. Tristan even won a special prize - a tub of sidewalk chalk. They had a great time and we were thankful that it didn't rain on us. It was a nice hunt this year.

Happy Birthday Brian!!!

A huge HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Brian who is celebrating 35 years today! Are we seriously that old? (OK, I'm not that old yet ... I still have a few more months.) Anyways, it's his big day and I just wanted to say Happy Birthday to the most wonderful man alive. I love you!

Uppercase Living

I am totally in love with Uppercase Living right now. They are this company that makes expressions for your walls. They rub on and are so wonderful looking. I had a party last month and here are some of the goodies I have ...

This sign hangs on Carissa's door. The butterfly and the name are from Uppercase. I love that you can do customs!
This is one of the first ones I bought. It's on a mirror in Carissa's room. I added the crown and pearls in the center of the flowers.This one is on the big wall in our front room. We have family pics on either side of it. It looks awesome and is my fave so far.This is a custom that I made. It's on the wall between in our great room area, sort of by the kitchen.
OK, I take it back. This is my fave. No pics in the frames yet, but there will be some soon. This hangs in our hallway near the bathroom and above a cabinet. And just so you don't think the boys are left out, they have their Uppercase items too. For some reason I just haven't photographed them yet. Tristan has a dragon (his fave thing right now) hanging on his wall in the middle of all his Taekwondo medals. Chase has his name and a skull & crossbones above his bed. He also has a saying he picked out himself. It says "Change your thoughts and you change the world."

I love these so much! I love picking colors that match my decor and sayings that are meaningful. I have more to put up and I'll share those later. I'm even having a catalog party, since they have an awesome sale right now. Visit http://hatties.uppercaseliving.net/ if you're interested in them. LOVE THEM!

I was at the scrapbook convention today and both my friend Jenn and later my step-mom Linda said they had seen a layout of mine in a magazine recently. It reminded me that I hadn't posted a list of recent and upcoming publications of mine. So I thought I'd throw this list out in case you want to see my work. :)

Memory Makers - Jan/Feb 2009
"Puppy Love"
"I Love This"

Scrapbooks Etc. - Feb/Mar 2009
"Winter Lodge:

Scrapbooks Etc. - Apr 2009
"Everyday Violet"

Memory Makers – May 2009
“Like Father, Like Son”
“Sew Thankful”

Simple Scrapbooks - May/June 2009
"Pearls of Wisdom"

Scrapbooking & Beyond – Spring 2009
“A Passion for Pet Shop”
“Cubs Softball”

I already have more scheduled for later this year too. :)

He's sweet on her ...

Who could resist this cutie? Certainly not Tyten. He's her first Valentine...

Tyten sends notes to Carissa every day. "Will you be my Valentine?" "I love you." She just giggles and shows them to me. Every sticker he earns he gives to her. She says "I don't know why he's always giving them to me," but she smiles while she says it. He insisted on buying her this special bear for Valentines Day. She adores it. He's sweet on her... and I think she likes it.

The Pixley's Update

My baby is 8! Carissa had her birthday on January 29 and turned the grand old age of 8. She had quite a barrage of birthdays this year - at home with us and grandma on her actual birthday, then this party with all her friends 2 days later:

followed by grandparents coming over the next day for her and grandpa over the day after that. The girl had more cake that week then she usually gets in a year. But alas, the celebrations have come and gone. Thank goodness! LOL

Chase is totally into music these days. He found his MP3 player and since then this is what we see. He's sure growing up and growing into his own person.

Tristan got new glasses. He actually ended up with the same exact frames as Brian did. He insisted I take photos of his new glasses. It only took me 2 months (and a reminder from him), but I finally did it.

Speaking of glasses, check out these beauties:

They donned these 3D glasses for some commercials during the Superbowl. We had a great time watching the Superbowl on our big new plasma TV. We always love the commercials. And it was an AWESOME game. Gotta love that.

Tristan is playing his first season of basketball this year. He's been a trooper ... doing double-duty with basketball practice and Taekwondo practice twice each week. He's doing pretty well and has made several baskets. He's really starting to get agressive too. I love that and am so proud of how he is doing. Here he is making his first ever basket.

Chase is doing awesome in scouts. He was the first of his group to achieve his First Class rank (YEAH CHASE!) and he earned another 3 merit badges. He's been working very, very hard at it and I'm proud of how much dedication and work he's put into it. Way to go!

