Weather Pics

Here are 2 pics I forgot to include in my post about the crazy April weather we've been having lately. The first is of hail on our back deck, and the second is of snow on our way up to Silver Falls, just a few miles from our house- More sunshine, please!

Rockin' Out & A Peaceful Hike

We had so much fun this weekend! Friday night, we rocked the night away at a Dan Zanes concert at the Aladdin Theater. If any of you don't know who he is, you have to check him out. He is an awesome kids' musician. He and Laurie Berkner are the favorites in our house. What makes them so wonderful, is that most of their music lacks that driving-mommy-insane factor. It's both Mommy-friendly as well as kid-friendly. Anyway, the concert was so much fun. All of the kids were dancing the whole time, even Alex. I'd have to say that Rogue had the most fun of all. He was a crazy dancer!
Here we go! A pizza smile before the show :)
Lexi provided the pre-show entertainment- thanx, Lex
Crazy dancing going on in the balcony!
Dan Zanes saying 'hi' to all of the kids after the show.

Saturday, Travis was at a track meet all day, so the kids and I packed up and went for a hike and picnic up at Silver Falls. It was so fun, peaceful, and beautiful. I can't wait for more sunshiney days to spend like that....

Game Day

In our house, Friday is the designated "game day". They play a variety of games all week, but video games are only played on this special day. Still, they don't get to play them all day long, but they do play them quite a bit, since it is their one day a week that they are allowed to do so. It's nice, because they're not constantly asking to play them throughout the rest of the week- They know that they have to wait until Friday. Anyway, I just set up "Mario Cart" for them on the big TV this morning, and this is what they look like (Alexandra's controller isn't doing anything, of course, but she insists upon doing EVERYTHING her big brothers do!):

Lunch Date

Rogue loves little Eli West. He's been dying to play over at his house, so when Ashley called us up and invited us over, Rogue was running out the door faster than I could gather everything together. Since our refridgerator went out the other day, we've been eating out for all of our meals, so it was so nice to sit down with the Wests for some grilled cheese and lentil soup. That soup was YUMMY! It was from Trader Joe's, and I'll definitely be taking a trip up there to pick some up. Thanks so much Ashley! :)

I Heart My Duets

When we first got married, we bought a really old, used washer and dryer for about $50. Then, and couple of years later, we bought our first new set, but we were sure to get the cheapest ones we could find. And they were sufficient enough... until I had 3 kids. I am ALWAYS behind on laundry. I'm not talking about a little behind, I am talking can't-even-open-the-door-to-the laundry-room behind. Finally, after our dryer went kapoot, we decided to buy a new set. This time, I went into the store looking for the highest capacity I could find, and that's what I left with- Whirlpool Duets.

I LOVE THEM! Not only do they hold a lot more clothes, but they cycle through so much faster. These things are amazing, and definitely worth the money we were so hesitant to spend on them.

It's Beginning to Look a lot like Christmas...

...too bad it's April!! What is with our weather? Today (well, technically 'yesterday', since it's 1 am), I awoke to huge flakes of snow pouring down from the sky. Not too long later it was 'raining cats and dogs', followed by bright, sunshiney skies. That quickly gave way to a hail storm, rain again, and then some more sunshine. As Elijah said today, "This is crazy! It's supposed to be getting warmer!" That's right, it is! Snow was exciting 4 months ago, not now. How thrilling it was to awake to snow back in December, but now I am craving more days of sunshine to allow for walks, hikes, and playing at the park. We will be going to the San Juan Islands the first week of June, and rafting the last week of June. Will it be warm enough in time to fully enjoy the activities? I'm so afraid that the longer this snow continues, the longer it will take for the lakes to warm to suitable boating temperatures, too. Ahhhh, relaxing days on the lake- that sounds so enticing. Where are my sunshiney days?????!!!!!!

Tagged

I was tagged so here goes:

Ten years ago...
I was getting ready to graduate from high school- I am so old! I was also walking around with no eyelashes on my right eye. My prom date was a wild dancer- he accidently hit me in the eye, and somehow managed to rip out all of my eyelashes by the roots!!

5 things on list to do today...
1. Get Elijah off to school
2. Play at Indoor Park
3. Lunch with friends at the local bakery
4. Clean, Clean, Clean
5. Mutual with our lovely Young Women :)

What would you do if you had a million dollars...
Pay tithing (that'd be a big tithing check!), divy some out to family, pay off debt, and invest the rest... although, it would be hard to resist a trip to Europe!

3 bad habits i have...
1. Procrastination
2. Stubburness
3. Forgetfullness (SO FRUSTRATING!)

4 places I have lived...
1. Aumsville, Oregon
2. Stayton, Oregon
3. Salem, Oregon
4. Silverton, Oregon
(Help me convince my hubby we need to try something new!!)

