My girls and I

It's soccer time again....

2011-10-01T14:41:00.000-07:00

It's been a very long time since I've posted anything new. I look at the blog occasionally and think to myself that I need to do something about that, but I keep putting it off. Well, today I decided that I'm not putting it off any longer and I'm going to keep it up (or try to, anyway).

School started back up on September 7th and life has been crazy ever since. The soccer season started 2 weeks before school started, with pratices every day and the first game was the day before school started. Sam loves playing soccer and I love watching her games. I love to take lots of pictures, too. There's nothing like getting "the perfect shot".....it's just so exciting! She plays goalie the first half of the game and then either outside mid or forward the second half. Here are some pictures that I've taken so far this seasosn. Enjoy....

Vacation 2011: 2nd stop...Salt Lake

2011-08-14T09:39:00.000-07:00

Things have been so busy the past month, I haven't had time to blog about the rest of our vacation. I keep thinking I need to update it, but keep putting it off. This morning I decided there's no time like right now. So....before I put it off longer - here's more of our vacation.

After we left Vera's home, we went to Utah. On the way there, we made a quick stop at Lake Tahoe and Virginia City.

Virginia City is a fun place to visit.

Beautiful Lake Tahoe!

We spent an afternoon with Loren & Rhonda and their family. It was so great to see them all again!

Amanda got a lesson in legos and cars - compliments of Bradley and Caleb.

Amanda and Sam had a great time playing with Bella and Oliver.

Amanda spent an afternoon with her old roommate (and friend) from her 1st year at SUU, so Sam and I decided to hang out at Temple Square. It's such a beautiful place to visit.

We went to a Bees game with Alma and Matti and their children one night. It was so much fun. We sat on the grass in outfield, where the kids could run around and have a good time.

Vacation 2011: 1st destination...Vera's home

2011-07-25T18:50:00.000-07:00

The first destination of our vacation this year was to visit my neice, Vera. She lives in Davis, CA and owns her own funeral home. Her residence just happens to be above the funeral home, also. It had been 4 years since we'd visited her and I really don't know WHY we waited so long! :0) We had such a great time! We ate lots of yummy food, visited some really fun places and took lots of fun pictures. (Well.....in our opinion some of the pictures we took are fun. Some people, however, don't share our same opinion. You'll see why when you see some of the pictures.) :0)

Outside Vera's work and home!

Having a little fun in the embalming room.

After we visited Vera's Winters location, she let the girls drive the hearse home. It completely made their day!

How many people can say they had their picture taken INSIDE a casket and lived to tell about it???

The weather was so warm, it felt good to stand inside the cooler for a little bit. (Don't worry...there were no "customers" in there when we were taking advantage of the cool air.)

We took a walk through the arboritum. Such a beautiful place!

Can you tell the girls were hot and tired?

I forgot what this place was called, but it was SO YUMMY!! Noodle City? Something like that.

Best. Breakfast. Place. EVER!!!

Crepes!! I'd LOVE to have a place like this around here. (Or maybe it's a good thing we don't.)

We also went to Old Sacramento. We had never been there and it was definately worth it!

A visit from the Haley's

2011-06-26T06:15:00.000-07:00

Marie and Joe and their 5 children came to visit us for a couple days. We had been looking forward to their visit for a long time! We had such a great time and LOVED having them in our home!!

Amanda loves to read the twins' bedtime stores, so that was her job while they were here.

We have a lot of wild rabbits in our backyard and Tyler made it his goal to try and catch one. He tried real hard and made many, many attempts, but, sadly, he wasn't successful.

The first day, we all went to Seattle for the day. Our first stop was Pike's Market. We love going there to "people watch" and to check out the fruit, seafood, flowers, and various stuff for sale by the vendors.

The gum wall is both fascinating AND gross!!!

Went walked along the waterfront, where there are some interesting and fun things to see.

We went to the Seattle Center and played in the fountain.

Next we went to a Mariner's game. There is always so much to see and do before the game even starts.

On Wednesday we went to the Point Defience Zoo in Tacoma.

Quote of the day...

2011-06-05T20:52:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago Amanda and I were in the car going somewhere and the following conversation took place:

Me: Which way should we go?
Amanda: I don't know....whatever you think.
Me: Let's see....I think we'll take the backroad. It'll probably be alot faster.
Amanda: Why doesn't anyone ever take the frontroad?

Really Amanda?? And here I thought you were in what??? College???? :0)

I love you Amanda.......

Mother's Day Gift

2011-05-22T20:28:00.000-07:00

I'm still convinced that I have the best daughters ever! For Mother's Day this year, Amanda bought tickets for her, Sam and I to go to a Mariner's game. She knows how much I love spending time with her and Sam and she also knows how much we love going to a Mariner's game. Sam made me breakfast in bed. She so sweetly got up early in the morning, to make sure she had time to make breakfast for me before I got up. I feel so loved by my daughters! They are such a joy in my life and I absolutely LOVE spending time with them. I love you Amanda and Sam!!!

The ground crew came out during the game to rake the dirt (or whatever it's called) and they did a routine/dance to the music that was playing. It was great!

Priest/Laurel Prom (aka "Mormon Prom")

2011-05-08T15:58:00.000-07:00

Every year, the youth in our region has the opportunity to attend the Priest/Laurel Prom. (Better known as the "Mormon Prom" to those that don't know Mormon "lingo".) The main requirements are they have to be 16 years old, know what the standards are and agree to abide by them. Sam has been looking forward to going for a long time. She was asked in February by a young man in our Stake, and went out looking for a dress not long after that. Her friend, Bri, and her date met at our home so we could take pictures and then they were off. They all had a really great time!

Putting the corsage on Sam's arm.

It was, of course, raining......

Being silly.......

I'd say they were tired by the end of the night!

Do It Anyway

2011-04-07T07:51:00.001-07:00

I saw this poem on a friend's blog and loved it, so I thought I'd post it on my blog, too. (Thanks Susie!)

Do It Anyway

People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered
Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives.
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies.
Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and sincere, people may deceive you.
Be honest and sincere anyway.

What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight.
Create anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous.
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today will often be forgotten.
Do good anyway.

Give the best you have, and it will never be enough.
Give your best anyway.

In the final analysis, it is between you and God.
It was never between you and them anyway.

Got forks???

2011-03-07T10:18:00.000-08:00

The high school that Sam attends is holding the yearly Tolo (girls ask guys dance) this coming weekend. A couple weeks ago, Sam decided that she wanted to ask a friend of hers to the dance. She knew she wanted to "fork" his lawn - as a way of asking him - but wanted to make sure he knew she was asking "as a friend". I was chatting with my friend April one night and between her, Sam and I we came up came up with the following: "I like dances, I like rolos. Be my friend and go to tolo."

Sam put a letter on each fork and put them in the ground in rows. (With blank forks in between letters.) She then put each letter of her name on a rolo and added them to a bag of rolos, which she left on his door step. She had a really great time doing all this. Not too long after she got home, she got a text from him saying, "I like dances and I like rolos. So I'll be your friend and go to tolo."

Christmas happenings....

2010-12-23T17:59:00.000-08:00

We usually get our Christmas tree the weekend after Thanksgiving, but since Amanda wasn't home from college yet, I promised her we'd wait until the next weekend (when she was home). SO, on the way home from the airport we stopped to get our tree. There are lots of U-Cut Christmas Tree farms around here, but it was raining (more like pouring) and we didn't necessarily want to wade through the mud and then kneel (or lay down) on the ground to cut it down. So, yet again, we broke a tradition and went to a tree lot with already cut trees. The guys at the lot even tied it to the top of our car, which I thought was very nice of them.

Amanda's favorite ornament.

Sam's favorite ornaments.

All decorated and the customary photo taken.

Every year during the Christmas season we talk about taking a little day trip to Leavenworth, which is a Bavarian village, but we never have done it. This year, we decided to go. It's about a 3 hour drive and we have to go over a couple mountain passes to get there, so the weather has to be just right (with no major snow on the road) to go. It was totally worth the drive though. The Christmas lights are so pretty and the shops are lots of fun to look through. There's always alot of snow and there are little hills in town to sled down. Although we didn't take our sleds with us, we had fun watching the little kids go down the sled runs, laughing and giggling all the way down.

Crazy girls!

Pre-Thanksgiving snow!

2010-11-25T11:32:00.001-08:00

We've had the craziest week! Sunday night it started to snow.....enough to cause school to be delayed 2 hours on Monday morning. It snowed all day Monday, but didn't build up much on the roads. After I got home from work, Sam and I headed for the grocery store to get some last minute food items for Thanksgiving. When we went into the store, the snow was starting to come down faster and it was starting to stick a little. When we came out (45 min later) the parking lot was completely white, the roads were snow packed and hard to get any traction going. By the next morning Western WA had anywhere from 6 - 10 inches of snow! This is the first time since 1985 that Western Washington has seen this much snow before Thanksgiving. After not getting any snow last year and hardly any the year before, this is has been so much fun! School was canceled both Tuesday and Wednesday, so this has turned out to be a very relaxing week. (Our school district boundries cover 215 square miles and has lots of backroads and hills, which makes it very difficult for the buses to get around.)

Sam had a great time sledding down the drive-way.

