Short Weekends and Long Weeks

So I was walking down the hall with my students and one them comes over and walks with me down for the student photos and he says, "Did you say your husband was at another school?" I nod. "Yes." Now, knowing my husband was the principal over freshmen and this kids is now a sophomore I'm thinking, "Great, this kid must have spent some time in the principal's office last year and transferred here to get out of trouble."
"I had him for class," he tells me.
"What?" I try to correct him, "You mean he came in your class?"
"No. He was my teacher."
"What did he teach?"
"Spanish."
"Oh.... that's not my husband."
"Oh? Well then I had your brother."
"Bless you child, but that is my son."
"Shut up! You're not old enough to have a son that old!"

So I share that story not to make J-bob feel bad (the balding makes him more mature looking than his age) or Jeremy feel better... but because it made ME feel better amidst my very long week.

Overall, the students were really great this past week and I am excited to teach them and get to know them better.
I am excited for Jason and his new job. What an opportunity! And with a new addition to their family, even more blessings are coming their way. We are so glad Anne and Baby Abbi are both finally home. I am excited for Jeremy as he finishes his final semester and as they watch their business grow and prosper as well as their family that's growing up so quickly. I am excited for my daughter as she adds a new little life to her family and watches her little boys grow into big boys. Kayson went from walking to running in the same week I swear! I am excited that my brother will be home from Iraq very soon.

I have been watching the yellowing of summer. At the first of summer I'm so tired of the cold. When is it going to be warm. The first rays of summer are savored like a delicate drizzle of chocolate goodness. Then, if you eat too much chocolate... it loses it's specialness and makes you fat. Well, same with the heat. Only it makes you sweat (not fat). As I was driving along the fields I witnessed what I call the "yellowing of summer" around me. The corn tassels paint a layer of speckled white and the ready-to-harvest wheat blankets entire sections. Pumpkins and squash are changing from green to yellows and oranges and you can almost feel the coming crispiness in the air even though it's stifling hot. Stubbled fields are signs of yielding up the green of summer and clearing for a cooler, barren time. I can feel fall even as I put on the sunblock and wish for cooler nights.

And so... just like that.. I am ready for summer to go on vacation and fall to slow me down and bring back inside.

New blessings

Well I'm nearing the end of the first week of school with students. It's been a long week just adjusting to being on my feet for so long. With the budget cuts we also only get a prep period every other day which means 30 minutes for lunch and that's it on no prep days. 7am-3pm is contract but most stay till 4 and take home a pile of papers to grade. Copies and lesson planning and student intervention, etc. use up the prep we do have so there's just no way to avoid doing all the grading at home this year. Unlike a "business" we don't have fluctuating customers. They're built in. It's rush hour at McDonalds every period. Just trying to give apples to apples here. People say, "lots of people work their 8 hours with only one 30 min. break for lunch. First of all, I worked in the corporate world and we also had 15 min. breaks every 2-3 hours and we did not have non-stop customers.

Okay, so it was a long week, but I like my students and am excited to see them grow academically and socially this year. I also like the group of teachers I am stationed with. We're using military language now as we feel like we're in a war for our profession and public education in general. Our English wing is loaded with excellent, quality teachers. I'm very excited about that. So many perspectives to glean from as we collaborate.

On a personal note, this week has brought many family blessings. On Monday we went to Jeremy and Stacy's house for Family Home Evening and it was so touching and wonderful to listen to Jeremy's lesson about baptism and to listen to the children's answers. It also brought back so many memories watching him give his children their father's blessings for the school year. Then Greg gave Jeremy a father's blessing for his new school year (college) too. It was all so special.

Then the next morning Jason and Anne finally welcomed baby Abbi to the family. And what a delivery story! I won't share it because I know Anne will want to. It's funny now-- but it wasn't at the time. Abbi is the spitting image of her sister, Maddi, at that age, but chubbier if that's possible. Because she came out so fast, she did get some fluid in her lungs and has had to stay extra days now as they clear her lungs and try to get them strong enough to breath on their own. They tried taking her off oxygen today and she made it a while, then had to be put back on. Please keep her in your prayers. Despite having problems breathing, she's actually a very strong baby and even the nurses commented on how strong she is so we know she will fight through this. Anne is recovering as well and looked much better yesterday. It was so adorable to watch Maddi touch the glass and try to kiss it to give her sister kisses. She knows it's her sister and already loves her so much. It's so touching.

