10 Degrees of Relief

Things in our families little world, have been rather stressful these past few months.  Running a business, the household, and still trying to get the kids to and from school, sports, friends, etc...all wear on a person over time.  It's life...we all experience it, and live it every day!  BUT...sometimes you just need to take a deep breath, leave it all behind, and enjoy time together as a family.

 

That's what we did on Sunday.  We are pretty blessed to live within 40 minutes of the coast, and although we don't take advantage of it nearly as often as we should, it's always a great time when we do!  This trip however, definitely topped my list of all time fantastic trips to the beach!!!

The weather report called for high 80's in the valley, and high 60's, low 70's at the coast.  So...we packed up a few things, loaded the car, and headed to the coast for 10 degrees of heat relief, business relief, and just plain stress relief.  The Oregon coast tends to be extremely windy 90% of the time, so we only planned on staying for a bit, letting the kids run in the sand, and maybe touching our toes in the ocean before they froze off in the characteristically cold water. 


We arrived to 71 degrees, clear blue skies, and a SLIGHT breeze...not normal coast wind at all.  Found a great little path to the beach...off the beaten trail for the hundreds of other people who had our same idea...and ran for the water!

Kevin doesn't like the sand...I know..."gasp"...he just doesn't like it getting between his toes, and all over everything.  So...when we climbed down the stairs and hit the beach, he was beyond excited to be walking on hardened sand where the tide once covered it earlier that day.  No soft blowing sand to get between his toes...it was great!

The water was the WARMEST I've ever experienced at the Oregon Coast...Seriously the Warmest!  It didn't take your breath away at all, and the kids ran right out and started swimming.  Unheard of I tell ya!

We even got to introduce the kids to everyone's favorite ocean activity...jumping over the  waves.

 
I sat back, soaked up the rays, enjoyed the giggles and laughter coming from the kids...Kevin included...all the while catching up on some reading!

These are the faces of the cutest kids on the beach that day!!!  They had more fun than they've had in a long time, and kept thanking us for the "Family Day".  A reminder that we need to have more "family days", and less "I've got to get this done" days!

Startin' 'em Out Early!

As many of you know, my family has property at Triangle Lake and I was blessed enough as a kid, to be able to spend my summers there. Wadding through the shallow water, playing in the sand, laying on the dock getting cancer...oh, I mean a tan...swimming, tubing, skiing...you name it, we did it! Some of my best childhood memories are at that lake and now that I'm a mommy, my kids get the opportunity to experience those same things!

Last summer, Kevin and I had just purchased our rental house and spent every waking moment renovating it...no lake for us! The summer before that Kallen was just a wee lad, and Kynlee entered into the world half way through it, so...our summer was a bit occupied with little munchkins...yet again, limited lake time!

Fast forward to 2009: The year I've been waiting for and didn't even know it! Both kids are finally at an age where the lake is a place they remember and look forward to going to! We've already spent a few weekends there, and the kids wake up every morning that we're home, asking when we get to go back! It warms my heart and takes me back to the good ol' days of being a carefree kid, living it up at the lake! Ahhhh...hold on a moment while I bask in my memories!!! Okay...enough basking for me!

Anyways! When I was a kid...oh so many years ago...they had little trainer skies, but they were exactly that...actual skies. A person had to be quite coordinated in order to maneuver them in the water. In fact, I'm pretty sure I remember my parents having to float in the water with us kids, to help us hold the skies in place. I think I was 5 or so when I actually skied for the first time. I'm sure I've got pictures somewhere that maybe one of these days I'll dig up and post for you all to enjoy! Anyways...getting back on track...Now, 20+ years later, they've come up with all kinds of gadgets to get kids skiing earlier and earlier! Well...Being the "go get 'em" parents that we are, Kevin and I purchased one of these said gadgets (the EZ Ski to be exact) to get our little kiddos out on the water as soon as possible! We were a little skeptical at first, but after seeing the delight in our kids eyes as we opened the box and talked all about how they were going to ski like mommy and daddy...all skepticism went out the window! They were stoked!

We played around with it at the dock for a while first, then took Kallen out for a spin! He was a pro right off the bat, and of course his sister had to follow suit! So here we are enjoying Triangle Lake at it's finest!


Blessings,

Apparently...

...they want to go swimming!

Well, at least that's what one might think when they find their kids wearing bathing suits and proclaiming that they need to go outside. I informed Kallen that we didn't have a swimming pool in our backyard right now because it's wintertime. To which he informed me that they could swim in "that"...

hmmmm...that ought to be interesting...have at it!!!

Blessings,

because I need record of this when I'm old and gray and can't remember %@#$...

Today I found my children brushing their teeth in the toilet...yes, the toilet. I'm not sure if they were cleaning with the toilet water, playing with it, or indeed brushing their teeth. Either way...Uh, yeah!

Blessings,

Cowboy Up!