Sam's white snow pants and the snow covering her coat makes her almost blend in with the snow.

Halloween

2010-11-01T21:29:00.000-07:00

Halloween was really low-key for us this year. Sadly, we didn't even carve pumpkins. I didn't think much of it, but now that Halloween is over, I feel like we were "robbed" of a holiday. Well....there's always next year.

Sam went to a Halloween Party at her friends house a week ago and had alot of fun. She decided a long time ago that she wanted to be Peter Pan, so she had it all planned out and she looked really cute.

Sam's on the loose!!!!

2010-10-08T13:51:00.000-07:00

Sam had her best day ever last week....she took her drivers license test and passed!! She was really nervous, but she did great! Good job Sam!! I'm proud of you!

Soccer

2010-09-12T08:47:00.000-07:00

Sam started playing soccer in 8th grade and it has quickly become her favorite sport. She played goalie part of the time in 9th grade and decided she likes that position best. She went to a soccer camp at BYU (as a goalie) over the summer and really learned a lot. Then 2 weeks before school started, soccer practice for the high school began and she tried out. She was very excited when she made the varsity team!! (This is her first year in high school.) They've had 2 games so far and Sam has done great. I love to go and watch her play. She always put everything into her game. Of course, I always have my camera and take lots of pictures.

Happy Sweet 16, Sam!!!

2010-09-07T15:15:00.001-07:00

Today is Sam's 16th Birthday! She's been looking forward to this particular birthday for awhile now. She's looking forward to getting her driver's license and being able to date. (Although, I'm not sure that's the particular order she would put them in. If it was up to me, I'd put dating down the list....WAY down the list.) Since this past weekend was Labor Day Weekend, we had her birthday party a week ago. We had hamburgers and hot dogs, salads, fruit and, of course, cake. Sam and her friends had a great time playing games and hanging out.

Sam brings so much joy to our home. She always strives to do what's right and never hesitates to let other's know what she believes in. I am proud to call her my daughter. Happy Birthday, Sam!! I love you! Our friend, April, made a cake for Sam's birthday. She always does such a great job! Everyone absolutely loved it!

Since Sam was expecting a lot of friends, we made a cake as well. It, of course, had to be a soccer cake.

My friend, Darcey, came over to help me with the party. She did a great job cooking the hamburgers and hot dogs. It was really great of her to be willing to subject herself to the craziness of a house-full of teenagers!

One of the games they played was to pass a peanut from one spoon to the next with the spoon in their mouth. They couldn't use their hands, either.

Playing 3-legged soccer.

Sam took 2 t-shirts, soaked them in water and put them in the freezer. The first team to thaw out the t-shirt and put it on one of their team members won.

Amanda's new home

2010-08-20T15:22:00.000-07:00

We made a fast trip to Cedar City this week to take Amanda to college. When we got to Boise, we stayed with Brenda and Andrew for a day, then Amanda and I continued on, while Sam stayed in Boise.
We had a great time playing Putt-Putt Golf.

After dinner we walked over the park in their neighborhood. Brenda, Amanda, Sam and I had a good time on the teeter-totter.

On the way through Salt Lake City, we stopped at the University Hospital to see Matti. She flies Air-Med and she took us up to the roof where the helicopter is. It was very interesting to see where she works and to see the helicopter.

Our last stop (for Amanda, that is) was in Cedar City. We spent all day Wednesday getting her set up....parking pass, mailbox, papers signed, moving her stuff into her room, etc. Four of Marie & Joe's children helped us pack her stuff in and then helped Amanda decorate her walls. She had removable stickers to put on the walls. I love the way it turned out. Once she gets the pictures hung up, it's going to look even better!

Girls Camp & College bound

2010-08-14T23:01:00.000-07:00

The past week has been so crazy - busy. Amanda spent the week babysitting for a family while the Mom went to girls camp and the Dad was at work, while Sam and I spent the week at girls camp. This was my 4th year going to camp (2 years as head cook and now 2 years as the business specialist). I always have so much fun going. I love being where my girls are and helping out in anyway I can.

Every year the 4th year girls put up tarps and sleep outside one night. (Versus sleeping in the cabin.) This is Sam and her friends taking a break after "building" their campsite.

Having fun singing and doing the motions for camp songs.

Every cabin does a skit one night. This is before their skit. Sam was the Queen of the Britians and her friend, Ashley, was Nicoleian Dynamite. They did a really great job.

Sam and her friend having fun on one of the docks at the lake.

We got back from girls camp Friday (yesterday) and our next adventure starts tomorrow. The time has come for Amanda to "fly the coop". She spent yesterday and today packing up her clothes, shoes, etc. This is part of what she's taking....the rest is still in her room, ready to come down and be packed into the cars. She's very excited (and, I'm sure, a little scared) to be out on her own. I'm going to miss her like crazy, but I know she'll do great!

The rest of our vacation

2010-07-21T09:33:00.000-07:00

The rest of our trip went by very quickly, but was a lot of fun. After we left Boise, we went to Salt Lake. We met up with Joanna and Shayler at Temple Square to wander around. We also toured the conference center, which is such an amazing building. It was really great to see Joanna and Shayler again.

I love the organ in the Conference Center.

The Salt Lake Temple is so beautiful!

We dropped Sam off at soccer camp at BYU and went to Alma & Matti's to stay for the week. They were so great to let us stay with them for 4 days. As usual, we had fun going to a movie, shopping and seeing the sights. One of my favorite things we did was go to the Kennecott Utah Copper Mine. Amanda helping Bella look at the mine through the telescope.

The mine is 2 1/2 miles across and 3/4 of a mile down.

This is a tire from one of the trucks that is used. The tires on the trucks cost $18,000 - $26,000 and last 9 months.

After we picked Sam up from BYU, we headed for Cedar City, UT, where we stayed with Marie and Joe. Our main goal there was for Amanda to attend Orientation at Southern Utah University.

Joe let Sam drive his truck. She was in HEAVEN!!!

We went to a swimming pool with Marie and her kids while Amanda was in Orientation. This is Sam with Brenna and Braelynn.

The kids all went to a friends house to pick raspberries. They were so yummy!

On our last day of vacation (before making the long drive home), we went to Caliente for the day. My Dad and my brother and his wife (Kevin and Ann) live in Caliente, as well as one of their sons, Cory, & his wife and kids. Family also drove there from Las Vegas & Salt Lake. Needless to say, we had quite the group....there were 28 of us all together. Kevin and Ann cooked dutch oven chicken and potatoes for us all. It was delicious!!

Two Sam's and my Dad

My sister's 3 daughters....Jill, Joanna and Jenny

Jeanette and Amanda taking the little kids for a ride on the Rhino.

Kevin took me for a ride on the Rhino. We went up on the mountain above Caliente.

On the road again.....

2010-07-10T21:52:00.000-07:00

Early yesterday morning we left home and headed for Boise, ID. After driving awhile I was getting really tired, so I decided a good way to keep awake would be to find a radio station(s) that played 80's music and sing along with the radio. I had a great time! The girls, on the other hand, rolled their eyes at me and said things like, "Mom! You are so embarrasing!" (Perfect! Exactly what I was going for.)

Sam's way of passing the time in the car. (Before the singing started! LOL)

My niece, Brenda, let us stay at her home last night. We had alot of fun visiting and playing with her adorable little boys. Thanks again for letting us stay with you Brenda!

Deker outside with his lawn mower

Amanda holding Bauer

Sam went outside and played soccer with Keagan.

Take me out to the ballgame.....

2010-07-06T10:41:00.000-07:00

On a spur of the moment, we decided to go to the Mariner's game last night. We haven't been to one in about 5 years and when we checked, it was 1/2 price night in the nose-bleed section, along with half-price hot dogs. Amanda wanted to go again before she headed off for college next month, so we decided it was a perfect time to go. We even got seats behind home-plate. Not a bad deal all-around! It was a pretty good game, too. (Even though the Mariner's lost after going into over-time.) I always love spending time with my girls.

This is made out of baseball bats and hangs inside one of the entries.

Here fishy, fishy....

2010-06-27T18:13:00.000-07:00

When our Japanese exchange students came to stay with us a few weeks ago, we took the little fish tank in Amanda's room out and put it in the laundry room. (So the humm of the motor wouldn't bother them, since they were sleeping in there.) We were usually careful to close the laundry room door so the cats wouldn't go in, but one day the door was left open. When I first saw Abbie, she was trying to stick her little paw inside the hole in the lid and then she had her nose pressed up to the hole, but I didn't get those pictures. Both Sam and I thought it was hilarious! Amanda....not so much.

MMMM.....SNACK!!

Mt Rainier

2010-06-23T22:26:00.001-07:00

Sam and I decided to take a drive up to Mt Rainier today. I just love going up there....it's so beautiful. Every time we go, we like to find a different trail to hike. I would like to have gone further up the mountain than we did today, but we got a late start. That's ok, though...we have all summer!

Sam always finds a frog to catch!

She made it!!

2010-06-20T15:38:00.001-07:00

Yesterday we all went to the Tacoma Dome to watch Amanda graduate from Graham Kapowsin High School. My Dad and my sister, Karen, drove here from Nevada for the occasion. It was so great to see them again and to have family here to help us celebrate.