I got a new camera. Brian bought me a Nikon d60. I love it! I have a lot to learn, but I'm excited about learning and taking better photos. Here's one I took of that rascal dog of Brian's.

Update Again

You can always tell when I've uploaded and edited photos because that's when I do an update. I just got done editing and I have lots of pictures to share. Here's what has been happening in our lives this past month.


Chase got to be a ball boy at the Blazers game. This came about 4 days into the snowstorm and we were so worried about him being able to go. But we took our time and made it their safely. Chase had a great time. He got to rebound balls during warmups and half time and got some primo seats right next to where the TV cameras are. We all went and supported him by being there. It was a SUPERB game and Brandon Roy scored his big 52 points that night. Quite a fun and unique experience for a 12 year old. Our huge thanks go out to Leo Hillyer from Hillyer's Mid-City Ford in Woodburn, who sponsored Chase, and to Grandpa who organized the whole thing with Leo.

The kids all had their school programs before the snow hit. Chase had a principle role in the 6th grade program, playing Purplebeard the pirate. His beard bothered him the whole time, but he did a great job!



Tristan and Carissa had a Christmas program at their school. Both had special parts to play. Carissa got to play the tempo blocks -- doesn't she look happy??? -- and Tristan was the head chimney sweep -- he really did an awesome job and stole the show!!!





I'm so thankful we were able to go get our tree before the snow hit. It took us nearly a week before we had time to decorate it. As always, the kids did the decorating and we did the watching. They did a great job and had fun doing it.





Oh yes, the snow. We had snow -- lots of it. It was novel and fun for about 3 or 4 days and then the kids were quickly getting bored with it. They did take time to play outside quite a bit though, making tiny snowmen when we had only 5" of snow,



attemping to inner tube down the somewhat icy driveway,



and finally building a big snowman when the snow got over a foot deep. Special thanks go out to Aunt Patti who picked us some fresh carrots on Thanksgiving, the last of which was used as the snowmans nose. It's WAYYYY better than the baby carrots we always have in the fridge. Somehow those just don't do justice as a snowman nose.

Anyways, this snowman was a big item of contention between Carissa and boys. The boys, as always, refer to the snowman as "Frosty". Carissa however wanted a girl snowman so she put a pink hat and scarf on it and called it "Frostina". Well, every so often the boys would run out, take the pink gear off and put a blue hat on so it could be "Frosty" again. Carissa would get so frustrated and run outside and put the pink gear on and make her "Frostina". Over and over this went until finally the snow started melting and her head fell off. LOL







Oh yes, Christmas time is here. The kids were all excited for the big day. We told them they couldn't get up until 5am and Tristan was at our bedside at 5:01. I think Carissa could have slept in and Chase might have lasted another hour or so, but Tristan was ready to go. He made a little noise and the other two were up and ready to see what Santa brought. We all went into the front room together to see the goodies. Chase got a new red Nintendo DS, Tristan got a mountain bike that he'd been wanting and Carissa got a digital camera, which she has put to good use since getting.



After enjoying the Santa gifts and stocking goodies we moved on to our presents for the kids. We take our time, one child after another, and enjoyed all our goodies.




Later in the day, after we'd had time for breakfast and to play with the new gifts, our families came over. First were Mom and Jim. They brought more presents and goodies (including peanut butter balls and rocky road ... YUM!) and hung out to play and chat. We also took the time to play with Carissa's new camera and snap some family shots. Tried to get pics of the white christmas behind us but it really got all washed out. Mom and Jim left when Chase and I took off to volunteer at the Senior Center.



It was quite a drive to the senior center. It's only 3 miles from the house but the abundance of snow made passing some of the streets impossible. I ended up taking the LONG way around, but we made it there nonetheless. He and I volunteered a few hours plating meals, serving dessert and cleaning up after those seniors who showed up. We also packed Meals On Wheels boxes for the seniors who couldn't get out.


We came back here to the house in time for Dad and Linda and Brian's parents come over. More presents ensued and more yummy goodies were shared. It was great to see everybody and to enjoy time with family. The kids had so many new things to play with and wear and Brian and I even got a few fun things. It was a long day, but it was a really wonderful Christmas.

After New Years we took a few days to go to Bremerton to visit Jimmy and his family. Randal is such a cutie and it was nice to have time to enjoy him in a calmer situation. He really took to the kids, who kept him entertained and loved to watch out for him. They played with him and his toys for hours. Virginia, Jimmy, Brian and I had lots of time to talk and catch up and snuck in some RockBand along the way.