Tonight I babysat my daughter's boys-- chubby and Rellie-- so she could do her coupon class so I decided to get the school shopping out of the way and let the cousins get together. So, I went and picked up Jeremy's older kids and headed out to get the rest of the school shopping done. Boy the looks I got in the store with all 5 in tow. I know how Stacy and Jeremy must feel! When I got to the cash register the lady was acting like they were my children instead of my grandchildren. REally?! So they're all ready to roll for school and I got my exercise for the day. Between that and the no prep day my back and legs are calling for it to be an early night. Too many late nights this week. So... I'm headed to bed. Grateful for my children and for my grandchildren. Grateful for family.

Are we there yet?

Wow! I have seriously never attended so many "before school starts" meeting in all my years of teaching. Needless to say that means many teachers were in their rooms all weekend getting ready for kids (not "kiddos") to start on Monday. Making a switch from one school to another always requires the normal packing, unpacking, redecorating, reevaluating of materials and curriculum. My children will be happy to know that I actually left tubs of stuff at my old school (donated costumes and supplies) and that I threw out a lot of old files. Without much of a copy budget, the kids (not "kiddos") are going to have to just write everything down anyway.

So enough about work. The husband helped me finish up so my room is ready to go and I'm ready to take on another chapter of my life. Speaking of another chapter.... Baby Abby still hasn't made her appearance. Poor mom is miserable being dilated for so long now and then having us all call every day to see how it's going. Met Jas over at the other garden and Anne's mom took some corn home to freeze. Maybe that'll get things going? Whenever the little darlin' shows up, I'm sure she'll make a grand entrance and be worth the wait!

Jeremy's kids are ready to start back to school and we're going over tomorrow night as Jeremy gives each of them their father's blessing to help with the start of a new year. Brings back so many memories of our children doing that each year as they started a new year. Then one night this week we need to go underwear shopping for all the little angels. Relli, Kayson, and Mandy spent the night last night and we had the briefs v. reg. undies conversation and I think I'm just going to go with ... okay boys.. you pick. Grandma's just paying! :D

Mandy's morning sickness is lasting much longer than morning and it was nice to have her here to hang out Saturday (got in a little yard-saling) and feel better knowing that she is getting better. Kayson (a.k.a. "chubby") is cutting six teeth at once and boy is he a momma's boy! Rellie is getting so tall he may be the tallest grandson now. They were throwing him a good-bye party in his Sunday School class today and he was quite excited.

When we got home this evening I found a lovely box of chocolate cupcakes on my doorstep. I had mentioned at church today that it had definitely been an "I-need-chocolate kind of week for me." So I may be fatter as I head to bed tonight, but I am a happier fatter because I did partake! And now I am headed off to try to sleep knowing full well I never sleep the night before the first day of school.
Here we go again. :D

Back to School

Sunday we enjoyed having the auntie's over and Debbie for dinner after church. We missed Jason, Anne, and little Maddi as Anne was having contractions off and on all day and was not up to traveling. The auntie's were great company and Debbie enjoyed visiting as well. Her and her husband take in special needs foster children and when I asked her where the rest of her family was she acted surprised. Later she e-mailed me and said that people rarely invite her and her husband over for dinner because of the boys and if they do, they don't want the boys to come. That is sad. She has a huge heart and is always taking care of others.

Monday was my first day back at work. I was dragging. Have to get used to the husband getting up at 5:30 again and me getting up at 6. Spent the day hunting down basic items, trying to get technology log-ins confirmed. Very little luck. When I got home we had to can the corn because it's on and we don't want it to go to waste. We canned 21 quarts. Stayed up late doing it though so was REALLY dragging by day 2. Day 2 was non-stop meetings and sitting and listening. Between the time change, staying up late, and sitting at meetings all day, it was so hard to stay alert by the end of the day. Had a primary (church) presidency meeting to get ready for in the evening though, so had to suck it up and get home and do that instead of staying late to get more done in my room.