Walking in for the graduation

Graham Kapowsin Class of 2010

Waiting in line to get their diploma

It's official...here she is getting her diploma

YEAH! They made it and are happily walking out.

Grandpa, Aunt Karen and Amanda

My friends, Florci (who has known Amanda since she was in 3rd grade) and Darcey (who has know Amanda since she was 6 weeks old) and Darcey's 2 grandchilren.

Pre-Graduation happenings

2010-06-12T00:22:00.000-07:00

Today was Amanda's last day of high school. (Everyone else gets out on the 21st.) It seems like she just was in Kindergarten. Now she's my beautiful, grown up daughter, ready to take on the world. But first, there's a couple things that need to be done. (Very important things, I might add.)

First on the list: Decorate the cars!

Looks like Sam is a little graffiti-happy. Hmm...maybe I should be worried??

Second on the list: Have a party and celebrate!

Our friend, April, made this amazing cake for Amanda. She always does such a great job!

April (holding her daughter, Sam) and Amanda. She absolutely LOVED her cake!

These 2 very special ladies have played such a huge part in our lives the past year and a half. They have shown Amanda just how special and amazing she is.

Kassie & Amanda have been friends since Kindergarten. Kassie goes to a different high school, so they haven't seen each other in a long time. It was really great to see Kassie, her mom and sister again and to have them share in Amanda's celebration.

4 years of getting up early...

2010-06-10T07:35:00.000-07:00

Four years of getting up early paid off for Amanda this past weekend. She graduated from Seminary after 4 years of studying and hard work. Along with graduating, she also earned an extra award every year - the Stake President's Award. To earn that award, she was required to have a 90% class attendance (on time), read the scriptures 200 days out of the school year and memorize the scripture mastery scriptures (I believe there are 25 of them). She worked really hard the past 4 years to accomplish what she did. Since Seminary is before school and she had to be at the church by 5:50, it took even more dedication. I am so proud of her! Way to go Amanda!!

Japanese exchange students

2010-06-07T10:13:00.001-07:00

This past weekend, Graham Kapowsin High School (the school Amanda attends) hosted some Japanese exchange students from Tamana High School, in Kumamoto, Japan. We enjoyed having 2 of the girls stay with us in our home. It was very interesting to learn about their culture and look at pictures of their school, home and families.

When they arrived at the high school, they were welcomed with a big banner that said "Welcome to GK".

Playing the Wii was a big hit!

When we got home with our 2 girls and they saw the bus parked next to the house, they started squealing and laughing. They told us there aren't any yellow school buses where they live. They were fascinated!

On Saturday, both bands practiced for the concert for over 3 hours and then we all met at GK for a BBQ. The weather has been raining pretty much every day for the past few months, so we were thinking we'd be eating inside. But the weather turned out to be amazing! It was sunny and warm. This is a group picture after we ate and the students played some games.

The concert was on Sunday afternoon at Pacific Lutheran University in Parkland (pretty close to where we live). When we were there on Saturday for the practice session, a man from PLU played this pipe organ for us. The sound was beyond amazing! We all just sat there completely and totally mesmerized!

Tamana High School Band. I could have listened to them play all day.

Both bands together - GK and Tamana HS

After the concert, we went back to GK for dinner & a little program.

Alot of rain & wind

2010-05-04T20:26:00.000-07:00

The rain has been coming down day after day......week after week.......(well - you get the point).

Yesterday morning we woke up to very strong winds. ("very strong" is an under-statement.)

I noticed our cats sitting at the sliding glass door very interested in something, but didn't think much of it.

Until later that morning. One of the trees in our yard blew down. It's a good thing we have a big yard and it didn't hit the house. It was startling to see it laying on the ground like that.

As you can see, the roots and all came out of the ground.

Sam's new ride

2010-04-16T13:24:00.000-07:00

The weather is getting nicer.

We're seeing more sunny days.

It's not raining day after day after day.

The grass is growing, it's time to get outside and Sam has a new ride! She's been patiently waiting to use the riding lawn mower and today she got her chance. And the best part??? I don't have to ride with her!!! (As opposed to the car - where I have to ride with her when she's driving.)

SHE'S IN HEAVEN!!

A word of advice

2010-03-20T16:11:00.000-07:00

STAY OUT OF WASHINGTON!!! Or to be more specific - out of Graham.....Sam has her drivers permit!!!! I let her drive around the church parking lot (an empty lot, of course) a couple weeks ago and then today she drove from our house to the church and back. I've come to the conclusion that I think I'll let the instructor teach her how to drive! Only then, will I get in the car again with her behind the wheel!!!

Two Amazing Daughters!

2010-03-12T08:35:00.000-08:00

Everyday I go to work driving the bus. Everyday I watch and observe kids of all types get on and off the bus. Every year I have several students from the elementary school, junior high and high school that like to chat with me. They tell me all kinds of things (maybe stuff their parents wouldn't like shared) and I listen to their stories. Some have parents that are never around, some have parents that are into drugs, etc and are in and out of jail more often that not and some are kids that are just trying to make it through the day and need a listening ear. Not long ago, there was a junior high boy that wasn't using the best language and refused to stop. I had a chat with him and gave him a seat up front for awhile. When I told him he was off "restriction" and could sit wherever he wanted to, he chose to stay up front to talk to me. One day he told me, "You're like the mom I've never had." This made me so sad. I thought I was going to cry right then and there. That's when I realized how incredible lucky I am to have the daughters that I have. They may not always have the best attitude, but nobody has a perfect attitude all the time. They may not always get along with each other....but, once again, I've never met a family that didn't argue and fight occasionally. But I know they truly love each other. They never hesitate to stick up for what they believe in and always try and do their best. The peer-pressure they face at school everyday is tremendous, but everyone who knows them - knows without a doubt that they are LDS and what they stand for and believe in.

After seeing/hearing what I do on the bus, I consider myself so blessed to have Amanda and Sam for my daughters. I am so proud of both of you and I love you both so very much!

Quote of the day!

2010-02-15T22:15:00.000-08:00

We went to Seattle today. (See the next post for pictures.) We had my friends 3-year old daughter (Aleecya) with us and as we were driving along the following conversation took place:

Amanda: Look at the water fountain, Aleecya!. Oh no! Don't look.......it's a naked boy!!
Sam: WHERE???!!!!!! (Head whipping around and all eyes.)
Me: It's a statue, Sam!
Sam: Oh...... (Dejected look on her face.)

Wow! I think I'm in trouble! :-)

A day in Seattle

2010-02-15T20:23:00.000-08:00

We've had some extra days off this weekend, so we decided to spend one of them in Seattle. First, we went to the Pacific Science Center. We have a year membership and it's always fun to wander around, looking at the exhibits. We didn't spend much time there, though, because it was packed! Next, we walked on a path that was along the waterfront. It was a place we've actually never been to before. We kind of got lost and found it by accident.

We watched my friends 3-year old daughter for the day while they were moving. It's always fun to see things from the perspective of a child.

After our walk, we went to Pikes Market. It's always crowded, but there is so much to see...the flowers are beautiful, the crafts being sold are amazing, the fresh fruit, vegetables and seafood. The waterfront across the street from Pike's Market is fun to walk along, too. There are shops with some very interesting things, yummy places to eat, different boats and lots of birds.

Hmm....decisions, decisions!

2010-01-26T18:43:00.000-08:00

We found out some exciting news tonight! Amanda was accepted into the University of Utah! I've been checking her application status online for the past few weeks and when I checked tonight - there it was!!! "Accepted"!!! Now she has a very important decision to make....SUU or U of U!!!??? I know she'll do great wherever she goes!!! I am so very proud of her!!!

Ready....Aim.....FIRE!!!

2010-01-17T21:38:00.000-08:00

Sam invited a friend over to spend the night tonight and they decided to get the nurf guns out for some fun. They had a great time running around the house, going up and down the stairs and hiding around corners. If you look closely in one picture, you can see the "bullets" stuffed into Sam's shorts! Nice place to put them, Sam!!!

One foot out the door....

2010-01-04T10:27:00.000-08:00

Amanda received her first college acceptance letter in the mail on Saturday! When I checked the mail and saw the envelope, I immediately grabbed the phone and called her to see if I could open it. She's been in Salt Lake for the past week, and I knew I wouldn't be able to stand the suspense until she got home! She's still waiting to hear back from a couple more colleges, but so far - she's been accepted to Southern Utah University in Cedar City, Utah! I told a friend of mine, "It's all becoming more realistic now! It's like she has one foot out the door." Sam finished my sentence by saying, "Yeah - and I'm pushing the other one out!" Aww.....such love!

I know she's worked hard to get this far and I'm so very proud of her!

CONGRATULATIONS, AMANDA!!!

Traditions

2010-01-02T09:45:00.001-08:00

Sam was getting ready for the dance, and she immediately ran downstairs to get some food!