The kids favorite part about the trip, besides seeing Randal, was getting to see Uncle Jimmy's ship. He is stationed on the USS Stennis and will soon be leaving for several months. But the ship was at dock so he took us for a tour. He showed the kids where he stands down below to do one of his jobs and the "bubble" he works in when he's actually catapolting the planes off the ship. He even let the kids try on his safety gear for when he's on the flight deck. Check them out ... aren't they adorable???

OK, that's it for now. More life moments to share at a later time. Take care to all our friends and family.

Random Quote ...

I haven't found much time to post lately, but I saw this quote today and just had to share it with you, especially my dog-loving friends and family members. I love my animals and especially my chocolate lab Tucker. So when I saw this quote I thought of him.

He is your friend, your partner, Your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, To the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion.

A note from Aunt Patti reminded me that I haven't updated my blog in FOREVER. Life just seems to have done what it always does and has occupied my time. I haven't even had time to scrap lately... which is totally sad.

Well, on the good news front Brian is back to work after his broken hand. He went back last week and I'm so glad that he's well again. We're starting to settle down into a routine again now that he's back, although I truly miss all the housework he did while he was off.

The kids lives are what keep me most busy these days. Chase has swimming 3 days a week right now, trying to get him to a point where he can pass the BSA swim test and advance to his next rank. It's been a challenge but he's working very hard at it. He also has Boy Scouts once a week, where I serve as the advancement coordinator. Starting in the new year I'll be driving him to Portland for drama classes too.

Tristan is the one with the busiest social schedule right now. I had this great idea to get the kids all into swim lessons this month before all the basketball craziness started .... yet the basketball craziness started sooner than I anticipated. So the boy is busy. Two days a week he has swimming. Two other days a week he has Taekwondo and gets to rush home for dinner before heading to basketball. Then on Saturdays he's got TKD competition team training and, starting in January, basketball games. I know it's a lot, but he's really doing well with it all. He just wouldn't give up TKD but wanted to try basketball before it got really competative so he's doubling up with both this season. His schedule will get much easier after swimming is complete this week.

Carissa has swimming twice a week too and hers will also be over at the end of the week. She started a new dance class this month and will be starting 4-H Adventurers soon too. Her activities are only once a week so she has plenty of time to hang out with her friends and make big messes around the house. LOL

Now, the other sidenote to this is that the boys both want to join 4-H dogs. I really love the idea of 4-H and spent nearly my entire teenage years doing 4-H horses. I think the boys would learn a lot from doing 4-H and our dogs certainly could use a little more in the way of manners. Win-win, right? But with these schedules I'm just not sure it's possible. I guess we'll wait and see.

Well, it's time for a little catch-up. Let's see, what have I missed??? The big thing was Thanksgiving. Jimmy & Virginia came down from their new home in Washington for a few days. It's my first time seeing them since they came back to the states and I was excited to see Randal. Last I saw him he was 4 months old and now he's a rambunctious 1 1/2 year old. We had a good but busy Thanksgiving at my Grandma's house, where she served up lots of yummy goodies to a group of 14. Of course she made my favorite ... marionberry pie! YUMMMMM!!! The day after Thanksgiving was, as always, an early one for me. Did my black friday shopping, Brian did his. We were both successful in getting what we wanted. Mom came over that morning and shopped with me, joining me in line at 5am after her 1 hour drive to my place. It was fun shopping with her. Jimmy, Virginia and Randal (oh, and can't forget Stanley the dog too) came over later that day for some family time and a mini-celebration for my Mom's 60th birthday. Mom had fun pushing Randal around and Virginia, Jimmy and I rocked the Rockband for a while. It was fun. We were sorry to tell them goodbye but we're looking forward to going to see them up at their place on Jan. 1.

