AVATAR ROCKS!!!!

I almost didn't see this movie, cuz people told me that Avatar was an alien Dances with Wolves. I hated that ending of that movie on so many levels, but I knew I wanted to see it if anything for the graphics so we went. But I was happily surprised. Avatar was very good and far surpassed my expectations. (Never fear!!! Quite literally these wolves can bite back.)

I loved the amazing imagination of this world. The animation was incredible!!!!!! (And I didn't even get to see it in 3-D - though I may have gotten vertigo on some of the flying scenes or at some of the cliff edges/tree limbs.) The "sex" scene is G (french kissing and some groping). One bad word - bitch. You do see people and blue guys die but not overly done or added gross factor.

Overall - Avatar is a solid A and if you can see it the theater you should. (Best gift card I've used yet this Christmas.) Definitely worth going to see!!!! Some of the comments from my FB friends was that it "restored their faith in Hollywood" and I totally agree. Good plot, great characters, amazing animation, and "not a totally sucky ending." (I don't want to ruin it so I'll leave it at that.)

The Ultimate

I saw the funniest sign the other day. I had to double check to make sure what I was reading was correct.

It was one of those the big lighted outside signs for an old grocery store in a “one horse town” on a little back woods state highway.

It advertised something to the effect that the “Go Get ‘Em” had:

Gas, Groceries, Tanning, Body Toning AND you could get your Chainsaws Sharpened there.

Now that’s what I call a Pacific NW small town one stop shop!!!

Fall Sports Abound

We are completely in the throes of fall sports. Most nights we don't get home until 7pm or later. (Well, I don't get home then but we're all on different schedules so it's really more accurate to say that we ALL don't get home until about 8pm.) The nice thing about middle school sports is that practices are right after school and NO GAMES ON SATURDAY!!!!




M is playing middle school soccer. All that conditioning with high school team over the summer has paid off and she is one of the starting midfielders and is one of the goalies. They've had a pretty good season so far. She is also reff'ing 3 or 4 of the recreation league games on Saturdays. (Just when I could chortle about soccer free saturdays! oh well, she gets paid pretty good to do it and she loves it so its good for her.)






B is playing middle school volleyball and is on the 7th grade team. This is a new sport for most of the girls so there has been a slight adjustment for them, but it hasn't really affected their record. Ithink they've only lost 1 match so far. B even got an ACE in Tuesday's game. She was very excited! B is also on the yearbook and school newspaper. She took this picture of her teammates at Tuesday's game.

C is playing Cowlitz League (youth football - NOT pop warner). He has been one of the starting linemen all season. In fact he has been playing almost every down (only break is when the 2nd string defense is out there.) He is the starting center and sometimes tackle on offense and kick offs. He is the starting nose guard for defense and kick returns. He's loving it and the coach would like to work with him a little bit on learning some new positions.

So sorry we've dropped off the face of the earth. Right now with the various committees I'm on and the organizations, activities and sports the kids are doing, we are super crazy booked. (Even Sunday's I've usually triple booked in the evenings and usually booked solid through the day.) Crazy Fall Schedule!!!

Fall Funnies

Every morning, one of the local radio stations announces what are the “official designations” for that day are, such as Flag Day (June 14th) or Grandparents Day (September 9th), etc.,. I was inspired by yesterday’s designations. My inspiration is as follows….


September 22, 2009

Dear Diary,
Today, I saw a White Chocolate Elephant on this record setting First day of Fall.

Designation Translation: It was Dear Diary Day, White Chocolate Day and Elephant Appreciation day. Yesterday was the first day of Fall and it set a new record for the Portland Metro area. This year, we have had more 90 degree days than ever before. Yesterday was the 25th day that was 90+ degrees this year with a BUNCH of 89 degree days which didn’t count. (I must say that I was VERY happy to come home to my nice cool house yesterday evening. – I’m very grateful that finally my air conditioning seems to be working correctly.) Though I must say a 93 degree day in late September feels differently than a 93 degree day in July. (It seems to cool off quickly now days.)

First Day of School - 2009

It's that time of year again. (It seemed to sneak up on us this year. We were good until the weekend and got so focused on all the "little projects" that it seemed to all of a sudden "Bam!! School is here.)

Here's some pix of the kids before the first day of school. Wow! They have really grown up.

M is a 8th grader this year and is one of the Orientation Crew Leaders. Wow! She's got a lot of stuff. I bet she's going to be very smart by tonight. We already put her Sax in the car - I'm taking that since there was too much to bring on the bus.