I love traditions....especially when it means eating some yummy, yummy food! A good friend of mine and I have the greatest tradition going. About 4 years ago, I gave my friend, Florci, some white chocolate covered popcorn and she fell in love with it. She's Filipino and makes the greatest food ever, that I fell in love with about 10 years ago when she brought some into work. (Are you seeing a connection here, yet??) Ever since then, just before Christmas, the girls and I make 2 huge batches of white chocolate covered popcorn to give to Florci . (She gives it out in cute little containers to her friends for Christmas.) And, in return, she gives us Filipino food on New Year's Eve Day for our dinner. Aww.....wonderful, wonderful traditions!!!

What WAS I thinking??

2009-12-27T23:14:00.000-08:00

Annabelle's expression says, "Seriously? Do I HAVE to be here!"

Abbie's says, "Ahh...this is nice and comfy."

Sam's favorite Christmas present this year is a 6 week old kitten! She only weighs about 1 1/2 pounds and her name is Abbie. Annabelle didn't like her much in the beginning, but she's getting used to her. After a couple of days I was beginning to wonder if I'd lost my mind - by getting her a new kitten - but it's actually kind of fun to watch them run around and play with each other.

Christmas Party, Cookies & Caroling

2009-12-23T23:33:00.000-08:00

This last Saturday was our Ward Christmas Party. The Young Women and Young Men were asked to wear a green, red or white shirt and they were provided with cute little elf hats to wear. They were going to be Santa's helpers, but he ended up not needing help, afterall.
Last night Sam's friend, Kasey, came over to hang out with Sam. They went to grade school together, but they go to different junior highs and they haven't seen each other in several months. They had a really good time making Russian Tea cookies (better known as "snowballs" around our house). As you can see, they had a GREAT time with the powdered sugar. I think they got more on themselves than the cookies!

Tonight we met up with some friends of ours and went caroling around their neighborhood. The girls have never been caroling and it's been years and years since I've gone. It was so much fun to walk around singing Christmas carols and visiting with each other. Afterward, we all went back to our friends house for cookies and hot choco. What an amazing way to get more into the Christmas Spirit!

Did someone say Christmas music???

2009-12-14T21:52:00.000-08:00

This past weekend Amanda was asked to put her amazing musical talents to good use.

On Friday night she was asked to play her saxophone at the Christmas party for our old Ward. We went online to get some sheet music and she chose "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas". When we got to the church building, she about had a heart attack when she saw how many cars were there! Then we walked into the cultural hall and it was PACKED! There were about 300 people there! When her time came, though, she got up on the stage and absolutely FLOORED everyone there. She did an AMAZING job! I wish I would've had my camera there...or better yet - Amanda's camera...so that I could have recorded it to put on here. But, I forgot it! (Go figure!)

Then on Sunday, (in Sacrament Meeting) the Young Men and Young Women in our Ward sang "Far, Far Away on Judea's Plains", and Amanda played part of the song on her flute. Once again, everyone LOVED listening to her play. She does such a great job playing her instruments. I am so proud of her! She has such an amazing talent!

You're never too old....

2009-12-13T19:55:00.000-08:00

......to put together and decorate a gingerbread train! Instead of decorating a gingerbread house - the girls decided to make a train this year instead. My friends daughter came over to hang out yesterday afternoon, so she joined in the fun, too. They put a Christmas movie on the TV and went to work!

Rudolph the Red Nose.....CAT????

2009-12-05T23:26:00.000-08:00

Sam decided the cat needed to be part of the Christmas decorating! Annabelle didn't have the same opinion. Poor Annabelle....

The look on her face says it all...."I really don't like you right now!"

Time to decorate!

2009-12-03T17:56:00.001-08:00

> The finished product!!! Isn't it beautiful??!!

Technically, according to Amanda, it was actually time to decorate about 3 weeks ago! But I held her off (sort of) until the week before Thanksgiving. Then over Thanksgiving Weekend, we went out and got our Christmas Tree. What an adventure that turned out to be! We had alot of fun going to a tree farm, walking around and picking out the "perfect" tree. We tied it on top of the car with twine - which turned out to be alot easier than I thought it would be. On the way home, Sam would stick her head out the window every once in awhile to make sure it wasn't flopping around....and it wasn't! We made it all the way home with it moving at all!! I was going to take a picture before we took the tree off the car and then I forgot! Anyway - that night we decorated it....which is my favorite part. I love looking at all the ornaments from previous years. The ones the girls have made are always my favorite.

Quote of the Day!

2009-11-28T18:36:00.001-08:00

Once again, I'm "stealing" my friend, April's, idea. I love her "quote of the day" posts and today I decided to do the same thing.

We were walking through a Christmas Tree Farm today, looking at the trees. We'd see a tree that had possibilities, walk around it....stand and look at it....think for a minute and then proceed on. I walked up to a tree that looked perfect, except for one problem. At that point, the following comments were made:

Me: Girls...this tree would be perfect if it were a little taller.
Amanda: Yeah....this tree makes SAM look tall!!

Can you feel the sisterly "love"??? Tee Hee!!

You brought WHAT home????

2009-11-18T19:35:00.000-08:00

In Amanda's Child Development Class at school, they're required to bring home "a baby" for 3 days. They have a choice of either picking it up Monday and taking it back Thursday....or from Friday to Monday. Amanda decided to bring it home for the weekend shift, because she didn't want to take care of it during school (some teachers aren't real tolerant of it). The weekend she brought it home was the football play-off game up in Snohomish. Since she's in the band, she went to the game and had to take it with her. On Sunday, it went to church with her and she also had her college interview with the Stake President.

Whenever it cried she had 2 minutes to figure out what it "wanted". She had a bracelet with a sensor on her wrist and she had to pass it over the dolls tummy so that it knew she was the "mom". If she couldn't figure out what it wanted in that 2 minute time-frame, it would stop crying and her grade would go down. The first night it cried every 2-3 hours. The second night it cried every hour.

By the time Monday morning came she was exhausted and sleep-deprived.

Ahhh......welcome to "motherhood"!!

Halloween Fun

2009-11-02T19:27:00.001-08:00

As the girls get older, our Halloween Evenings get easier and easer. I don't miss walking from house to house in the cold (and, sometimes, rain), trick or treating. But I do miss watching the excitement on their faces as they dressed up in their costumes and ran up and down the streets, from house to house.

This year our Halloween was relatively quiet. On Friday night, we carved pumpkins and had a great time doing it. The girls' pumpkins turned out really good. Mine, on the other hand....not so great! I wasn't really paying attention and cut a big huge hole in the middle of it!

On Saturday we made "mummy" and "monster finger" cookies.

That afternoon/evening, Amanda took a friend's daughter trick or treating at the mall and Sam went to a Halloween Party at a friends house. I played "taxi-cab" and dropped Sam off at her party, then went back out to pick her up! We didn't even have any trick or treaters at our home! (Which was really wierd! It didn't even seem like Halloween night!) Like I said.....it was a quiet weekend.

Giving the cat a bath!

2009-10-24T22:40:00.000-07:00

Sam loves to give the cat a bath! Annabelle, on the other hand, has a different opinion of the whole thing. This last week Sam decided it was time for the cat to get another bath - so she got into her body glove shirt and swim shorts, put water in the tub, grabbed the cat and did her thing. It's funny to watch the cat try and escape, resign herself to her fate......try for esacape again, then resignation again.

Trying desperately to not go in!

Resignation

One more attempt to escape

Resignation..... (Notice the "hair-do" along her back....one of those things you just "have" to do!)

Sam's happy - Annabelle still isn't.

Got paint?

2009-10-16T13:10:00.000-07:00

Awww.....can you feel the love??

This is on the moon roof!

Yesterday for Amanda's birthday, Sam and I decided to "decorate" Amanda's car during school. It's been raining quite a but this week, and I was afraid we'd have to cancel our birthday plans, but we actually had one sunny day this week......what perfect luck! (Although I'm sure Amanda doesn't think it's so lucky!) There were a few staff members from the school that drove by looking at us like we were something evil, but only one (someone we actually know real well) came to see what we were up to. When he saw what we were doing, he thought it was pretty funny. As you can see from the pictures, Sam was pretty excited about it and started having WAY too much fun.

Happy Birthday, Amanda!!

2009-10-15T05:53:00.000-07:00

Today is Amanda's 18th birthday! I am such a lucky Mom to have Amanda for my daughter. She is such a special young woman. She has a kind and loving heart. She adore's children and has a special way with them. When Amanda was 4 years old, she started taking piano lessons and her love of music has grown over the years. When she was in 8th Grade she started playing the flute and in 10th Grade, she added the alto saxophone to her list of talents. She is a fantastic musician. She's not afraid to stand up for what she believes in and always strives to do what's right. I am so very proud of her! She is AMAZING!

HAPPY 18TH BIRTHDAY AMANDA!!! WE LOVE YOU!!!

Snoqualmie Falls

2009-10-12T19:17:00.000-07:00

To end an amazing, relaxing 4-day weekend, the girls and I decided to go to Snoqualmie Falls today. With winter right around the corner, this is probably our last chance to go there until next year. (Driving over the pass with snow and ice isn't my favorite thing to do!) It was really windy and colder than we thought it was going to be and Amanda forgot her coat, but she was a real trooper and hung in there. Of course, afterwards, "since we're so close to North Bend", we love to go to the outlet mall, too. :-)

Golf, anyone?