While my kids are blessed enough to have both sets of grandparents living in our same town, they miss out on living by their cousins. 2 of them currently live overseas (Josiah & Benson)...2 are 8 hours away (Kaleb & Brayson)...and 4 are 3 hours away (Austin, Kaitlyn, Logan & Garrett)! We all have busy lives, and really don't get to see each other all that often, which is really hard on Kallen and Kynlee. Anyways...The kids get to see their 3 hour away cousins the most, so naturally, those are the ones they know the best.

Well...the other day I overheard Kallen "on the phone" with someone. He was laughing, talking, and carrying on quite nicely. He then hung up saying "okay, see you, bye now". He immediately ran over to Kynlee excitedly announcing that Garrett and Logan were coming over. "woohoo sissy, Garrett and Logan are coming over, woohoo." He then asked me if he could sit on the porch and wait for them. It took quite some effort, convincing him that they weren't coming, because "they called him and told him so". We actually had plans to go see them this weekend, though Kallen didn't know that at the time


Anyways, one of the most exciting thing about going to see Garrett, Logan, Austin & Kaitlyn is that they have horses...along with a whole gamut of other animals. 6 horses, 2 goats, 3 dogs, 2 cats, 3 chickens, and some Geckos, to be exact, though the horses are what really draw my kids in! After Kallen found out we were going to visit them, he woke up every morning, put on his cowboy boots, put on his cowboy hat and proceeded to talk about riding horses with his cousins and his uncle Craig! It has been a long couple of weeks full of anticipation and excitement, and we finally got to go!

Blessings,

Can You Believe it!!!

Oregon State 27, USC 21

Yes friends...it happened...and I was there to see it all! I may not have a voice, my head quite possibly is throbbing more than it ever has, and I'm pretty sure they guy behind me was spitting sunflower seeds in my general direction the entire game...but WE WON!!! Woohoo...Go BEAVERS!

Blessings,

Sometimes...

Sometimes there is fighting...

sometimes there is laughter...

sometimes there are tears...

sometimes there are smiles...

sometimes there are punches thrown...

sometimes there are hugs shared...

...I think you get the picture...

and sometimes...I just want to eat them up because they're just so darn cute!

Blessings,

Shoot Me Now...The Sequel

Okay...so I'm finally getting around to this, although it's not going to be nearly as exciting as the 2 week build up would make it seem!

Anyways...the bottom line is that I really "Like" my sister! I have always "loved" her, but I haven't always "liked" her! You know, that love/hate relationship that many siblings share...yeah, well that was us!

Though obviously raised the same way, by the same parents, attending the same schools...yadda, yadda...we are two very different people! Danielle's tall with dark hair, while I'm on the shorter side with blond hair. I was a cheerleader, she made fun of the cheerleaders. I skipped class, she attended class! She had a few best friends, I had many acquaintances...and on and on!

As kids, I didn't always appreciate our differences, thinking I was always "better" than her and her friends, and "knowing" she always wanted to be like me...ha ha ha! In all seriousness though, we have never been really close as some sisters are. That's always something I've been sad about, though my much younger, immature self, would have never admitted that.

Recently however, we've been going through some really tough emotional family things and as a result, my sister and I are more bonded now than ever! We still don't see eye to eye on everything, but we have an understanding of each others differences and are able to accept each other for those differences. I've talked to my sister on the phone more in the last couple of months than I probably have in all the years prior! I truly "like" my sister, just as much as I "love" her, and it's so great!

So...now that all that sap is out of the way, and in honor of her 30th birthday (which has now turned into a birth-month or something since it's been drug on for so long) I thought I'd post 30 random things that I know about Danielle...let's see which 30 things I pull out of my hat!