Oh yes, the annual Christmas tree adventure. We went hunting for our own tree and decided to go for a noble fir this year. We've never had one and always wanted one, but the tree farm we usually go to only has dinky ones so we always end up with a Douglad fir instead. Well not this year. We went on a mission to find a nice noble and we did. We found one so nice that it was too big for our house! Not to worry, we trimmed a bit here and there and it looks wonderful. The great thing about this year was that Brian is working on passing the tree-cutting torch on to the boys. Chase got down there and did a bit of sawing on the tree this year. Next year I expect he'll do a bit more and before long he'll be doing it all on his own. The kids all helped Brian haul the tree out. I, as always, am exempt from the cutting, hauling and other dirty work so I can take pictures. Sometimes I love my job! LOL

Now, as to our current life, here it is ...

coated in white and pretty as can be. But boy, is it icy. I'm not really keen to drive in this and thankfully the schools are closed (which means my preschool is closed too ... YEAH!). The kids are REALLY EXCITED about getting out in the weather and having fun. Poor Carissa hasn't had a lot of time to do it as she is getting over a horribly bad cold and I just can't see her getting all chilled and wet when she's recovering. So she only got to go our for about an hour today. She took full advantage of her chance to try to catch falling snowflakes. She wasn't so successful ... LOL.The boys spent several hours out there playing and enjoying the snow that comes but a few times each year.

I have the best husband in the world.

Seriously, I do. Not only is he up with me right now (at a startling 4:25 am) but we're splitting up and he's and braving WalMart alone on Black Friday. He's on a mission for a gift for his daughter from the big guy. I don't think he's ever done this before in our 14 years of marriage and I am just so thankful for him and the sacrifice he's making. He is NOT a morning person but is bravely traversing WalMart with throngs of people at 5am because he's just so wonderful. Gotta love it.

I am headed to Fred Meyer now (the only other store in our area! LOL) for the half-price socks, robes, slippers, sheets, Christmas lights and whatever else I happen upon.

Wish us luck finiding what we want this very early morning.

Twilight ...

So the premier was great. Jenn and I went out for an appetizer and to sit and chat then wandered over to the theater about 11pm. We got in line with my friend and co-worker, Melinda, and her group. They saved us from being WAYYYYY in the back of that huge line. The newsstations were all there with their satellite trucks and cameras just taking pictures and talking to fans. Since it was filmed locally a few of the stars were there - two guys who played Quilete Indians (including the person who plans Sam Uley) and the woman who plays the waitress at the diner. I didn't care overmuch about that but it made it a little more fun.

We got hustled into the theater about 11:20 and got settled into some great seats. The theater filled pretty quickly, despite the fact that it was HUGE. They opened a second theater to accomodate all the fans. As soon as the movie started everybody started screaming and clapping. Some of that continued throughout the show. There was quite a bit of ooohing and aaaahing and laughing going on. Any time one of the local stars came on screen (they were watching in our theater) people would yell. Whenever Edward came on with one of his looks people would start screaming. It was quite an experience.

I loved being there with all the fans but will definitely be seeing this again when the furvor dies down a little bit. Sometimes I didn't want the screams and the laughs, sometimes I just wanted to enjoy the movie in peace and get into the story. So I'll be seeing it again.

Now, as for my review ...
The movie is nowhere near as good as the book, but then again they never area. I'm wondering how much someone would be able to follow the movie if they had not read the book.
I thought overall the actors were well chosen. Jacob, who I thought I wouldn't like based on pics I'd seen, was absolutely wonderful. I'm really curious as to how they're going to make him into the big burly Jacob that he becomes. Hmmmm.
What's up with the funny looking Cullens? I know that they have to make them super-white and all but their hair was horribly fake looking. Jasper was absolutely freaky looking. Ugh. Carlisle wasn't good either. Esme and Alice were brilliant and I liked Emmett and Rosalie well enough.

Overall I think the movie was good but could be WAYYYY better if they had a bigger budget.

Another tidbit to add - the entire Port Angeles scene was filmed in the town next to ours. Part of the movie shows the Columbia Theater in the background, our little tiny and old theater that we love to go to. So that was neat.

And good news to end this all off - Summit has announced that they are moving forward on filming New Moon. Hopefully we'll see that one in theaters in the next year or two. WAHOO!!!

Tonights the Night!!!

We've had tickets for weeks and weeks and tonight is FINALLY the night! TWILIGHT!!! Jenn and I are going to Portland for a midnight showing tonight. I'm so excited! Of course, that means staying out until 3am and then getting up at 7am for work, but it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make. Hopefully it's as wonderful as the books!

A little late ...

... since Halloween has long since come and gone, but the kids were all decked out and had a wonderful Halloween night. It was beautiful weather, dry and not too cold, so we spent time trick-or-treating our neighborhood and then stayed home to hand out candy. We had a budget-costume year and I spent under $10 all together.