2009-09-29T20:05:00.000-07:00

In the school district the girls attend, 9th Grade students attend the junior high - but technically they're in high school. SO - the 9th Graders are allowed to play sports on the high school teams. Sam was originally thinking of being on the swim team with Graham-Kapowsin High School (the school Amanda attends), but decided to be on the golf team, instead. We borrowed a set of golf clubs from a friend of ours and off she went. She's never played golf before (except for putt-putt golf) and she started going to practice a couple weeks late - but she is a fantastic golfer! She's done so good, the coach has had her play on the varsity team for some of the matches! Since the matches are all around 2:30-3:00, I haven't been able to be at any of her games, so I had to settle for taking pictures of her in our driveway. WAY TO GO, SAM!!!

What a couple of wierdo's!!

2009-09-22T17:10:00.000-07:00

Two 17 year old girls that have been life-long friends = some very interesting pictures!

This last Sunday after church, Amanda's friend, Hannah, came over and we took a bunch of pictures. They have to turn in a Senior picture to the school for the yearbook in a few weeks - so this was our first attempt at getting some good pictures. They had lots of fun goofing around and just being wierd. We did get a few good pictures - but for the most part.....well.....let's just say we'll be making another attempt at it real soon!

Since my bus is now parked at our home 24/7 - they decided to have pictures taken with my bus, too.

Another school year.....

2009-09-17T09:52:00.000-07:00

School actually started back up last week (Sept 8th), but things have been so crazy - I haven't had time to post anything. I also forgot to take pictures on the first day, so we had to "pretend" a couple days later. Between the girls busy schedule (getting back into the routine of homework, band, sports, etc) and me working for the school district - the beginning of a new school year is a crazy, hectic time for us.

Amanda is really excited for school this year because she's a senior! It's hard to believe my "baby" will be graduating in June! (She hates it when I do that!) Along with getting organized for her classes, she's been busy looking into colleges, filling applications out, signing up to take the ACT and SAT Tests and everything that comes with college. She (of course) plays her flute and saxophone in the Band and will be on the Bowling League with school again this year.

Sam is in 9th Grade this year, so this is her last year in Jr. High. She's in 2 Honors classes, has 10th grade math and is, of course, planning on doing her usual sports this year. She was disgusted the first day of school when someone called her a "sevey"....meaning they thought she was a seventh grader!

Happy Birthday, Sam!

2009-09-07T07:55:00.000-07:00

Today is Sam's 15th Birthday! We are so blessed to have her in our family. She brings a special spirit into our home. She loves to play sports, hang with her friends and is constantly learning new things. She always looks for the good in other people and is such a good example for those around her. She always strives to do the right thing and sticks to what she believes in. She has such an out-going personality - everywhere we go, she makes friends. I am so proud of who she is.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SAM!!! WE LOVE YOU!!

A week at Girls Camp

2009-08-16T17:39:00.000-07:00

We just got back home yesterday (Saturday) from spending the week at girls camp. We had a ton of fun "camping" (we slept in little cabins) and just being outdoors. The girls had fun being with friends, learning about nature, swimming in the lake, etc. Amanda was a YCL (Youth Camp Leader) and was in charge of helping a group of 1st year girls for the week. I was the Business Specialist this year, so I spent alot of time before camp keeping track of all the registration forms, going to meetings, ordering t-shirts and sweatshirts and making sure things were organized. It was lots of work, but so worth it. Once we got to camp, I was also the camp photographer - which, we all know, is my favorite thing to do!

Amanda with the craft ladies. They were awesome!

One of the activities was a pie eating contest. One person stood on the bench, while the other person lay on the ground with a little pie shell on their forhead. The person on the bench had a little bag with pudding in it and they had to drop the pudding into the pie shell. Then the person on the ground had whip cream put on top of the pie and then ate it. As you can see, not all of the pudding landed in the pie shell!

Early in the morning, before anyone jumped into the lake for the polar dip.

One of the few times the girls actually saw each other.

Amanda and her friend, Tezra.

The whole group!

Sam and her friends from school, Brianne and Megan. They were in the same cabin together.

This is SO Embarrasing, Mom!

2009-08-08T00:22:00.000-07:00

This is what I heard over and over and over yesterday afternoon. I decided it was time for pictures again, so the girls got ready and we headed off to a nearby park. Actually, it wasn't really a park, but an entrance into a housing development with a small pond, water fountain, forest and grassy area. We drive by it all the time and I've noticed how pretty it is. A friend of mine mentioned it would be a great place for pictures and I had to agree with her. I had a great time taking pictures and coming up with different poses.......the girls - not so much!

The pioneers walked and walked and walked......

2009-08-05T14:05:00.000-07:00

The girls had the opportunity of going on a Pioneer Trek a couple weeks ago. (I'm not so sure they'd call it an "opportunity" - but that's my word for it!) The night before they left on Trek there was a big dinner, where they found out who their new "families" were and to have their bags checked to make sure they had everything. (And to make sure there were no cell phones smuggled in.) Then on Thursday morning at 5:30, (yes - IN THE MORNING), they all met at the church to load up on buses and begin their adventure. They were dropped off in the middle of nowhere (actually, it was at the base of Mt Rainier), where there were handcarts waiting for them. There was also a chicken for each family, to put into a wooden crate and keep with them for a couple days (until it became "dinner"). They walked, pulled the handcarts, played pioneer games, sang songs and crossed a river three different times, from Thursday morning until Saturday afternoon. It was a great way for them to gain a better appreciation for what our ancestors went through so many years ago. All-in-all, the girls had a good time.

When asked how it went, this is what I heard:

*Sam is REALLY glad she has the Mom and Dad she has, instead of her temporary ones. (I WILL be reminding her of this the next time she complains about the "injustices of life".)
*Amanda is glad she has the sister she has and not the ones in her temporary family. (This, too, will be a reminder in future situations!)
*Amanda never wants to see a handcart again.
*Sam can't wait to do it again in 4 years!

Go figure!!!

Before leaving for the church, I made them "pose" in their pioneer attire! Don't they look thrilled to be going? (Actually, it was having to be up so early they weren't so thrilled with.)

Sam with her "Ma and Pa".

Amanda with her "Ma and Pa"

Fun times in Utah!

2009-07-21T08:12:00.000-07:00

For our vacation this summer, we went to Utah to visit with family. First, we went to Salt Lake and stayed with my nephew, Alma, his wife, Matti, and their 2 children, Bella and Oliver. We had a great time visiting with them.

Amanda and Bella

Sam and Oliver

Matti, Bella, Sam, Oliver and Amanda at the Gateway Mall. They had a good time playing in the water at the splash park.

Next we went to Cedar City, Utah and stayed with my niece, Marie, her husband, Joe, and their 5 children, Veronica, Tyler, Samantha, Brenna and Braelynn.
We love going to the Shakespearean Festival at the college. Every night they have a "Green Show", where they put on a 45 minute skit/play/musical, program. Everyone either brings a chair or a blanket to sit on in the grass.

Joe, Samantha, Samantha, Braelynn Veronica, Brenna, Tyler and Marie

Above: We went to a swimming pool, where Sam and Veronica had fun "throwing" Sam.

Below: Sam coming out of the twisty tube slide at the pool. Next we went to Bear Lake. My nephew, Loren, works at the Boy Scout camp there, so we stayed with him, his wife, Carolyn and their 4 children, Bradley, Jocelyn, Caleb and Seth. My sister, Karen, my Dad, my neice, Joanna, her husband, Shayler and my nephew, Jimmy, met up with us at Bear Lake, too.

The girls had a ton of fun playing with all the water toys. Carolyns brother had a jet ski there, so everyone had fun riding on it. Loren gave everyone lessons before "setting them loose" on the lake.

Above: Sam and Hannah "trying" to stand up on the body board. I had to take the picture quick, before they fell off again!

Jimmy, Sam, Amanda and Hannah
Amanda and Hannah on their little sail boat.

My Dad, taking his turn on the jet ski

Jimmy, Sam, Joanna, Bradley, Caleb and Hannah

After we left Bear Lake to head home, I had to stop and take pictures as we were going through Logan Canyon. It is so beautiful!

Looking like a true pioneer.....

2009-07-09T22:09:00.000-07:00

The week we get home from vacation, the girls are going on a Pioneer Trek. (For those that don't know what that is - they are "dropped off" out in the middle of nowhere with other youth and adults to "trek" around for 3 days, like the pioneers did.) Anyway, my sister, Karen, found the clothes that Joanna, her daughter, wore when she went on trek. Sam was excited to get the clothes today and try them on. She can't wait to use them at trek.

Gotta love those pantaloons!

Fun in the Sun......finally!

2009-07-02T23:52:00.000-07:00

For the past week or so, we've had amazing weather....finally! It's been sunny and in the 70's-80's, which (for the Pacific Northwest), is nice and toasty warm. The girls, their friend, Hannah, and I had time this afternoon, so we decided to go swimming at our favorite swimming pool. It's called Stewarts Height and it's a BLAST! There's a curvy water slide, a lazy river, zero depth pool and a regular pool for swimming and lots of fun! This was the first time this summer we've had both good weather and time to go to the pool. It was nice to relax and enjoy our warm, sunny weather.

Four little munchkins......