4 jobs i have had...
1. Baskin Robbins (had a chocolate blast almost every day!)
2. Circuit City (Selling CD's... yay....)
3. Track/XC coach
4. Mommyhood

5 things people don't know about me...
1. I jumped off a 35 ft. bridge when I was 6 (and haven't stopped. I love bridge/cliff jumping!)
2. I have a huge scar on the back of my leg (FYI- don't ride on top of cars)
3. I'm scared of the dark (Yes, I am 3 years old. LEAVE ME ALONE!)
4. I love black & white photography
5. My ideal summer day would be a hike and picnic at Silver Falls with my family

Whats your hubby's name...
Travis DALE Newton (Call him "Dalebert" next time you see him, he'll LOVE it!)

How long have you been married...
7 1/2 years. Wow....

How long did you date...
First Date February 27th 1999
Purposed August 27th 2000
Married December 15th 2000

Who eats more...
Me

Who said I love you first...
Me (although, I don't remember it. He does, and apparently, after he said his return "I Love You", I told him not to forget who said it first :) Good thing he remembered!)

Who is taller...
He is in real life, but in my imagination, I'm 6'0", so that'd make me taller....

Who sings better...
If you've heard me sing, you would have to ask :(

Who is smarter...
hmm... depends on the subject, mostly him, I suppose.

Who's temper is worse...
Generally, that'd be me.

Who does laundry...
That would be me. And it's my absolute least favorite chore!

Who does the dishes...
Me again (although Trav pitches in sometimes), and my 2nd to least favorite chore....

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed...
Facing the bed, T-rav

Who drives when your together...
Travis

Who is more stubborn...
I don't like these questions!

Who is the first to admit they're wrong...
Definitely him. I have a hard time with that one....

Who's parents you see more often...
They both live less than 20 minutes away, but we probably see my parents a little more often

Who purposed...
Travis- He and mi madre were in cahoots (sp?). They set up a scavenger hunt around town. It was on Trav's birthday, so my mom told me that it was a surprise for him, but obviously, I was the one surprised!

Who has more friends...
About the same....

Who has more siblings...
Me- I have 3 brothers, and he has 2.

Who wears the pants in the family...
Trav wears the pants, but the kids run the house!

Tag, you're it Jamie

Property Update

Just thought I'd throw out an update on our new property.... We signed papers on it last week, so it is now officially ours- YAY! Also, after the first day we had found it, we went home, and came across a great floor plan. There were a couple of small concerns, however, so we have flipped through hundreds of more plans since then, periodically finding a favorite. The other night, an idea came to me, and I figured out one simple change we could make to our original plan to make it work perfectly. So, as of now, after sifting through countless plans, we are right back at our original one. Here's a picture of the rear exterior of the house (that I posted a pic of a while back), the floor plan itself, and the 'official' sold sign on the property!! :)

**There was supposed to be another floor, but we didn't feel the space was very usable for us. We decided to eliminate the top floor, allowing the main floor to be even more open. The basement level will actually all be finished space, with a playroom/family room, 2 large bedrooms, bathroom, pantry, and storage.

Riken and Dolly

Yesterday, we took Riken to her new home. It was all bittersweet, of course. We really love her, and will miss her so much, however, her new home is going to be wonderful. Her new owners have children that are all grown and gone, so dogs have become their new children. Riken has a sister now, just a few months older than her. For the first time, we saw her wrestle and rough-house with another dog, and she seemed to love it. She's going to be able to roam all over their house, their yard, play at the park a lot, and sleep in their bedroom- a lot more freedom and excercise than we were able to provide for her. They wrote down our email address, and plan to send us monthly pics of her for the kids. Speaking of the kids, they miss her, and said sweet little 'i love you's to her when we left, but are happy that she has a sister to play with now. They've also been invited to go visit Riken whenever they wish, so they know that they'll still get to see her again someday. Riken and 'Dolly' were running all over, so it was hard to get a good picture of them (plus, Elijah was hogging the camera!), but here's what I was able to get:

Riken Update

We found a great home for Riken! My mother-in-law works at Lowe's, and had mentioned Riken to a co-worker. She was so excited. Her and her fiancee already have one dog (a lab), and they had just decided that he needed a companion. So, Riken will have a buddy to play with, and they apparently go for walks and play at the dog park all of the time, and will be taking them hiking and camping.... That'll be right up her alley. I'm so glad to have found a good home for her. We're taking her over tomorrow (they were so excited that they wanted her that night, but we needed to wait a couple of days), and I'll post a new pic of her and her new buddy then! :)

Beach Pics!!

A sneaker wave came in- I scooped up Alex just in time, but poor Rogue got plowed over! Everyone created their own masterpieces:




A perfect end to our perfect weekend:

Say a Little Prayer

You may recall, that we took a weekend trip to the coast a few weeks back. In my post about the trip, I had mentioned that some pictures would be posted later, because I couldn't find the other camera that we had taken out onto the beach with us. It had not turned up since then, so today I set out, determined to find it. I searched EVERYWHERE I could think of. I started with all of the logical places, then moved on to the illogical places, and even searched craigslist for a lost camera. I was certain, however, that I had been flipping through the pics on the camera on the way home, and that it had to be here- SOMEWHERE !! I checked backpacks, coat pockets, drawers upon drawers, the garage, our bedroom... you get the idea. I was at a complete loss of anywhere else to look. Finally, I decided to say a prayer. Shortly after saying my prayer, I suddenly had a new idea. I searched through the pictures I had taken on the other camera, to see if there was a bag, coat, or something that I had forgetten that we had with us. There was a certain sweatshirt that I had been wearing, that I hadn't seen in a while. I went to the laundry room, and found the sweatshirt. I'm sure that you can guess what was in the pocket. So, now I have the pictures, and I am downloading them as I write this. I will post them shortly....