In no particular order:
1. She hates spiders as much as me (though she tried to convince me that she's over it now...yeah right)
2. She's the best IM buddy anyone could ever have
3. She's really, really creative
4. She likes to cook, and to cook unique and creative things (All she used to be able to make was this macaroni salad that became her specialty or something...she's come a long way)
5. She's got 2 adorable little boys, and plans for several more kids (I think 6 total...wahoo...bring on the nieces and nephews)
6. She'd be okay if she had all boys...yup...that's what she really wants, and to tell you the truth...if anyone could handle a house full of all boys...she could!
7. She used to call me "jabba the hut" (so I had a little chub as a baby...big deal!)
8. She finds the funniest things in magazine's and clips them for use in random projects down the road!
9. She loves "slapstick" humor in movies
10. Quote movies with her, and you'll be her friend
11. She's addicted to the TV...no, not what you think...she actually doesn't watch TV hardly at all...but when a TV is on in front of her, it's like tunnel vision, as if nothing else is happening around her. Don't even try and have a convo with her with the TV on!!! It's bad I tell ya!
12. She drove a little brown car around for the longest time, that I probably wouldn't have been caught dead in, and LOVED it!
13. She once had a marsh mellow land on her nose...while it was on fire...ouch!
14. Some people know her as Emu
15. Others as Plankton
16. While driving, she never actually came to a complete stop at the stop sign at the bottom of Skillings Dr..."California stops" every time!
17. She assesses nicknames to every one, and every thing...like her son "chunk"!
18. She's lived overseas, and plans on going back for many years to come...in fact, if we're getting technical...
19. ...she basically has two homes...one here, and one there!
20. She once asked me to "smell her butt", don't ask me why, but I did...and then she farted!
21. She's a sucker for the sappy old time romances...Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Emma, etc. etc.
22. She loves coffee
23. and hates sardines...okay, I don't really know if she hates sardines, but I sure do.
24. She once made "pet mice" out of some pesky mice in her dorm room cupboards
25.I just heard recently that she tried to get her sister in law to re-plant a "nettle" in her yard because she was convinced that it was a beautiful plant, and not actually a weed...not knowing it was a nettle of course...always looking for the good I tell ya!
26. She makes stuff up
27. She learned to water ski at 5
28. She loves to read
29. She once bought a hideous chair (one I wouldn't have paid two cents for) at a random garage sale we were driving buy, and it turned out to be one of the most comfortable and well liked chairs you would have ever sat in...she may even still have that chair...I still remember trying to fit it into the car
30. And last but not least, if she had a million dollars...she'd buy me a monkey (haven't you always wanted a monkey) and a fur coat (but not a real fur coat, cause that's cruel)!

So there you have it...30 random things about my random sister, in a rather random order. I love you Danielle!


Blessings,

Momma on a Mission

Kallen has a fishing pole that lately has become one of his favorite things. The bright yellow and red pole is kid friendly and oh so fun. One of the wonderful features that came with said fishing pole, is the bright red rubber fish that attaches to the line. You see...we never have to put a hook on the pole and Kal still has a great time...I mean...he catches a fish every time, who wouldn't have fun with that???

Anyways...we were at the lake this weekend and Kallen was fishing away. First he was standing on the catwalk fishing, then he moved to the end of the dock. I was holding Kynlee and watching Kal's every move...that is until I turned around to see what the men were doing. Of course, right at that moment, I heard a loud "thud", then a "splash", followed by an "oh no...my fishin' cole"...as I turned just in time to see the end of his beloved pole sink out of sight. Had I not had Kynlee in my arms, I might have dove in after it (Okay...be real...the water was only 68 degrees, and there was no way I was jumping in after a fishing pole, but it sounded good.)

So...the hours that followed were filled with lots of tears about the fish borrowing his fishing pole and not understanding why grandpa was going to help him pick out a new one, when he had a perfectly good and much loved pole simply sitting at the bottom of the lake. The water is about 20 or so feet deep right in front of the dock, so sometimes we have luck diving down and getting things, and let me tell you...many a thing has been dropped off the end of that dock...but weather/water conditions were not permitting such a dive...so the tears fell, and fell, and fell!

Well, what's a mother to do? I spent the next little bit, trying to search the property for something that might miraculously bring the pole to the surface. We thought of sticks with fishing line and sinkers, buckets tied to ropes, another pole with lots of hooks tied into it, and finally, our old family friend Pat, brought an old paint roller out of the back closet. I was quite the laughing stock as I tied the ski rope to the end of that roller, but I carried on. Kallen sat silent and still as he watched in anticipation...everyone else just with their hands over their faces to cover their snickers. I dropped the roller in, drug it one direction, then the next...nothing. My dad then suggests throwing it out, and dragging back to the dock. Okay...I tried that and announced to everyone that I felt a little tug. As I pulled up the line...something red was wrapped around the paint roller. My first reaction was that I pulled up some kind of plant or something, and that I was really going to get laughed at...but as I pulled it closer and closer...what do you know...THE FISH! All I heard behind me was "no way", and I pulled the remained line up along with THE FISHING POLE!!!!!!! I jumped and screamed in excitement as did Kallen. "You found it, you found my fishin' cole, yeah, yeah, yeah" was his exuberant response!

Everyone else just thought I should go buy a lottery ticket!!!

Blessings,

Picture Me

I was tagged by Amy to do this fun little meme! I'm supposed to post a picture of myself, then write about it...so here it goes:



This is a picture of Kevin and I on our "second honeymoon" to Cancun! When we got married, we were both still in school, and finances were a little tight. It was the middle of January, so we simply went for a fun weekend away in the snow!


In December of '04, Kevin and I decided to take the honeymoon we never had, a trip to Cancun, and this was us on the first night we arrived! We had a great time just being us! It was also on this trip that we decided when God was ready for us to be parents, we were ready too! I was pregnant with Kallen a month and a half later! Good times!


Now I tag Dani, Kim, Jessica and anyone else who wants to participate!!!