Today it was a little easier to get up, but had meetings all day again. Hoping to get time in my room before the student return on Monday. Will have to work all weekend to do lesson plans and review individual student scores for appropriate interventions, etc. Boxes and tubs are still unpacked and my walls are bare. On a brighter note, Anne's mom flew in today so we all think Anne will relax now and little Abby can come out. :D

Summer Saturdays Are Slippin' Away

Well yesterday morning the grandkids who spent the night were to be back home fairly bright and early, but we got a little sidetracked. They saw yard-sale signs. With only a few dollars to spend I didn't think it'd take long or they'd get much, but we hit some doozers. The first one, just about everything was 25cents. And of course yard-saling with Rellie is always an adventure. The child is always oblivious to who or what is around him but he has major focus on what HE wants to do. Sometimes that focus is so intense he doesn't even pay attention to his feet. He falls all the time and he biffed it in my school pulling his suitcase and instead of letting go of the suitcase held on and hit his poor little face on the floor. Ow! I was so upset at myself for not watching him closer as he walked! He bit his lip and bloodied his nose. He was so tough though. I was ready to take him to the doctor and take him to see his mom but he wanted to go to grandma's house. And, when he saw his cousins, you'd never guessed he just biffed it an hour earlier. I watched him like a hawk, and other than touching his lip sometimes, he did great. High pain tolerance-- which could be bad.

So back to the yard-sale. He hears someone ask the lady in charge how much something was that was on the table he was looking at so he yells, "Hey, how much are the clowns?" I scan the table quickly for clowns. Nope. "Where?" He points to Raggedy Ann and Andy. Okay..... "Rellie, those aren't clowns." Reply: "Oh. Hey, how much are those bikes?" The lady tells them those aren't for sale, those are just her kids' bikes. "Oh, you should put them up," he says. Alrighty then. We talk about not being so loud and move him away from the bikes. I turn around and he's wearing a purse. "Rellie, why are you wearing a purse?" Reply: "My mom wants a purse. They're for girls." I tell him no and he puts them up. Mandy, you can thank me later. Trust me. Not to be outdone, Tucker finds a pair of Nike basketball shoes that he really likes. And.... they're very nice. Unfortunately they're about 3 inches too big. "How much are these?" he asks the lady. "Quarter." His face lights up. I explain it could be a year or two before he could even wear them. "I can just save them and grow in to them grandma," he says with a smile as he puts them on the cashier's table. She smiles too. Okay. It's a quarter. He gets them.
Daisha finds a very sparkly green scarf and cute little baby shoes for baby Abby. At the next yard sale we have to pry Rellie off the go-kart and he does find some toys he likes. Did I mention I was lugging around the 40 pound one year old (Kayson-- aka "chubby"). So yeah, I was done.
So today we had our primary activity. So much going on there. I got there early to set everything up and had planned on about 60 kids based on what people told me (that only half would come), but had made stuff for 80 being hopeful. Had about 90 and boy was it a lively morning. We had 13 stations (everything from hula-hoop to Scripture Study) and 90 kids under the age of 12. Thank goodness for great volunteers and teachers to help out!! We survived. No one was injured. All children were claimed. Some parents may be scarred by my style (not sure they're used to hearing whistles blown or primary presidents playing shipwrecked with 90 kids, but like I said, we all survived). Gave out a lot of school supplies and had lots of help from my family and hubby as well.
After the activity we went and checked the garden at the auntie's and picked more corn and cucumbers. Delivered a bunch to some families and then bathed Rellie and Chubby before they had to head home. I am sure they will sleep like rocks tonight after the active day they've had. I know I will! I am pooped! Tomorrow it's BBQ with the aunties then get ready for my first day back to work.

Summer Summary

Monday I return to work and my summer break is officially over. ugh. This summer has sped by before my very eyes. So much to do, so little time. It's not that I don't love my job, it's just that-- like all normal people-- I love my vacation. :D

1) Bob's Funeral
This summer has been one for the memory book. So many emotional highs and a few emotional lows. Bob's death was heartbreaking and unexpected. But it also brought together his three sets of children. We loved having Ben and Andy stay with us and working with Debbie and Margo for the memorial service. And of course we have become close to Aunt Joann & Bertie again and have spent more time with them this summer than we have in the past 20 years. So in his death, he brought us together. I am sure he was smiling down upon us as he went through all the ash incidents in getting him here and getting him buried and I'm sure he smiled down this past week when another grandchild (Andy's daughter) was born just 5 days before what would have been his birthday. So that was a profound memory of summer.