B is a 7th grader this year. Doesn't she look so pretty!!!!

She's pretty excited for her journalism class.

C is a 5th grader this year. He is sooo excited for school to start!!! He almost did a back flip when he found out that 3 of his 4 best friends are in his class. (Pray for those teachers.)

Miracle at Home Depot!

Yes Virginia, it's true! I experienced a modern day miracle Friday afternoon!!!

I went into Home Depot for a couple quick items and ACTUALLY had 4 (count them FOUR) male Home Depot associates stop their conversations, walk up to me (a mere woman in a business suit) and ASK if there was anything they could do to help me or was there anything they could help find for me.

It was SOOOO weird! Actual customer service!! It was so amazing that I didn't even have to go hunt one down and drag him off by the ear to help me, I almost went out to check and make sure I was in the right store. (All I could think was "Wow! The building business must be REALLY REALLY down if they are actually waiting on me at Home Depot.")

Early morning First Steps

Bob Ingalls, one of my FB friends is always posting inspirational sayings. I really liked this morning's quote.

"The two important things I did learn were that you are as powerful and strong as you allow yourself to be, and that the most difficult part of any endeavour is taking the first step, making the first decision.” Robyn Davidson"

May you be as powerful and as strong as you allow yourself and may your first steps be small and quick.

Sock Summit

I spent one day with my mom at the Sock Summit Market Place. (The Sock Summit is a national convention of sock knitters.) It was pretty cool. Most things were way beyond my level of experience but it was fun to be inspired. One of the booths was this crazy comic book booth. They taught you how to make super hero masks. They had several there where you could try them on and then they would take an "action" picture of you as the new super hero. Here's a pix of my mom and I hamming it up for the camera. (shock shock I know) What I want to know is how did they know what we were going to wear that day? Only the Shadow knows.....



http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3511/3799605606_9141fcf078.jpg

So we need Super Hero names..... Any suggestions?

Lost Weekend with a Twist

I had such high hopes and plans for this weekend. (I was going to cram 5-6 days worth of work into this weekend and I had some fun plans too.) The best laid plans of mice and men are laid to waste.....

Unfortunately, I got sick Friday night and never really left the bed and/or couch all day Saturday. Being so tired from the late night at the emergency room the night before didn't help either. B was also sick Friday night, all day Saturday and Sunday - she had a relapse of the crud from earlier in the week. (I'm taking her into the doctor this morning.)

Sunday: I left the house at 8am for church and wasn't home for more than 5-10 minutes at a time until 10:15pm. After church ,we came home and checked on B and changed clothes. M, C and I then met my sister and her friend in Woodland which is about 40 miles south of us. We went to my favorite U-pick berry farm and picked blueberries for an hour and half. (The kids and I got about 15 pounds. - Sure missed B -my berry picking machine) But 15 pounds is still a pretty good haul. (don't think we'll be making any blue berry jelly, since we'll probably eat or freeze all of it for personal conusmpution becasue we LOVE blueberries. In fact I had a bowl late last night when I got home. They were sooo good!!!)

After berry picking, we ran to the store and got a veggie platter and went to a combined parish picnic at Riverside Park. The kids had fun running around playing with some of the other kids. This new priest we have is really interesting. He is very young - less than 30 but he is very traditional in many ways. He wears the old fashioned clergy "costume" for casual - You know the one you see in all the old movies (pre Vatican II uniform) black pants, black cassosk that comes down to his knees and the black rounded hat. It was cool to see him out there playing the water balloon toss in his full regalia. He's kid oriented and is supportive of our idea to attend World Youth Day in Spain in 2011. That is great! So we're going to start working on a planning / fundraising meeting next week. (I really wanted to go to the one in Australia, but my kids were too young.)
After the parish picnic, we went home and checked on B who was still sick. I had M & C stay home and watch her. I had a scout committee meeting. I knew it was going to be big because we were organizing the entire year, coordinating and identifying fundraisers / assigning chairmen and their duties, in addition to the myriad details that come up for start of the year organizing. The meeting started at 5pm. Knowing how our meetings take for ever and seeing the very full agenda, I half-jokingly told M to call at 9pm to spring me. I half hoped we'd be really effiecient and done by 7 or 8pm so I could take C to get some school supplies. But no such luck!! I didn't leave until 10 pm. UGH!!!!! That's a long meeting and several were still going strong when I left.