Carissa was a monarch butterfly so I purchased her wings and she wore black leggings, long-sleeve shirt and black w/white dot dress on top. A headband with pipe cleaners and pom-poms formed her antennae.

Tristan was a ninja and wore an outfit that Uncle Jimmy brought back for him from a trip several years ago. I bought him a mask and a $1 glow stick sword.

Chase wore his pig costume from 2 years ago, when he played Wilbur in Charlotte's Web. Easy and unique.

Here they are all dressed up for the big night. :)

Of course, Halloween isn't complete without some pumpkins. Here are their handmade creations this year. Chase made this nice face:

Tristan, being told he couldn't make it into a dragon, opted for a bat pumpkin instead:

Carissa went all girly with hearts galore:

They looked so nice glowing on Halloween night.

Top 5 for Today

Something that I saw on the Playground of Memories message board and thought I'd post here too. Here's my top 5 good and bad things for today.

The Bad
1. DH broke his hand doing Taekwondo last week. He's grumpy and whiny and off work for 4-6 weeks. He's going to have to use all his stored time to get through the time off.
2. I have SO MUCH work at the preschool to do. Evals for conferences are top on my list along with curriculum for the coming weeks. SO MUCH WORK.
3. I have no time to scrapbook. I'm trying, really I am, but when I've got so much other work to do it's hard to concentrate on that. And I so want to scrapbook.
4. Tonight is the benefit for Tristan's best friend who is very sick (but doing better) and we really have no money to give to them.
5. Chase's teacher is seriously annoying me. At conferences I told her that he wasn't getting challenged and that I didn't want him to come home with A's on every assignment without even trying. She looked at me like I had 2 heads and hasn't done a single thing to challenge him. GRRRRR.

The Good
1. At least DH has sick leave, vacation and comp time enough for his weeks off. We won't have to live without $$ at least
2. My best friend Bek is visiting from Arizona. I hadn't seen her in almost 2 years and I truly, truly missed her!
3. My little brother and his family have returned from their stint in Italy. They've been gone several years and I've seen them only once in that time. Now he's stationed in Washington and it's only 3 1/2 hours to go see him. And now I can get to know my nephew too.
4. I'm counting down the days until the Twilight movie. I can't wait!!!
5. My house is clean. We cleaned it fully twice, once for Bek coming over and the other for when I hosted book club. That really clean thing sticks around for a while and I love that.

I feel like this today ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2W4EBoQmWPs

I am having a happy-happy, joy-joy moment because Bek is coming to visit! I haven't seen her in a year and a half, since she moved to Arizona, and she's coming back to the NW for a funeral. And while I'm sad that someone died, I am SOOOOO excited to see her. YIPPEE!!!

For love of a rat

For love of a rat we stop everything when we realize the rat is sick.

For love of a rat we spend $50 on vet bills to diagnose it's pneumonia.

For love of a rat we give it shots in it's little tiny leg muscles twice a day.

For love of a rat we do everything we can to make sure Tristan's best friend survives.

All for love of a rat.

The friend update...

More good news from the friend front. Tristan's friend flew to San Diego to have surgery and that seemed to go well. He's on the mend. Not that he'll ever be quite the same but he is on his way up. We're so glad that he's doing better.

Happy Halloween!!!

Happy Halloween from our family to yours. Hope you had a great one!

Love,
Chase the pig, Carissa the monarch butterfly and Tristan the ninja

Our news

So, here's the new news from our household:

That lovely looking thing on Brian's arm is his temporary cast for his newly broken hand. He took a kick right in the hand during a Taekwondo sparring match on Tuesday. He said it hurt but being the manly man that he is he kept one, sparring (and winning) 5 more rounds. Then he did forms and self-defense until his hand really started to hurt. By the time we got home we had decided to take him to urgent care where he was promptly seen, x-rayed and given this lovely cast. Now he's enjoying (or not enjoying, as the case may be) his 4-6 week vacation from work. Hopefully all will go well and he'll heal quickly and correctly. We're keeping our fingers crossed that all goes well and he can return to work soon.

There's something to be said for having one kid ...

Not that I have a lot of experience here. I haven't had one kid since before Chase turned 2 years old. But this weekend was just for Tristan and it was a wonderful change.

