Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all you mother's out there! I know this day can have a wide range of emotions depending where you're at in life and your situation. May God bless you in a special way.



We went to church in the morning. Afterwards, we came home to regroup and then go over to my mom's for lunch. Lori and I thought it would be nice to bring mom lunch, so that was the plan. But, Lori and family got stuck in Wilsonville at a baseball tryout and couldn't join us. So, Lamar, Brittany and I brought some subway sandwiches over and had a great visit with mom. It was nice enough to eat outside on her patio, which was a bonus. What a beautiful day it was!



Mom always love flower baskets, so it has become almost a tradition to include that for her on Mother's Day. She looks forward to them every year. This year was no exception. She was thrilled.



Andy and Kelly came over at five and everyone pitched in to make a taco dinner. I didn't have to do a thing! Yay! We visited for awhile and laughed a lot. Of course, we needed something sweet to tame all those spices, so afterwards we made the last minute choice to go to Dairy Queen for ice cream. I called mom to see if she wanted to join us and she was tickled.

It was a great Mother's Day, for sure!

Spring Has Sprung!

Yay! Spring is in full bloom and now that we're getting a little break from the storms we've had over the last couple of weeks, we can actually enjoy some of the new color that surrounds us!





I'm likin' it!

Prom 2009

A fairy tale...that's what it seemed like to me as I watched my baby girl's dream come true. What could be better? Her boyfriend, Matt, flew in from Toronto, just so they could go to her Senior Prom together. Everything came together perfectly.
As a group of about 20 started to arrive, the weather turned ugly with wind, rain and even a little thunder. But, as we waited for everyone to show up, it all cleared just as fast as it had come! So, outside we all went to take some pictures. The umbrellas that I had bought earlier in the day weren't really needed, although we used them for some of the pictures.



Then, before we knew it, they were all back in their cars and on their way. Brittany and Matt stayed a few minutes longer, but then, they too had a destination that was calling them away. First, dinner at Stanford's-Riverplace in Portland.
Lamar and I met them down by the river after they ate. (We also decided to eat in Portland, so we went to Roses-yumm!) It started to rain on our way to Portland, but by the time we got there, blue skies were showing once again! A little cool, but sunny! We couldn't really ask for more than that.

The Mirror's Up!

My friend, Lynnette and I went to IKEA and it was the perfect time to get the mirror for over the couch. It was a bear to put up, but we're pleased with how it looks. Brings a little more light into the room, for sure! I'm still looking for that perfect storage unit to put on the back wall for toys, books, albums, etc. I did find a couple units that I liked on Craigslist, but they were too far away to be worth it. We''re not giving up! I know there's a deal just for us!

River Time

Oh, haven't the last few days been wonderful here in Oregon?! Blue skies, high 70's low 80's, slight breeze. Perfect for going to the Columbia River here. We have a few different spots we can choose from if we want to go to the water. In old towne St. Helens, there is a riverfront park. Now, just down the road, they've added another teeny-tiny park. Just enough for a couple of picnic tables and a bench or two. But a beautiful setting just off the docks and rows of boat houses. Across the river is Sand Island, another park that you can only get to by boat, of course! Since we don't own a boat, we haven't been there in years, but we enjoy looking at it from afar.




Down the road a little ways, if you go to Columbia City, they also have a nice small park, called Pixie Park. It's a nice little sandy beach. You can't swim, but you can get your feet wet and the kids can play in the sand and throw rocks into the river. Yesterday, we did both. We picked up the kids and headed to the river. Then Andy called and said they were coming to pick up his fish tank. We told them that we were down at the river, so they joined us. It was a great time. The kids had a blast and so did we...soaking up that sun!

Easter 2009

What a busy day! First, we went to church and had a yummy brunch, and then stayed for the Worship Service. I was pretty nervous for the first part because I wrote myself in as doing a (very small) solo part on one of the songs the worship team did. But, after giving it up to God (it was either that or throw up)and letting Him have control of it all, I was fine.



After church, we settled in at home. I even took a little nap! Boy, did that feel good! Later on in the afternoon, we went over to mom's for Easter dinner. We had a great time. I think there was 20 of us and that was with a few missing! Andy, Kelly and the kids met us over there. Rile' and Hunter played, and searched for a few more easter eggs and had a fun time even though they were tired. They were so cute in their Easter clothes from Nana and Papa. Andy says they conked out as soon as they hit the car seats. I wish I could have got a picture of that. Sounds sweet to me! Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter too!

Clearing the Bank

No, not the bank with all our money (what money?), but the bank at the edge of our property. We started this last fall when we hired a guy to come out with his Kabota. We had a bunch of small scraggly trees that we still needed to chop down. So, we got the Keim boys to come with their chainsaw and go to town. They got a lot done in an hour! Now, we have another nice big burning pile ready to go up in flames!