2) Grandkids
We have spent a lot of time with the grandkids going to the zoo, going to movies, going yard-saling, slip-sliding and hula-hooping in the backyard and wearing out the fold-out couch in the living room because they all must sleep together when they spend the night (despite the fact that we have two spare bedrooms!) :D They also enjoyed the Steele Family Rodeo and riding horses for the first time. Mostly they just enjoy each other. They really love each other. This has also been the summer of Maddi and Jilly. BFF. So cute. Oh, and Chubby is walking- -another milestone. Now if him and Jilly can just get past the caveman grunt. Oh, I was packing my room up today and putting away pictures and Jas and I looked at this picture of Tucker when he was little and it looked just like Chubby (Kayson). They could be twins. Tucker's such a toothpick now, I forgot what a chunk he used to be.

3) Family Reunion
Then there was the family reunion. It was as much fun planning because it forced me to meet and visit with my cousins, as it was having it. Well, almost. The reunion was wonderful. We loved having Little Mary stay with us and the whole day was a big success with so many reconnecting moments and memorable conversations (and activities). I'm so glad we took the time and effort to put it together. Great memory.

4) Wolf Creek
Then the husband and I took a little trip to Wolf Creek Resort and as always loved our quiet time together there. The scenery is always beautiful and restful. We always play our terrible game of tennis (we're terrible-- not the tennis) and we always go for a swim. We didn't visit Eden this time, but we did stop at a great little restaurant along the canyon on our way out of the resort. It sat along the river and we'll definitely go back. We also enjoyed stopping at all the D.I.'s along the way to look for books for Jeremy's business.

5) 4th of July
The parade ran right down our street and we watched the fireworks from our backyard. BBQ'd with all our kids and celebrated 32 years since our first date. Then Monday we packed up and headed up to Pine to go camping with Jas, Anne, and Maddi. Rellie came along as well. That was so much fun and again the outdoors and scenery were so beautiful and relaxing. The whole queen size mattress in a 2-man tent that Greg wanted to shove 3 of us in + the mattress was a bit distressing, but the rest was great. :D

6) Horseback Riding
After 30 years of not riding, I got back in the saddle. Went riding with my friend Patty. We rode for three hours. It wasn't just about getting in the saddle, it was also about accomplishing two of my personal goals this year. 1) riding horses again and 2) spending more time with good friends. Another wonderful memory that I hope to repeat.

7) My Brother in Iraq
One of the not so wonderful memories of this summer, but still a big part of my summer. Our stress levels elevated when Bin Laden was killed. Another big memory of this summer. Poor Jackie, his fiance, has had a summer of her own waiting for her Bob (my brother) to come home and going through not one, but two surgeries while he's been gone while going to college full time. She is an amazing woman and I am glad my brother has her in his life. Love you Jackie. :d

8) Family Trip to the Coast
Best Coast Trip ever. The grandkids were a big part of that because many of them had never seen the ocean. My parents were another cherry on top to this vacation because they've never came with us before. I loved having everyone there. We did so many fun and unforgettable things. We always enjoy stopping at Auntie Diann's and we got to see Gma Shorty too. On the way back we got to see Aunt Donna and Uncle Roy as well. The coast trip was one we'll all remember for a very long time.

9) Whitewater Rafting
First time- -We went down the Payette with the husband's boss and a couple of friends and it was awesome! I loved it. I'm ready to go again.

10) Ziplining
First time-- Went zipping at Horseshoe Bend with our long time friends Ron and Alice. It was a rush! We had a blast! I will definitely do it again. Showed the grandkids the videos from it tonight and they just wanted me to keep playing it over and over. Tucker is ready to go. I told him he has to wait until he's 80 lbs. Then I'll take him.