Tristan had a TKD tournament this weekend and the other two would get sooooo bored sitting there all day long just watching match after match after match so they opted to go to Grandma & Grandpa's house. They headed over there last night and as soon as they left I hustled Tristan off to bed. I knew that he wouldn't get much sleep because he gets so excited about the tournament.

He was up and at 'em this morning for a nice healthy breakfast and then got all dressed to go. We let the dogs in the house just before we left and the moron of a dog (i.e. Jack) jumped on him with wet, muddy paws. DOH! Dirty pawprints on his white uniform and not time to clean them. I did the best I could with a wet washrag but I was ready to wring that dogs neck this morning!

Tristan had 2 events at this tournament. His first was forms, which he has been working very hard at. He's been practicing and practicing and practicing. He did very well for himself and gave a great show, getting 3rd out of the 7 in his group. He was thrilled with his well-deserved bronze medal. He received a bronze in sparring too, though he had to repeat his first match because of a technical scoring button malfunction.

After the tournament we let our little champion chose lunch and went on to have pizza at Flying Pie. YUMMY. Then it was off to Toys R Us where he was dying to use the $3 gifcard Toys R Us sent him for his birthday. He bought a Bakugan toy (don't ask ... it's his current obsession and I am totally clueless).

We made our way home and spent the evening playing a fun game of Mario Party 8. When Brian turned in early (he has to get up at 5am) Tristan and I got in bed with him and just layed down and talked for a while. It was a fun day and a great chance for Tristan to have us all to himself. Of course, he does profess to being "bored without Chase". But I think he secretly loved being our one and only for the day.

And life goes on...

I know I haven't written anything since my last sad post. I must admit the just thinking about it makes me sad still. The good news is that we did get to go visit the friend and he looked well. He was smiling and joking and just being himself. But as his dad said to me on my way out, "you could never imagine from looking at him how fragile he is inside". So we're continuing to keep Tristan's friends in our thoughts.

Of course, from my own selfish side of this I am just so sad for Tristan. This boy was probably his best friend and I think the feeling is mutual. Tristan has so few friends that he truly cherishes and this boy is one of those. I feel bad that he is worried about his friend and that he is having to deal with not having him around. I know that this is nothing compared to what his family is dealing with, both now and in the future. I just hope for a miracle to change the possible outcome.

On to other things is life, because life continues despite this all. We went to the Blazers fan night a week or two ago and had a good time. We were a little late and ended up in the nosebleed section, but the kids didn't care. Here they are...

Beyond that it's just getting read for Halloween and looking forward to Christmas. I can't help but think about how quickly this year has flown... and Christmas is just over 2 month away. Wow. Better get shopping...

Today I write with a heavy heart. It's a day that has made me happy to have my kids to hold, to have them safe and warm in their beds, to have them healthy and happy in their bodies.

One of Tristan's very best friends is gravely ill. He was doing well, living his happy life. He is a wonderful kid, kind and caring and fun. Tristan has few good friends yet somehow these two linked, they just "got" each other. I think that's part of what makes it so hard.

Tristan had been over to his friends house and had enjoyed playing in the orchards with him, picking and tossing apples and playing "scuba man" together. He has come to our house where they ate ice cream bars and jumped on the trampoline together. He was supposed to come visit our house one day about two weeks ago and his mother called to say that he was sick. Well he never came back to school and we later found out that he was in the hospital.

Fast forward to today when I talked to his Dad. This friend is sick. Not just flu sick, not something curable that he'll get over sick. He is SICK. He is change-your-life-forever sick. He is never-going-to-jump-on-the-trampoline-again sick. And it's breaking my heart.

I remember how hard it was on me, at age 27, to lose my best friend. I can't imagine having to deal with it at Tristan's age. Or even worse, how to deal with it as a parent. That's not to say that there's not hope. There is. There's hope that a miracle could happen, that a drug could be found to help, that his life could be longer than his dad made it seem. But the opposite could also be true. And that's what gets me.

So, as I was reminded today by his dad, I am urging you to go give your kids a huge hug. Hug them hard, hug them long, and think again how lucky you are to have them in your life.

The Big 5-0

Oh yes ... it's the big 5-0. No, I'm not 50... yet. But I do want to shout out for my milestone today -- I received a request for my 50th published layout! Wahoo!!!