When I got home, I had the BEST surprise waiting for me. M had spent the time while I was gone to clean my kitchen. It looked SOOOO pretty!!!! It was so nice of her. She even cleaned out a couple of my cupboards and organized the chargers and extra cords. She did a FABULOUS job. What a nice surprise! Now my weekend wasn't completely lost!

7+ hour Kenny Chesney concert

We had a blast at the Kenny Chesney Concert on August 1st at Qwest Field. I think he set a record for attendance.

Barc and me hanging out waiting for the concert. She was quite the little trooper!! (country music is not her favorite.)

CJ, Meg and Me clowning around.

Meg and Me.

Sun City Carnival....

Brooks and Dunn were AWESOME!!!! I love those guys!

They did a good show and I really enjoy their music.

Lady Antebellum kicked off the 7 hour concert.

Nose Bleed Seats in Qwest Field!

But for $20 each it was worth it! It meant we got to enjoy a fabulous lunch at Cheesecake Factory and we could see just fine. We were in the shade and could dance around and have fun.

The only down side was the loooooooonggggg hike up the ramps to get to the 3rd level.

THAT was crazy!!!!

Kenny's Concert started just as the sun went down over the Sound. It was very pretty.

WOW!!!! Kenny Chesney puts on an AMAZING show. It was non-stop for over 2 hours. (We finally had to leave at 11pm to go home. I had a 2.5 hour drive home and Chris had to finish packing for his week long scout trip. Kenny was still going strong as we got on the interstate.) Like I said....WOW what a performer!!!

Seattle Fun

We went to Seattle for the Kenny Chesney concert the first week of August. It was a lot of fun!! I really enjoyed showing the kids some of our old stomping grounds and doing some "touristy" things. We ran out of time so we didn't get to visit Pike Place Market, but did FINALLY got to go up in the Space Needle.

I took the kids to the Cheesecake Factory for lunch. We had a fabulous lunch and then enjoyed delicious cheesecake. The crazy thing is that the chocolate lover extraordinnaire - got key lime while my kiddos had about every other chocoalte version available. They were all very yummy and was a wonderful treat.

We visited the Fremont Troll.

The kids thought it was pretty cool - C really liked it... especially when he realized that it was a REAL VW bug that the troll had in his other hand.

Below are the "3 billy goats gruff" which is just below where the troll is. (I just love the sense of humor in that neighborhood.)

St Bridget's which is just a few blocks away from our little apartment near Sandpoint and Children's Hospital. This the parish where M was baptised. She loves going back and learning about her history. She is especially fascinated with the hospital she was born at.

Some of the pretty stained glass at St. Bridget's. It was a beautiful sunny Saturday morning and we really enjoyed the few moments of peace and tranquility.

The kids looking out over Elliot Bay from the Space Needle.

More Space Needle Pictures. It's been years and years since we've been up there. B has been REALLY wanting to go up for past 3 or 4 years, but always something happens and we can't. So this time we made it the priority and we had a lot of fun. It was very pretty that morning.

Over looking downtown Seattle from the Space Needle.

Where we lived when M was born. It was a great little apartment. (The carpets were a horrendous orange shag, but we had our own patio, storage area and a little yard garden.) It was close to UW and a very easy commute for me.

Craziness......

Cabin Continued

More Cabin Fun.....

B doing what she loves....

She is such a fabulous photographer. I will have to post some of her pics. Her flower artwork is amazing!!!





The "Hey Lady! Cooking Show" brought to you by Sadri and her amazing Mojito Fruit Salad.

The appreciative audience.

B frosting her German Chocolate Cake her Aunt Laura made her.
(It was YUMMY!!! )
and very pretty too.....

B is officially 12!

Meg floating with friends past the cabin.

I love this picture. The girls floating by the fly fisherman.

Cabin

Some of my favorite things while relaxing at the cabin over the 4th of July.
It has to be one of my all time favorite places in the world. (a little slice of heaven on earth) Thanks for the great times everyone. It was so nice to be able to relax and enjoy the time with my family.

Fluff & Stuff

Harley & Trooper hanging at the cabin

(Usually Trooper was "running with the big dogs")

Chris and Trooper taking a little siesta after a long day of fun playing in the river and woods.

The family waiting for the fireworks at the Lodge at Bill's Island.

(Very impressive display of pyrotechnics. )

Wild Weather....

We had a couple thunderstorms that had some good sized hail in it.

(It was a good thing we ran the last little bit of our hike - but still was soaked.)

Sunset from the deck at the cabin overlooking the Snake River.