11) Gardening
We have not one, but two gardens this summer and they have taken a lot of our time but the garden at Joann & Berties has been a blessing in many ways. It has brought us closer to my aunties and Greg and I have worked on it together. Oh, and we are getting a lot of food from it. I know it's weird to put it on this list, but we have enjoyed doing it and seeing the fruits of our labors and I have enjoyed the peace of mind of knowing we can check on the aunties.

12) Fishing
This one is more for the husband. He hasn't had his fishing license in quite a few years because he simply hasn't had time. Truth is, we didn't make time. That is the big story of this summer-- we made time. We made it a point to make time and plan things that we love to do. Boy did we do that! He went fishing a little up at Pine and he's headed out to fish next Saturday with our neighbor and friend Dave (who lost his brother this year). Then in October he's headed up to go steelhead fishing with Ron and my brother. I think Dave might go too. I'm planning another girls night while he's gone. I don't know if I can top taking them to "Wicked" but I'll think of something. Maybe Shakespeare on the River.

13) Primary
My church calling has also filled my summer with primary children and activities. Our teacher appreciation dinner was fun and this Saturday is our big Primary Activity (which means I'll be up till wee hours of the night tomorrow night getting ready for it).

We have been so blessed this summer. So many wonderful, unforgettable memories. Today, I have three little monkeys sleeping on my fold-out getting in one last sleep-over before mem/gma has to go back to work. I also spent a few hours sorting and loading tubs from my classroom in Parma to haul to my new classroom at Columbia. I couldn't have done it without my son Jason. Thank you Jas! He is always so willing to help me. He had great news this summer as well. With all the teacher cutbacks many new teachers were rifted (cut) with the budget cuts and he was one of them. With his wife expecting a baby any day now, this was hard news. However, he never lost faith and yesterday he was offered a job in Homedale. It's a rare job with unusual duties that could eventually get him into administration early in his career. I know he is blessed because of his selfless heart and his desire to help others. I am so proud of him.

Our oldest son just has three classes to finish up his degree, but has also been blessed in his on-line business this summer. His wife does a great job with their finances and it's amazing what they are able to live on while he is going to college. Our daughter has had a time with all the Extreme Couponing backlash and might be looking into other job/careers. Her two little boys are growing like very tall and stout weeds and they have just finished renovating their house. Okay... that's bad English. Made it sound like the little boys just renovated the house. Oh well, I'll leave it as an example for you to learn from. :D

It has been a busy but blessed summer for our family. I am such a worrier that I decided that I needed to focus more on enjoying life and less on stressing about the what if's. I still did some of that this summer, but more than ever, I let myself focus more on the positive what if's. I highly recommend it.

ziplining on my birthday

49 Isn't So Bad!

Had a great birthday today! Met some of our friends (we've been friends since high school) for breakfast this morning to start the day off right. Then we all headed over to Horseshoe Bend to go ziplining for the first time. What a kick. We absolutely loved it. The hardest part is the first step off the platform, but even that just isn't that bad. It was so awesome. We ate lunch together at a place in Horseshoe Bend then Ron and Alice headed back home.

We rested a while before heading in to town to pick up the grandkids for a movie. Of course when we pulled up at our oldest son's house and all the cars were there, I kinda knew something was up people! :D All the grandkids jumped out and yelled "surprise" and threw balloons my direction. It was so sweet. Uncle Stacy was there cooking on the grill and all the grandkids were wired! It was great. They cooked me some salmon (they know I love it) and for dessert it was strawberry cheesecake. Yum! My other daughter-in-law was supposed to be having the baby today so little Abby and I could share birthdays, but no..... still in the oven!

It was nice having all my children and grandchildren together. That was the best birthday gift of the day. It made being 49 worth it. Then the grandkids were a little confused because they thought we were "really" going to the movies, so we decided to go ahead and take them after dinner. The husband took them to Kung Fu Panda 2 so Mandy and I could watch Monte Carlo. It was a cute show. Not as good as Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, but cute. Thank you Mandy for coming to the movie with me. Thank you STacy and Jer for hosting and for watching Kayson. Thank you Anne and Jas for the awesome bday present. It will be great on my desk. The knife set might hurt us Jer and Stacy, but we definitely needed a new one! :D I am excited to make cupcakes in my very crazy and unique cupcake pan too Mandy. Sunglasses and flipflopS! Might have to try those in jell-o too! They were all awesome!
I love my kids! I love my sweetie too. He has to go back to work tomorrow (partie's over). :( Thank you sweetie for a wonderful birthday. Loved all the facebook wishes too. Feelin' very loved. Can't beat that! :D 49 is Fine!