The Good, The Bad and The Sickies

The Good:
The new school opens tomorrow. I'm so excited. I've put a lot of work into making it look like a classroom and I think the kids are really going to like it. And I'm so excited about teaching there this year. Of course, this could also be construed as the bad, seeing as how I'm feeling quite a bit stressed about it all right now. But that will calm down once classes start and we're back in our normal flow.

The Bad:
My toe hurts. So does my ankle. So does the arch of my foot. Oh, and all on the right foot, wouldn't you know. TaeKwonDo is giving my body a bit of a beating. The arch has been hurting on and off even before TKD and the ankle is from an old riding accident that bothers me now and again. But the toes is all my fault - jammed it today but incorrectly kicking during a sparring match. Thankfully it just hurts and doesn't seem to be broken, but ouch!

The Sickies:
Oh yes, it is that time of year again. Carissa was sick Friday. Chase got it this morning. Tristan came home with it today. Thankfully it's just a fever, headache and balance/dizziness issues. No puking, so that's a positive. And Carissa's passed in a day so I'm hoping the boys do too. But for now I've got a couple of sickies on my hands.

Now that school is back in it seems like life is in fast-forward again. The days go by so quickly. I can't believe it's almost October!

Yes, life for us is busy. Thus is the life of parents of 3. Monday is Boy Scouts for Chase. Tuesday is Campfire for Carissa and TaeKwonDo (TKD) for all 5 of us. Wednesday is nothing yet, but Carissa is debating between Hip Hop dance classes or piano lessons, both of which are on Wednesday (and will probably replace the TKD that she hasn't fallen in love with). Thursdays are TKD again ... in the afternoon for the kids and in the evening for Brian and I. Fridays are blessedly wonderful no-commitment days. Our Saturdays usually consist of Competition Team TKD practice for Tristan and the occasional Boy Scout event for Chase. Then Sunday rolls around and we all just like to relax and decompress before starting the week over again.

Add to this the time I'm putting in right now to get the new preschool up and running. Wow ... it's a lot of work. But classes start on Wed. and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that all goes smoothly.

So there you are, our life in a nutshell. Busy, yes, but also wonderful and happy.

Allow me to gloat...

Just indulge me a little Mommy moment here please.

So Chase joined Boy Scouts in February and has taken to it quite well. He enjoys the camping and outdoors activities. He went to summer camp for the first time as a Boy Scout this summer and worked really hard when I was there. He earned 4 merit badges while at camp. Then he came home and finished the partial one that he had from camp. Then he earned one more. He also completed all the activities to advance to his next rank.


So along comes Court of Honor, which is the big hoopla ceremony to award the boys the badges that they've earned in the last 6 months. Not only did Chase get his Tenderfood rank, one of four who got it -- two who joined the same time didn't even get it.



Chase also earned six merit badges. Six. Read 'em and weep. This kid had the most merit badges of the 25 kids in his troop. I'm so proud of him and he is thrilled for himself. The next day we went out and bought him the much coveted merit badge sash, which you can't wear until you've earned at least 5 badges. There's boys who have been in the troop a year longer than him who still don't have it. He proudly wore it to his next meeting.


OK, so there's my Mommy gushing for today. ;)

My newest craving

Well, I can't call it an obsession since that title is still claimed by the "Twilight" series, which I just got done reading *again*. But lately this has been my favorite food.



Fresh pineapple. Yummmmm. I've been eating it on everything. Chicken sandwiches. Burgers. With cottage cheese. Fresh out of the fridge. Any way I can get it I'm eating it. I probably have polished off two pineapples in the last month -- all by myself. I do take comfort in the fact that at least it's a healthy food I'm craving and not my normal hazelnut chocolate or that yummy zucchini bread that calls to me from the freezer (and can only be eaten warm and covered with butter).

First Day of School

This was one of the easiest first days of school ever, at least for Carissa and Tristan. They were headed back to the same teachers in the same classrooms of the same school. That's the advantage of a small school with blended classrooms. The only "new" thing for them was the handful of kids in the grade lower than them who are now in their classroom. It was a stress and worry free day for them and I love that!

Carissa dressed in her, as Brian called it, "child of the 80's" look for her first day of 2nd grade. It had to be a skirt, of course, along with a Camp Rock t-shirt and leggings. She even chose out Keds as some of her school shoes, though they are a bit different than the Keds I used to wear way back in the 80's. Now, the Camp Rock thing is something she's absolutely in to lately. She's loves all that Disney bubble gum pop stuff right now -- Camp Rock, High School Musical, Jonas Brothers, etc. I must admit that I like it too ... cute movies with lots of great songs and good messages. Anyways, she is fake-posing for the camera because she just wants to get to school!