2009-06-28T18:33:00.000-07:00

My friend, April, and her husband, Tom, went away for 4 days and entrusted us with their most prized possessions.....their 4 daughters! Brooke, age 6; Alix and Erin, age 4; and Samantha, age 11 months. So far, the biggest challenge was to get us all ready and to church on time this morning. And we did it....with about 3 minutes to spare! (Thank goodness we go at 11:30 and not 9:30!) I am so not used to having 4 little munchkins in the house, anymore - but it sure is alot of fun.

School's out.....let the party begin!

2009-06-24T10:31:00.000-07:00

Above: The "group". Below: Where Amanda spent her time during the party.

Sam has been wanting to invite some friends over to hang out and spend the night for awhile now. But when school is in - I just don't have the engery to deal with it. (It must be age creeping in!) SO, this past Monday I let Sam have some friends over. Amanda was still on pain medicine and not able to really do anything and I figured this would give her some company, too. The original plan was for Sam and "company" to sleep in a tent in the backyard. But due to the fact that it rained all weekend and was cloudy all day Monday, they ended up sleeping on the front room floor, instead. (In Washington, if it's been raining for a few days and there's even a CHANCE it will rain again.....it WILL rain! ESPECIALLY if there's a tent involved!) Anyway, they had a great time playing games and running around all afternoon and evening. Then they got the sleeping bags all lined up, crashed on the front room floor and watched movies till they all passed out.

And the wisdom is gone....

2009-06-19T19:19:00.000-07:00

Oral Surgeon - $3200+

Pain Medications - $9.00

Ice Packs - $5.00

Rope to tie ice packs to head - $2.00

One Sleepy child off in la-la land - priceless!!

Amanda went to the oral surgeon this morning to have her wisdom teeth taken out. In an earlier post, I mentioned that she had 5 wisdom teeth. Usually, when there's an extra tooth like that, the extra one comes out fairly easily when the one next to it is pulled out. Well, in Amanda's case, that wasn't the way it happened! They had a really hard time getting the 5th tooth out, making her recovery time alot more painful, longer and (most likely) a big bruise on her left jaw. So far today, she's been on 2 different kinds of pain medicine constantly....waking up long enough to eat a little applesauce and go back to sleep.

Poor Amanda! I think it's going to be a very L-O-N-G week for her!

Amanda's new hobby

2009-06-14T19:35:00.000-07:00

Well, it's official! Amanda is my daughter. (As if there was any doubt with that red hair of hers!) Lately, Amanda has caught the photography "bug". We've had some roses in our backyard and she took over my camera and was snaping away! She had alot of fun trying different settings, different lighting, etc. There's nothing like getting "the perfect" picture. Now I have to fight to use my own camera! On the upside, I now have about 80 or so very beautiful pictures of roses and leaves!

What I love the most about these two pictures, is that you can see the water drops.

A Special Evening for Amanda

2009-06-05T22:48:00.000-07:00

Tonight was a special night for Amanda. In Seminary, the students have an opportunity to receive The Stake President's Award. When she was starting 9th Grade (and her first year in Seminary), she made a goal for herself to get this award all 4 years. Well, tonight marked her 3rd year. (Next year - her Senior year - will be year number 4, of course.) Our Stake Presidency cooks a really nice dinner for them and gives them a special book. They really go to alot of work to make it a special evening for the kids who receive this award. (And there aren't very many of them.......only 15 students out of about 80.) Some of the requirements are: 90% attendance, memorize the 25 Scripture Mastery Scriptures and read the scriptures for 200 days throughout the school year (which is almost every day). She has early morning Seminary, too, which makes it just that much harder. I am so proud of Amanda for working so hard to get this award. She's an amazing Young Woman!

Sadly, I don't have any pictures of her special night. Parents don't get to go. :-(

Play it, again, Sam.....

2009-06-03T21:44:00.000-07:00

SAFE!!

Sam and her friend, Amy.

When you live in Washington State, Fastpitch means:
*Sitting in the rain watching a game.....
*Sitting in 90 degree weather for the next game.....
*Sitting in the cold and fierce wind the NEXT game.....

AND THE BEST REASON OF ALL........
*It means the end of the school year is so very close!!!!

As I'm sure you all know, Samantha LOVES playing sports. She tried out for - and made - the JV Fastpitch team at her school this year. Her favorite position is 2nd Base, but she was occasionally "forced" to play outfield (which she didn't like AT ALL). There were quite a few games where she got a double out. She did a great job! WAY TO GO, SAM!!

It's a tough job........

2009-05-29T12:11:00.000-07:00

BUT SOMEONE HAS TO DO IT!!

One of the best things about my job are the field trips. Towards the end of the school year, there are lots of trips during the day that go to the various zoo's, plays and museums anywhere from here to Seattle. Well, yesterday I was able to get a trip to Northest Trek, which has animals that are native to the Pacific Northwest. There's an hour long tram ride that goes through a free-roam area where the animals are in their natural habitat. We saw deer, buffalo, sheep, a bald eagle, beaver, etc. There are also places to walk around to see owls, wolves, bears, cougars, bobcats..... This has been one of my favorite places to take the girls since we moved here. Anyway, yesterday I had the tough job of taking a group to Northwest Trek, dropping them off at the front gates, parking the bus and then being "forced" to spend 4 heavenly hours there wandering around, looking at the beautiful animals, trees, forest areas, etc that make Washington State so beautiful. It was a wonderful reminder of our Heavenly Father and the beauty He has provided for us.

A date with my daughters!

2009-05-17T17:56:00.000-07:00

This last Friday night, the girls and I went to the Taylor Swift concert in Seattle. Despite the fact that it took us over 2 hours to get to Seattle due to the traffic congestion - we had a really good time. (Besides, travel time in the car is the perfect time for "chatting" and is my favorite time.) We had heard from several people that Taylor Swift didn't put on a very good concert - but we thought it was great! We love Seattle and would have LOVED to spend the entire day up there before the concert - but work and school takes precedence. :-) It's always nice when I get to spend a "night out on the town" with the girls.

Nightmare Quote of the day!

2009-05-13T12:57:00.000-07:00

Picture this if you will:

It is Sunday (on Mother's Day) and we are in church.

I'm sitting there listening to the amazing talks being given by the Relief Society Presidency. They are uplifting and inspiring (and funny at times).

I'm also thinking about how lucky I am to have 2 amazing daughters sitting next to me.

Suddenly, Sam leans over and says:

Sam: Mom! I'm going to be 16 years old next year!!!!
Me: (Inside my head) AUGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!! Outwardly I say (as calmly as possible) "Sam honey. You aren't even 15 yet.
Sam: I know, but I'll be 15 years old in 4 months. That means that in a little over a year I'll be 16 years old!
Me: Sam honey. You will never turn 16 years old......I won't let you.

At this point, I get "the look"! Gotta love the teenage years!!!!

Ladies and Gentleman! May I present......

2009-05-11T09:10:00.000-07:00

AMANDA AND SAMANTHA.........THE GREATEST DAUGHTERS EVER!!!

Yes, folks - that's right! I have 2 amazing daughters! They went to alot of work yesterday to make sure I had an amazing Mother's Day. My day started off with Sam bringing me breakfast in bed. (She threatened me if I so much as stepped out of bed before she brought it to me!) She also made me a card that I absolutely love. She is so good at making things.

Then Amanda gave me a picture of the Salt Lake Temple that she made at Mutual and a "MOM" necklace. She did a great job on the picture and has really good taste in jewelery!

As you can tell - I have amazing daughters that made sure I had a fabulous Mother's Day! THANKS GIRLS! I love you and am very blessed to have you for my daughters!

Prom time

2009-05-10T18:13:00.000-07:00

This last Friday night was the Priest/Laurel Prom (at church). Amanda and her friend, Lilly, met at Hannah's house, where they all got ready. There was lots of laughing, giggling and goofing around. They finally got ready, we took the required pictures and they left. They went to one church building, where they ate dinner - and then to another church building for the dance. Amanda looked so pretty in her dress. She did a great job picking it out.

Silly girls..............

2009-05-08T09:20:00.000-07:00

This last week I was asked to take Senior Pictures for my friend's daughter, whose name is Amanda. They moved here a couple years ago and were in our Ward (church). Their Amanda and my Amanda quickly became good friends. When they see each other one will call out "Peanut Butter!!" and the other one will call back, "Jelly!!" (You see, they're like peanut butter and jelly.......cheese and crackers.........ham and cheese.....you get the drift!) Anyway, after taking about 150 or so pictures for "the other" Amanda, the two of them started goofing around and I, of course, had a great time snapping pictures. It was alot of fun to see them laughing, giggling and just being silly "girls".

Here kitty, kitty.....

See no evil.......

Meet Annabelle

2009-04-29T20:16:00.000-07:00

She has some of the wierdest sleeping positions!

Sam was soaking in the bathtub, so she curled up on Sam's towel, which was on the floor, and kept her company.

You can see the extra toe on her front paws.

The girls have wanted a pet for a long time and last night we did it! We got a 10 week old orange and white tabby kitten. She's alot of fun to play with and watch. Tonight, as Sam was sitting on the floor in the front room doing homework, she was bouncing around Sam, grabbing at her pencil, smacking her notebook around, jumping onto her pencil case, etc. It is just so much fun to watch her. We've only had her for a day, and we've already fallen in love with her.