Rafting on the Payette River

So I have to talk about the rafting trip. It was great! The husband and I are already planning to go back and head up the crazier part of the river. We didn't get to do anything above a class 4 rapid this first trip, but we both loved it. Through the calm part we even got to "captain" the raft and take over the rowing. It came naturally for some and not-so-much for others. :D No, I was not among the "others" :D

We went with some friends from Greg's work and one of the guys couldn't swim. He was in panic mode for about the first 15 minutes. It was pretty funny because Terry (the guy who captained the raft-- because it was his raft) had our friend sit right in front of him so he'd feel safe. Consequently it was a bit hard for "captain" to see the river. However, I must say that it took a lot to go rafting when you can't swim and he was a great sport about us teasing him. :D They put us two women at the front of the boat sitting up on the edge to "enjoy" all the water we hit. Nice. Actually, it was nice. Greg, the hubby, got the "princess seat" at the back of the raft. It was an actual swivel seat. We didn't discover how nice it was until the trip was almost over and I got to sit in it a whole 5 minutes. He barely got wet back there too.

I, only the other hand experienced numerous drenchings and loved it. The weather was perfect and the scenery was great. We stopped along a sandbar for lunch and I enjoyed my bambino (baby) bananas. Have you ever seen them? They are freakishly odd. They're about 3 inches long. Taste normal. You just feel like you're eating midget food. Great diet food though. Anyway, it was such an awesome trip and I'm so glad the husband talked me in to going. Now we're gearing up for ziplining on Tuesday. I am very excited.

Had a nice day at church today too. I love being in Primary and learning from and with the children. They know so much and have such strong faith that there is a God and that he loves them and that prayer works. What a great gift for any child to have. This Saturday is our big Primary Activity (back to school) that I have been planning for a while now. It's a lot of work, but I think it'll be lots of fun for them. I don't know if all 120-130 of them will show up, but if even half show up, it'll be lots of fun. Looking forward to it.

My daughter-in-law Anne has been having some pretty good labor pains off and on yesterday and today. I'm thinking that baby might love her Gma so much that she's just holding on for Tuesday. How would that be for a birthday gift!

I chatted with my two friends Sarah and Patty today. I will miss seeing them every day this school year. They really are good friends. Everyone needs someone who makes you feel like a girl again. Okay, guys need to feel like guys, but you know what I mean. :D I am excited about my new job, but already missing some of my old colleagues. Life is bittersweet like that sometimes. Still... I'm walking through this door old enough to know that it is okay to look back as you head down new roads and that you can take old friends with you. :d

I'm also glad my brother is almost home. Counting down the days. I read about the Navy Seals yesterday and it made me so sad and so nervous at the same time. My heart goes out to those families. Agree or disagree with the politics, they put their lives on the line for us every deployment and that says a lot and that alone deserves respect.

So on a cheerful note..... I had chocolate chocolate chip cookies for dinner last night and that's all. Counting calories again, but having some last indulgences before the school year and my diet are in full swing again. With all the zucchini we have taking over our garden I feel some more zucchini bread coming on too. Had some yummy zucchini bread at my daughter's this week. The cucumbers are giving the zucchini a run for their money, so let me know if anyone needs some. We'll soon have tons of watermelon and eventually lots of pumpkins as well. The grandkids are excited about that. We have enjoyed our gardens this summer. We've just enjoyed this summer period.! Good times for the most part. Very memorable summer. Helps to spend it with your best friend. Love you Sweetie!