Tristan is all about the dragons this year. Dragons for his room, for his backpack, for his t-shirts. He loves them! He also requested that I spike up the front of his hair for the first day of school. Of course, I don't even think he's brushed it since then, let alone asked for it spiked again. But it was cute for the first day. He's leaned out a lot this year, partly becaues he's grown taller and partly because his TaeKwonDo keeps him really active. As a matter of fact, I just realized that he's only inches away from being able to do the splits. He was feet away from the floor when he started TKD but he has gained a lot of flexibility and is doing awesome! Here he is, off to his first day of 4th grade.If there was a "hard" first day of school this year it would be for Chase. We spent all summer in limbo, not knowing if he was going to be attending the school in town or the small island school where he'd take his chances on a new teacher that was hopefully better than the last two, neither of which lasted more than one school year. The Friday before school started they finally called with his teacher assignment ... the teacher we had hoped for at the school in town. With that settled he started to get a little nervous, worried that he wouldn't know many of the kids and would be starting over again. He had no reason to be worried though. Three of his good friends are in that class and he knew nearly everyone there to some extent. He picked right back up where he'd left off before leaving the schools in town and by the end of the first day he was happy to be back here in town.

6th grade is his final year in intermediate school and next year he goes to middle school (ACK!). He chose a lot of skull stuff this year ... skull t-shirts, a skull hoodie, etc. Very "mature" and not "cartoonish" things too. My, how he's growing! We had to buy him mens sized shoes for the first time this year and he has eeked above his brother in height again, which thrills him to no end. He's getting all grown-up on up so quickly! And yes, I do realize that he has one yellow shoelace and one white one. Apparently that's "cool". I don't get it ... LOL.

Wahoo!!!

My neighbor fixed the problem (I needed a new power source) and I have my computer back!!! YEAH! I was getting worried about the fact that my bills and my checkbook and everything are on the computer. Thankfully it has returned before payday. Wahoo!

That also means that I can finally post all the things that happened recently. So look for those posts soon.

I'd love to update...

I'd love to post pics of the first day of school and tell you all about it. I'd love to share Chase's first Boy Scout Court of Honor. I'd love to, but I can't. My computer is broken. Yup, that's a technical term, at least for me who knows nothing about them. It was working one minute. Turned it off. Wouldn't turn on the next day. That's it. And yes, it is plugged in.

The one thing I can tell you is about my exciting new position. Tinkertime Preschool is opening up a second school, this one in my hometown (instead of the next town over). Tinkertime Too will be opening in October sometime and guess who the teacher will be ... MOI!!! I'm excited. I'm teaching this year but in a co-teach position. This will be me, teaching in the hometown that I love, at a new little school and with a class of my own. I'm soooooo excited! There's a lot of do to get it going but soon enought I'll be working just a mile away from the house. YEAH!!!

Well, that's all you get for now, at least until my neighbor (hopefully) gives me a prognosis on my busted computer. Take care all.

Just had to share

This was one of the shots I got while we were off exploring Sauvie Island on the last day of summer. I just love it ...

14 years.

14 years! 14 years? Have I really been married for 14 years? I'm too young to have been married that long. Whoa ... reality check. Guess I'm not. Guess I'm really that old and have really been married for 14 years. Unbelieveable.

As I've gushed about time and again, I am so blessed to have Brian in my life. He is such a wonderful man, such a loving father, such a caring and strong husband. He is everything I have ever wanted and even more. We've been through 14 years of marriage. It hasn't always been rainbows and butterflies. We've lived through devestatingly tough times and also unbelievably, overwhelmingly happy times. Somehow we've made it through 14 years together and still love and adore one another. Today, on our 14th anniversary, I am proud to be his wife and partner and to have such a wonderful man by my side in this journey of life.

Forever Summer

This is it. The last afternoon, the last day, the last moments of summer. We spent them outside, freely exploring the outdoors and enjoying each other. No worries about what tomorrow brings -- new teachers, new classmates, new schoolwork -- just eagerly soaking up the final rays of this sun-soaked season. In moments like this I mourn the end of summer, the end of relaxed and carefree, the end of unscheduled and unrequired. In moments like this I wish it could be forever summer.