Beautiful new smile!

2009-04-28T07:34:00.001-07:00

No more tin grin.....

No more metal mouth......

No more railroad tracks.....

Sam is finally metal free! YEAH! She has been counting the days down since her last orthodontist appointment, when she was told the braces would come off with the next appointment. She'll be getting her retainers on Thursday of this week, but they'll be the removable kind. She's very excited to be able to eat whatever she wants now and not have to worry about things getting stuck in all the metal!

You look GEORGEOUS Sam!!

The orthodontist office gave her this little cake to celebrate her new smile!

Rodent Update........Part Two!

2009-04-27T12:39:00.000-07:00

Ok - SO......I have this weird friend that was expecting to see a close-up picture of our little eating machine. :-) So for April, and any others that are equally as weird, here is a close-up picture of the little guy! I still think it's GROSS!

He must have fallen over on the glue board, because there was some hair on the glue and he had a bald spot! BLAH! (And, in Sam's words....he had the poo scared out of him!)

Rodent update......

2009-04-26T18:32:00.001-07:00

Well.....WE CAUGHT THE FURRY LITTLE THING!!! We went into the pantry this morning to check on our little eating machine - and sure enough, it was stuck to the glue board! (Thanks for the glue board, April....we will forever be in your debt!!!) Sam went into the pantry and came out telling me how sad it looked and how cute it was! (Cute??? Are you kidding me???) It was still alive and desperately trying to get off of it. There was no way I was going to pick it up and I was debating on going next door to get the teen-age boy to come over and get it, when Sam shocked me by volunteering to pick it up. I couldn't believe it! This from the girl who runs screaming and knocks down anyone in her path when she sees a spider! Anyway, I went out into the garage to get a small box to put it in and she got a plastic fork to turn the trap around so she could pick it up without reaching over it. (The rat was in the corner of the trap, closest to Sam.) She very calmly picked it up, put it in the box and took it outside. Whatever would I do without her!!

Weekend "fun" (or something like that).....

2009-04-26T00:56:00.000-07:00

All week as I'm trying to make it through the work week - I look forward to the weekends, when I can spend a couple days with my girls, doing....well, whatever we do. This morning as I woke up, my head was filled with the plans we had made for today. Fun stuff like, grocery shopping, cleaning the house, etc. I also told the girls I'd treat them to a movie this afternoon, for a job well done on their report cards last week. However - my plans didn't go exactly as I'd planned. I went into our pantry to see what we needed at the grocery store, picked up a bag of cranberries and they started falling out of the bag from the bottom. I looked at the bottom of the bag and what did I see???? A hole that had been CHEWED into it. My next discovery was an enormous bag of pancake mix (think Costco size) with a few holes chewed into it. By the time I was finished, I had filled a big garbage can full of food that the little rodent had gotten into! What fun.... A friend of mine had a glue strip, so we put that in there (immediately!) and then I made a trip to Walmart tonight to get a few more glue strips (I figure the more - the better....right?!) I also purchased plastic containers to put our food into. I'm not taking any more chances! (Sorry - I don't have any pictures of our contaminated pantry.....I was too grossed out to even THINK of taking pictures!)

On the up-side of the day - Sam played in a church basketball game today. I love watching church sports. Along with watching Sam play, I get to hang out and visit with friends of mine from church. As for the movie - we saw "The Hannah Montana Movie". It's actually a pretty good movie. I really enjoyed seeing it.

Some have a little more wisdom than others.....

2009-04-10T13:02:00.000-07:00

I took Amanda to the dentist earlier this week. After 17 years of no cavities, she had 4 for them! While we were there, they took an xray to check her wisdom teeth, since she is "that" age now. When they looked at the xray, they discovered that she has 5 wisdom teeth! When having a 5th wisdom tooth taken out, there is a good chance that it could go into the sinus cavity - therefore causing a more complicated surgery. After that little bit of information - Amanda has definitely decided on anesthesia!

Fun in the SUN!

2009-03-31T16:55:00.000-07:00

As we were leaving this last Saturday for California, it was raining in Washington. (Pouring rain.....not just a sprinkle or two!) As we got to California, we got word that it was SNOWING in Washington as we were out by the swimming pool having fun in the sun. Ahhh.....wonderful, wonderful warm weather and sun! There's nothing like it! Anyway - enough rubbing it in that we're not freezing at home for Spring Break - but having a great time in the....(what was that word again?????) SUN!

Weekend in Las Vegas

2009-03-15T19:33:00.000-07:00

We went to Joanna's bachelorette party, which was held at The Cheesecake Factory. (Yummy, yumy food!)

The happy couple.....aren't they cute!?

Wow! Are they hard at work - or what?! (I think that would be the "or what")

Joanna and Grandpa Smith

Joanna and her niece and nephew - Kadence and Jacob

Kadence is just the cutest flower girl, ever!

Joanna and her sisters, Jill and Jenny

Joanna with Amanda and Sam

Jenny & Grandpa Smith. Now doesn't that look like the Statue of Liberty to you????

This last weekend we went to Las Vegas to see Joanna and Shayler get married. It was really nice to visit with family again.......it's been way too long since we've been home. We helped Karen run errands and decorate for the reception - which was alot of work, but we made it fun! The reception was held in a friends backyard. The weather was great! The whole evening turned out amazing! `

Sam's new hobby

2009-03-09T09:18:00.000-07:00

At Sam's school they have study time incorporated into their schedule. It's an actual "class" where the kids can work on homework or get extra help from a teacher during this time. They also have clubs the students can go to during this time a couple times a week if they are up-to-date with their homework, grades, etc. Well, one of Sam's teachers teaches crocheting for those that want to learn and be in a crochet club. Sam and several of her friends decided this would be fun and joined the club. Within a week or so she was hooked! She loves it! To start off with, she crocheted headbands or scarves for several of her friends for Christmas. Then the club decided to make blankets to donate to a local hospital to give to kids with cancer. Sam learned how to crochet granny squares, sewed them together and then crocheted a border around it. She did a great job and was really excited to be able to help a child in need.

What??????

2009-03-01T21:08:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine puts a "Quote of the Day" on her blog - so I thought I'd "copy" her with this post. (Hope you don't mind, April!)

This afternoon Sam and I were sitting in the front room. I was reading a book and she was working on homework when I heard her say, "My upper lip smells funny." My first thought was, "What?? Did I hear her right?" I looked over at her and she had her upper lip pressed up against her nose....smelling it! I always knew there was something weird about that child!

Got Mud??

2009-02-27T07:17:00.000-08:00

Sam had a soccer game this last Wednesday, which just so happened to be a very rainy day ALL DAY LONG! (Not mention cold and windy!) There were several times when the girls were trying to kick the ball and would be slipping and sliding all over the place, instead.

This would have been the perfect game to take pictures at, but due to my surgery, I spent most of the game sitting my the car - trying to watch it from a distance. (It's kind of hard to hold onto an umbrella with both hands because the wind is blowing so hard the umbrella keeps going "inside-out" AND take pictures at the same time, anyway.)

Sam managed to keep (relatively) "clean" through most of the game, until the last 5-10 minutes. Her and a girl from the opposing team were trying to kick the ball and they kept slipping and falling down in the mud. It was absolutely hilarious!

Pure Torture!

2009-02-25T13:36:00.000-08:00

This week I've been "enlisted" to do something that is pure torture....all for the love of my daughters!

On May 15th, there's a Taylor Swift concert in Seattle and the girls want to go REALLY bad! There are 2 different local country radio stations that are giving away free tickets this week. Amanda has been diligently listening to the stations, trying to score some tickets, but so far....no luck. Of course, during the day she's at school, so this is where I come in. Knowing how I feel about country music, she asked me to actually listen to these two stations and try to win tickets for them. I can only take so much of listneing to county music!!! After about 3 minutes it's like pure torture!! So now here I sit at home, listening to.......country music. Ugghhhh.......

Sigh......What a parent wouldn't do for their child.......

Whoohoo for the military!

2009-02-18T23:33:00.000-08:00

Hospital bill........

Is anyone screaming and running for cover yet?? Well, I'm not! I got the bill in the mail today for my surgery and one night's stay at the hospital last week. Actually, the bill is just for the hospital stay. (There is no charge for the surgery itself.) Are you ready for the total?? It was a whopping $15.65!! Yeah for military benefits!!!

Living proof.......

2009-02-16T18:25:00.000-08:00

Well folks, here's living proof that Amanda is............my daughter! As I'm sure most of you know (and for those of you who DON'T know) I have always been and probably always will be......a big whimp! Amanda has been wanting to go to a blood center to give blood, but we just haven't gotten around to doing it. Well, this last week The Cascade Blood Center was at her school, so she brought the permission slip home for me to sign and very excitedly took it back. On the day of the blood drive, she went into the gym at her appointed time and laid down on the bed next to a friend of hers. (They took pictures of each other with their cell phones, which is why the pictures are kind of fuzzy.) Amanda was pretty excited about giving blood until a couple hours later. She was sitting in her 6th period class when she decided to take the bandage off her arm. She started feeling dizzy and nauseous, so she stood up and headed for the nurses office. The next thing she knew she was waking up on the floor! She had passed out......COLD! I'm amazed she didn't hurt herself on the way down - but other than being embarrassed, she was fine. YUP! She's my daughter alright!