The cabin is made for reading and relaxing which Barb is taking full advantage of.

Megan & Trooper hanging in the hammock.

Fun with Friends

Me and Bridget

When we went to Idaho this Summer, I was able to spend some time with some friends. (Like my friend Mary who has been one of my friends since kindergarten and my friend Julie.) It was really great that I was able to meet up with Bridget, my college roommate. It was so fabulous to get caught up with everyone on and their lives. I really enjoyed it and hope to see them again soon.

New Hair Do....

I'm really excited!!! I got my hair cut last night into a new style - which I LOVE!!! What's really nice is how many compliments I received today on it.
What kind of makes me chuckle is the inevitable question asking "Was it hard to cut ALL that hair off?"
No.... My outside now matches my inside.

Rocking Around The Rock

This is the "poodle skirt" featured in a previous post. B looked so cute in it as she was bee-bopping around the gym to Rock Around the Clock. Theye did a great job. You should have heard the sax and electric guitar solos. Both choirs did an amazing job. B was one of the top performers again. (I hope enough kids signed up so that there will be a Middle School Choir next year, but I think there are too many other choices that it won't happen.) I guess if they don't have choir, she will do journalism. Which is a perfect pick for her. B would be fabulous helping create the school newspaper and annual since she loves to write and is a great photographer.

Cricket The Wonder Dog

During our recent trip to the beach for my birthday we discovered that Cricket, our labmix, LOVES to skim board. She was so excited that if you didn't let her have a turn she would block your throw until she got a ride. She got pretty good about being able to jump on and ride it.. Cricket's excitement and sheer joy was so fun.

Not bad for a 9 year old dog learning a new trick.

Surprise!!!

This is a post from last week, (day before my birthday) but I was still having a lot computer problems and lost it. I finally have internet tonight (and since the rest of I-5 corridor seems to still be without power I have the internet to myself)


Last week, I was greeted with a lovely (early) birthday dinner on our deck when I got home from C's baseball game. The girls cleaned the deck, made dinner, and a birthday cake complete with candles. They threw me this early surprise birthday party because they knew we had B's Spring Choir Concert tomorrow on my bday. So as we finished our delicious lemon cake very generously frosted with chocolate and bright green mint flavored frosting, B turns to me and says.... "oh by the way mom. I need you to make me a pink poodle skirt for tomorrow's concert but I don't want you to stay up all night."

75 Degrees and Chilli

Yes it was finally warm and in the mid 7o's today (Hurray!!!) which made C's baseball game tonight very enjoyable. C played well, but his team lost again. (Our few pitchers are overworked and we have had a slew of games recently, so we have one or two bad innings when they run out of gas. - I knew this was going to happen and predicted it the 2nd week of April, but what do I know? I'm just a baseball mom and not an athletic director.) Anyway. It was a fun game to watch lots of excitement and I knew a bunch of kids on both teams so I enjoyed it a lot.





Today was Chilli's first day at Superior Court. This is the latest seeing eye dog puppy Judge Warning is raising. He just got him last week. Chilli is SUPER sweet and has a very mellow disposition. I think he's going to make a great dog. I think he's my favorite so far. The last one Grant was afraid of heigthts, so he didn't make it through the program. He has been adopted by a great family with young kids.

Isn't Chilli the cutest little guy ever????

Gifts from the Heart1

My kids are the best!! (I know I'm biased but I just have to take a moment and brag.)
All on their own and without my knowledge, they arranged with the local florist to buy a floral arrangement and have it delivered to the house. They even paid for it completely with their own money. On Thursday, the kinda let the surprise slip a little when they asked if we would be home between 11am and 3pm. Thinking back on previous Mother's Day presents, all I could think was that somehow, they were getting me a cow. (NO JOKE!!) I was pretty nervous for 2 days and very happily relieved at my beautiful bouquet. You see, M really wants a cow and for the past year she has been talking to someone who has a bunch of a baby jerseys about getting one this Spring. (knowing my daughter and past gifts....my concerns were NOT much of a leap of imagination.) Anyway.... I LOVE my beautiful bouquet!! They know I love flowers and hardly ever get them. I'm so proud of them that they were able to buy them for me. They are growing up so fast!



B found this at our local farmer's market and thought that I should have a plant at my desk. So she bought me this cute "hens & chicks" planter. Out of all the options, this was my favorite. (This was also a surprise gift.)

I'll have to do another post with some of the other gifts. (C gave me a cute school made magnet.)