[Divided] Family Weekend

This weekend was an interesting one. We all divided up- Trav & Elijah to Sisters for an overnighter, Rogue to my Mom & Dad's for a sleepover, and Alexandra and I had a girl's night of our very own. After dropping off Rogue, Alex and I came back into Silverton and walked around downtown for "First Friday." For those of you who don't know, First Friday is an event that falls on the frist Friday of every month, when several downtown shops stay open late, provide treats and sometimes special entertainment for visitors. This month, there was a cultural theme throughout the town. So, we saw some gorgeous black & white photography from Italy and Portugual at the bakery, watched belly dancers at a thrift shop, saw a group perform a tribal dance in a parking lot, checked out several country booth displays at a bank, and rocked out to our local high school jazz band at a coffee shop. We both had a great time, and Lexi showed off her mad dancing skills :) In the meantime, Rogue was playing with trains, baking bread, making and flying paper airplanes, munching on cookies, and watching movies with Grandma (Grandpa was out of town on a business trip). Over the snow-covered mountain, Trav and Eli visited a pizzeria, watched some movies together in their hotel room, played in the snow, and spent most of their time at a track meet before coming back home. It was an interesting, out-of-the-ordinary, but fun weekend for everyone.

Sunny days at the park

This week has been fabulously sunny. It was perfect timing, too, since the new play structures at our park were just finished on Monday. We've been going for walks and bike rides, and playing for hours upon hours at the park. I had almost forgotten just how much I enjoy the sunny days! I wish I had taken my camera, so that I had pictures to post. I thought perhaps I do that today, but then awoke to rain :( I think it's supposed to be raining on and off all weekend, so hopefully it will clear up for at least another few days next week. I feel so much better when we are able to go for walks, bike rides, play at the park, walk to the bakery for lunch (thanks for yesterday Ashley :), and just enjoy the sunshine. It makes such a difference for me emotionally. So, here's hoping for lots of sunny days to come...!

An Old Friend Back at Last

You will never believe what I am eating right now:

That's right- a jello pudding pop! (yes- I know it's only 9am- don't judge me) I think that perhaps the only 2 people that could understand the full magnitude of this find are my mom and brother Michael. These were an absolutely favorite treat as kids. We loved them! Then one day, Winco (at that time "Waremart") became the only place they could be found anymore. Then, not too long after, they were completely off the shelves in all stores. We were devistated! Last night, I was wandering through our local Safeway. As I was about to pass right by the frozen dessert section, I glanced over and saw them sitting there in all their glory. I did a major double take, and needless to say, snatched them up immediately. I could not believe my find. I wanted to call my mom and michael to tell them, but it was past 11 pm. I felt so tired and sick last night, that as soon as I got home, I immediately passed out. So, the only thing to do this morning, was to break them open. Just now, I did an internet search about the beloved dessert to find an image to post. I found my image (obviously- see above), but I also found that I am not the only oddly obsessed fan of the pop. There are numberous articles dedicated to it's glorious return. Mmmm.... Yumm....

Riken Reminder

For those of you who don't already know, we are trying to find a home for our dog, Riken. She is a really sweet, beautiful purebred golden retriever. She is 10 months old, and has been trained, spade, and microchipped. Even though she's been trained, however, she is still just a puppy, and still has a few puppy qualities. Like I said, she really is a sweet and beautiful dog. We are sad to let her go, but feel that we are just not able to give as much attention as she deserves. We are willing to give her to a new family for free, as long as it is someone that we know could give her a good, loving home, where she'll get lots of attention. That is very important to us, so we are not willing to put an add in the paper for her- we want to find a friend or friend of a friend that we can feel certain will take good care of her. If you or someone you know is interested, please leave me a message. Thank you!

The 3 Little Pigs

Lately, instead of reading books at bedtime, I have been telling the boys stories. You know, the ones we all grew up with- Goldilocks and the 3 Bears, The 3 Little Pigs, Little Red Riding Hood, .... I am surprised at how much they get into it. I have also been surprised to find that Elijah already knows them. I think he must have heard them at school. Anyhow, it's so fun, because when I'm done, they get so excited, and start telling the story all over (very dramatically) in their own words. Rogue tends to run some of the stories together, and occasionally interjects himself into the story. Apparently, the youngest and most foolish of the 3 little pigs was named Rogue, and according to Elijah, in reply to the wolf's demand to open the door, the pigs call out, "Not in the hair of my chimmy, chim, chim!" I'm excited for tomorrow night! Any suggestions on more good classic stories to tell?