Me again

I tried posting the coast pictures numerous times today and no luck. I don't know what was going on. I'll try again tomorrow night. I posted most of them on facebook if you want to see though and you just can't wait. :D The ones from tonight worked fine, but I'm too tired to do all the coast ones too. :D

Picked up Rellie and Kayson yesterday to spend the night and so we had to go get the other cousins. Rellie loves his cousins. They tried on their rollerskates (including kayson) and also tried out the slip-n-slide. The boys all had the same technique: get to the slide part and bounce on your knees then flop in some manner to try to resemble sliding. Daisha was the only one who mastered actually sliding and not just slipping. They were all funny though. They also built traintracks all over the kitchen floor and watched their trains race.

So four little monkeys fell asleep on the foldout and we moved one to a nearby couch (yes we have a couch factory in our living room as most of you know). The smallest monkey was supposed to sleep in the playpen at the end of the bed but for some reason he developed an aversion to Papa and Greg even looked his way he sounded the "ahhhh" alarm. So, he slept attached to my side and clinging to my neck, leg, whatever would make sure I didn't move, all night. My neck was a bit kinkish and he was well rested. Hmmmm. He is so cute though how can you put the little guy in the playpen when his little lip quivers and his big eyes start brimming. Okay, I'm sure if I did that every night I'd get over it in a hurry, but I don't. :D


So waffles and scrambled eggs this morning. I cooked while Papa went and had a cavity filled. Later we took the kids to a jumping jungle thing with a bunch of jumping houses. They loved it. It wore me out just to watch them. Then they wanted to go to Taco Time. So we did. Then, sadly, it was time to take them home. After we deposited all the children in their proper homes, we headed over to our other garden at Joann and Berties. Holy Cucumbers is all I can say. And they aren't the little kind either. Most of them are 8-10" long! Probably about 20 of them we picked. Got some ripe tomatoes too so we JoAnn and Bertie were happy. I thought the watermellon might be ready too, so we picked one...... my bad! Nope. Still white on the inside! Still have a dozen or more left though. The corn's still not quite ready either.

Now I'm off to bed or I won't get up on time. We're headed whitewater rafting with some friends in the morning. One of them can't swim. I told him he can't sit by me. He's 6'2" and about 260. I don't need that having a panic attack on me! :D I was kidding... sort of. :D

So many pictures, so little time.

I promise the next post will be pictures from the vacation. They tell their own story. I have had such random moments this summer that all bring me back to the same place.... home/family. I was eating white bread the other day and I generally don't care for it because it tends to end up in a glue ball in my stomach, but it was a light piece and the minute I tasted it I was taken back to Grandpa Tucker and how bread cereal tastes. Grandpa always ate slowly. He quietly enjoyed his food. I never saw him hurry his eating at all. He loved to tear the white bread into chunks, sprinkle the sugar on, and pour in the milk. I love that taste. I'll never forget it. Funny since I don't like white bread (unless it's homemade).

So then a couple weeks ago some of the grandkids were spending the night and they like to sleep on the foldout when there's more than one of them (despite having two empty bedrooms) and Tucker was helping fold it back up the next morning and he says, "Hey Grandma! The couch is a transformer. See... it's a bed and a couch and it transforms." He was dead serious... and was also correct when I thought about it. Brought a smile to my face. Of course he also informed me that someone needed to invent a waterbottle that had a button you could push and the bottle would automatically refill with water.

So the vacation..... I just can't even begin to express all the moments of happiness I felt throughout the vacation. It was simply enjoyable. It would have been perfect with all the children there, but I was so glad my mom and dad could go. Several times we commented on how we missed Jackie and Bobby tagging along too. The boys would often say "Krehl would like that or he'd think that was so cool." Maybe next year. Still... it was so much fun. We always enjoy stopping and staying with Auntie Diann. It's even more special with Gma Shorty staying there now. She was very happy to see the grandkids. Bryton had to fix her hair for her and of course she had to hold the youngest baby. She loves the babies!

We call Aunt Diann Dr. Doolittle because she has so many wild animals on her place (which is in a city neighborhood) that she can't even have flowers outside. We watched the deer that camps in her lawn and under her deck bed down for the night. We hurried out to see what the clatter was on the back porch and found the raccoon staring at us. Luckily we didn't run into the skunk family that hangs out! When we pulled up to the house Daisha said, "I remember this house! This is where Mandy took a shower with the frog!" No frogs this trip. Lots of good eating though. Aunt Diann fed us so much we waddled on the beach!