Soccer time......

2009-02-15T12:36:00.000-08:00

I think Soccer season is my least favorite sport that Sam plays. Afterall - we do live in the Pacific Northwest. The past 2 weeks we've seen rain, snow, hail and a small amount of sun. Sam tried out for and made the JV Soccer Team at school and the first game was this last week. The day before the game it was snowing and hailing a good part of the day and I was dreading standing out in the cold the next day. But luck was with us and it was a nice sunny day (a tad cold - but that's ok...it wasn't raining or snowing).

Amanda and her music

2009-02-07T16:21:00.000-08:00

This past week has been a really busy one for Amanda. She participated in the Mountain Region High School Instrumental Solo & Ensemble Contest today, so she's been busy practicing and getting ready for it. First Amanda played in a Saxophone Quartet and then she accompanied two of her friends on the piano in two different songs (one played the saxophone and the other played the flute). So she had to learn 2 pieces of music on the piano and one on the sax for the quartet. I took pictures while they were practicing while waiting for their turn and then my camera battery died. I was really bummed!
Everyone was assigned a time and room to be in to play their music for a judge. When it was their turn, they were to give a copy of their music to the judge in the room. Then when they were done playing, the judge would give them tips on how to improve their playing and what their strong points were. They were also given a score.....1+ being the best score you can get and so on. The quartet she played in received a score of 1 and are now qualified to go to State! They sounded really good (of course, I'm not biased or anything). Way to go Amanda! I am really proud of her and her ability to play 3 different musical instruments. Her love of music is amazing.

Multi-tasking at its best....

2009-02-06T13:23:00.001-08:00

The other day Sam was playing Guitar Hero on the Wii and I went in the room to watch her. When I walked into the room, this is what I found........she was playing Guitar Hero and talking on her cell phone at the same time - and she didn't even miss a beat! What talent????

Frontier Falcons JV Basketball

2009-01-24T15:22:00.000-08:00

Sam was on the JV basketball team at her school this past season. She loves playing sports, and I love going to the games and watching her play - but by the time the season is over I am SO glad it's over! Her team only lost one game (by 3 points). They did GREAT! Her last game was a week ago Friday, she had this last week "off" and now this week she starts up with Soccer try-outs. Last year was the first time she played soccer and she fell in love with it! Call me crazy, but getting kicked in the shin, knee, etc isn't much fun - but she loves it!

My poor car......

2009-01-06T20:55:00.000-08:00

This is what the bumer and tail light is SUPPOSE to look like.....

And this is what it NOW looks like....... :-(

On Monday morning, (2 days after getting her license) Amanda was REALLY excited to finally be able to drive the car to Seminary (her early morning church class) and then to school. As she was backing out of the garage, however, she backed into a big huge truck and dented my car! In her defense, though, the truck WAS in the middle of the road and it WAS dark - so it wasn't entirely her fault.

It's official folks..........

2009-01-03T21:28:00.000-08:00

Against my better judgement, (just kidding.........I think) I took Amanda to the DMV today so she could take her driver's license test and SHE PASSED!!! Most of her friends have had to take both the written and driving tests twice - but Amanda passed them both on the first try! She did a GREAT job! She has been looking forward to this day for a long time. Within a few hours of passing the test, she got a call from someone for a babysitting job and she told them she could drive to their house herself. At which point, my heart about fell to my stomach! This is scary stuff!

On the up-side of things, I now have someone to run errands for me and go "fetch" Sam from her various activities!

Passing the time on Christmas Eve Day

2008-12-27T00:36:00.000-08:00

On Christmas Eve during the day, the girls and I went to Costco to do some shopping (it's actually less busy than the day before that). After we got home, Hannah and Alyx (friends of theirs since they were born) came over to help pass the time. They watched the movie, "Momma Mia" and then played the sing-along portion of the DVD and had a great time using their snapple bottles as microphones and sang along with the music. What a bunch of crazy girls! There's nothing like good friends to help pass the time and create some Christmas memories.

On Christmas Day, we hung out at home and relaxed. It was nice to spend the day relaxing after the crazy, busy Christmas rush.

White Christmas!

2008-12-22T13:46:00.000-08:00

For the first time since we've moved here (18 years) it looks like we'll be having a white Christmas! It has snowed pretty much everyday for over a week. I have never seen this much snow around here. It is so incredibly pretty. I love to sit in the house, curled up in a blanket, watching a movie, with the snow falling outside. (With hot chocolate, of course!!) A couple kids from down the street came down this morning to see if Amanda could go outside and play with them. She used to babysit them and they love spending time with her. Our driveway is perfect for sleding down, too.

Snow and more snow

2008-12-19T10:00:00.000-08:00

This is Sam's smowman from earlier this week. It's about 14" tall!

The girls went outside during the day while it was snowing.

Your never too old to make a snowman. Sam decided to make a "normal" sized snowman after we had enough snow to MAKE one.

More snow has fallen this week than we've seen in 5 years. The snow has been falling off and on all week. We would get an inch or two and then partially melt, snow a little more and then melt, etc. But yesterday it snowed all day and we ended up with about 7-8 inches by last night. I had to drop something off at my work, so the girls and I went for a walk last night. It was a lot of fun to walk around, looking at the beautiful snow. This morning when we got up we saw something else we haven't seen in awhile.......the SUN!! The combination of the sun and all that snow is absolutely amazing! Our Christmas break was suppose to have started after school today (Friday), but due to our weather we've been out of school since Wednesday. (School was 2 hours late on Monday and regular schedule on Tuesday....that's it for the week!) Around here, when we have snow, school is canceled due to the fact that we have alot of hills and back roads that the buses drive on. SO - our Christmas break just got longer and our summer vacation just got shorter.

Let it Snow.....

2008-12-14T10:59:00.000-08:00

The snow is like powder, which makes a snowball fight difficult.

What a wierdo!

We didn't get a lot of snow last night - but it's enough to play in. When the girls got up this morning, they immediately bundled up and ran outside.

Christmas Party and First Snow.....all in one night!

2008-12-13T22:18:00.001-08:00

Poor Santa!!!!!

The program turned out really cute! That's Mary and Joseph, if you can't tell!

Tonight was our Ward Christmas Party. We ate a ham dinner, the Primary put on a really cute program and then Santa came to visit. Since I play the piano for Primary (on Sunday's), I played the piano for the program and since most everyone in our Ward knows how much I love taking pictures, I was also asked to takes pictures of the kids sitting on Santa's lap. It was fun to visit with people from our Ward and just be together.

When we went outside after the party, it was snowing! This is the earliest we've gotten snow in years! It was so incredibly pretty to watch it come down! I love it!!!

Head for the hills......

2008-12-03T07:26:00.000-08:00

Even this tree (crooked and all) is better than the one we had last year!

Hannah and Amanda goofing off.

Sam and Hannah taking a little hike.

This last weekend we went out in the jeep again. It's always nice to get out of town and into the mountains. We were kind of looking for a Christmas Tree, but figured that if we didn't find one we liked, we would just go to a Christmas Tree Farm this next weekend. Last year we got a tree from the mountains, but it was kind of ugly...(ok, it was really ugly) - so the girls and I are determined to get a tree that has enough branches on it to actually hold our ornaments. (Think Charlie Brown tree before they decorated it!!!!) Anyway, we were able to go further up than we have ever been able to during winter due to lack of snow. Amanda's friend, Hannah, has been wanting to go jeeping with us so she went along, too. We met up with 10 other families and all went out together. It's nice to go with other people, that way if we get stuck someone else is there to pull us out.

School Sports

2008-11-30T10:08:00.000-08:00

Amanda is currently on the Bowling Team with school. (The season goes from November to January every school year.) Every day after school they take a bus to the local bowling alley to practice, except for game days, when they either play at the same bowling alley or they travel to another alley in the area. I love watching her bowl - her facial expressions are great when she gets a strike or if the ball goes where she didn't intent for it to go. She loves being on the bowling team and is getting better and better all the time.

Samantha tried out for basketball and made the JV team at her school. It's fun to watch the difference between when she's sitting on the sideline and when she's on the court. She goes from being relaxed and chatting with her friends to an "up-in-your-face - I'm going to run you down" child on the court. She's having a great time playing basketball.

Did someone say "Paparazzi"????

2008-11-18T21:49:00.000-08:00

For the past two years I've gone to Young Women's Camp (during the summer) as the Head Cook. Along with doing the cooking, I was also running around trying to take as many pictures as possible. Well, tonight I was asked to go to YW Camp next summer as the camp photographer!!!! I'm so excited I can hardly stand it!!! And to think....I have to wait until next August! That's just pure torture!

Way to go Amanda!!

2008-11-16T14:49:00.000-08:00

This last week Amanda received her Young Women Medallion. This is something she has worked very hard for over the past few years. (For those that don't know what this is, it's comparable to an Eagle Scout Award.) Along with getting the necklace, the Stake Young Women Presidency gave her a porcelain temple on a wood base. We are really proud of her and for all the hard work she put into finishing her Personal Progress goals.