Then we headed to Newport but we took McKenzie Pass. It was open this time and it was spectacular. All the miles of lava rock mixed with the mountains. The extraordinary formation caused by nature. It was breathtaking. I wish my brother could have seen it. The drive was spectacular too. Like driving through postcard after postcard. Okay, so we did our usual "gee I think we took a wrong turn" and got lost a couple times, but always found our way back. Dad said he was glad to be last in the caravan so he could watch us go in circles and wait for us to figure it out. We literally went around one gas station three times in Newport! Yep!

Then when we got to Newport and the house I had rented, I was so upset. The place smelled horrid. Like an old house with water rot or something in it. The furnishings were equally horrid and I was afraid to sit, let alone sleep on anything. I called the rental company and I will just say that after some discussion, they finally decided they better get us a different property. All things happen for a reason-- we ended up in a house that exceeded our expectations. It was awesome and much more reasonable for the price we had paid. Our back yard overlooked the ocean and the lighthouse. It doesn't get much better than that. The furnishings were awesome as well. We had so much fun there.

Probably the most fun was watching the kids on the beach. Daisha was the only one who had seen the ocean before. It was new to all the others and they were beside themselves with excitement. They loved it. Even Baby Bradly loved it. If he was fussy we'd walk out on the deck and the minute he heard the ocean, he'd calm down. I loved sleeping with my window open and listening to it at night. I slept so well while we were there. The kids had a harder time. They had a pirate theme room with a life size pirate and some other interesting decorations that had to be covered at night (along with the pirate) so they could sleep without being scared. It was totally not scary by day though. In fact, it was a very cute room. It even had a pinball machine in it. We all played some Foosball and ping pong too. My mom even learned how to play Foosball and Bryton was quite happy that he beat both grandmas!

We also got to see the boats come into the harbor and watch them pull up the crablines on the dock while they were crabbing. Of course we hit some shops (including candy shops) and had clam chowder. I just smiled so much my cheeks were tired. The trek to the lighthouse, the center they have there and the educational displays are all so awesome. We saw a whale out in the ocean, sea lions sunbathing, a starfish chillin by the shore, and lots of happy little faces (that would be the grandkids). Throw in some smores by the ocean campfire and some late night pinochle and you have a vacation that we will always remember.

Thanks to all who came. I'll post pics tomorrow.

Mexican Food Recipes from my Friend Anissa

Sweet Pork Salad
This recipe tastes just as good as Cafe Rio and Costa Vidas Versions

8 lbs. pork (can be roast, tenderloin, etc.)

Sauce:
4 8oz. canned tomato sauce
2 (8oz) can El Pato spicy mexican tomato sauce
2 c. brown sugar

Mix sauce ingredients and pour over pork in slow cooker. Cook on low for one 8-10 hours. One hour before serving, shred meat and put back in slow cooker in sauce. Can keep on warm for several hours.



Cafe Rio House Dressing

Buttermilk ranch packet (make as per directions)
3 tomatillos
1 C. cilantro chopped
3 garlic cloves
1 tsp cayenne pepper

Mix in blender / Chill

To make the Pork Salad:

Grill in a skillet individual tortillas topped with cheese until cheese melts.
Place on the tortilla the following ingredients:

• glob of spanish rice or cafe rio rice (below)
• glob of cooked, seasoned black beans
• glob of the cooked sweet pork
• cover with lettuce
• top with tortilla strips
• dab of sour cream
• dab of guacamole
• lime wedge (to look authentic)



Cilantro Lime Rice
Ingredients:
1 cup long grain rice
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons water, divided
½ tsp. salt
½ cup fresh cilantro
2 tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 clove garlic, chopped

Directions:
Combine the rice, 2 cups water and salt in a medium saucepan set over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, stir briefly, cover and reduce the heat to low. Let cook, covered, until the water is absorbed and rice is fluffy and tender, 16-18 minutes. (Cooking time can vary depending on the brand of rice. Check the package directions.)

While the rice is cooking, combine the cilantro, lime juice, olive oil, garlic and 2 tablespoons water in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth. Stir the mixture into the cooked rice and fluff with a fork.