A Day at Newport Beach!

We drove to the Lincoln City on Tuesday March 24th, When we arrived it was drizzly and cold. We decided to get on the 101 and head south. In between showers we got out and enjoyed the beach. It was still Cold and Windy! Sierra's friend Savanah, Sierra,Maddy, DeLona, Presley, Sydnee & Cole
Sydnee, Maddy, Cole, Sierra, Steven, Savanah & Presley

As you can see it was Windy... check out the Hair!

Seriously it was only like 45* out and the wind made it even colder! We were hoping for some

Sunshine but it never came out!

On our way down to the coast we stopped at the Evergreen Aviation and Space museum. They have so many planes and fighter jets on display. Even space rockets & army tanks. It is a very cool place to go. You could spend hours here!

We had rain all week! Steven had to work so we decided to hang at the mall just to get out of the house. Presley was so done and ready to go home after she got her jamba juice! She gathered up all of her loose change and toothfairy money before we went and she had her mind set on using it to buy her own jamba juice! Sooo FUN to be 7! All the walking was good for us all!

Springbreak Day trip around The Mountain!

This picture of Mt. Hood was taken on Saturday afternoon. We spent the day doing some spring cleaning and decided that we would head for the coast in the morning for a day trip. We woke up to rain:( Blahhh So we changed our plans to a drive up the gorge. Notice I used the word Drive we get to the waterfalls and Steven decides to pull over and hike up to the falls.Great hiking shoes huh!

A Mary Poppins moment!(it was raining hard)

I do have to say that the hike was worth it!

At this point the rain wasn't coming down hard, thank goodness it was just a mist

We stopped in Cascade Locks and got a bite to eat at CharBurger... we had a great view of the Columbia River

And the Bridge of The Gods

Next we drove through Hood River.. where the sun was actually shinning and I did NOT get a picture!What was I thinking..? Because just 15 minutes up around the other side of Mt. Hood we got into Snow.... again.. great snow shoes!

We got a few pictures then Steven decided to do cookies in the snow... if you have FB check out our video... it is posted on both of our FB.

After our venture through the snow.. as we got into Sandy it began to hail like crazy! It was the most hail that I have ever seen come down at a time! It then turned to snow for a bit then by the time we rounded our way home it was just back to drizzle.

Only in Crazy Oregon can you get a taste of every kind of weather in one day! What will the rest of our springbreak be like?

An Evening of BOWLING!!!

Last night we met up with Grandma Judy, and all of our Aunts and Uncles and Cousins that live here... along with Karen's boys who are here visiting from AZ. Here is our whole group! We bowled a game (well almost a whole game) @ Big Al's in Vancouver. Grandma brought a chocolate cake from Costco that we all enjoyed. Thank you Grandma for a fun night! We love you!! Here is Grandma Judy with 13 out of her 21 grandkids! (Just missing Jani's 6 & Kathy's 2)

I actually got Sierra to hold still long enough for a picture! Thanks Sierra for being a good sport!

This is a picture of most of the girls...DeLona, Maddy, Krista, Sierra, Presley, Grandma Judy, Elise and Sydnee!

Here is a few more... Cooper, Brady, Parker, Cole, Chandler and Presley & Elise snuck in this picture too!

I'd have to say that the highlight of my evening was when Chandler heard a cool song come on by "The Cars" and when he looked up on the big screen and actually saw what they looked like he was like..."oooh, I didn't think they would look like that, he is ugly, is he wearing a wig?".... I got a good laugh out of that!

Again thank you Grandma for getting us all together for a fun night of bowling!

End of Basketball Season!

Sydnee and Maddy's Team had their party on Wednesday night. They got medallions with their names on them. Pretty cool! I went to the first 45 minutes of their party until I had to head to Mutual with the older 2 kids. So Steven stayed @ the party. The place was so crowded and dark that none of the pictures he took turned out. So I just took a few of the girls right now to post.
They had their last game yesterday. Let me tell you it was amazing. Maddy woke up running a low grade fever.. so I gave her motrin and put her back in bed. Her game wasn't until 2pm. By noon she was feeling better and no fever. She had the best game. She scored 20 points. By half time her coach asked her to not steal the ball anymore and to let the other team stand a chance. We were so far ahead that they turned the score board around. The other team started making some baskets... so we were in hopes that her coach would turn her loose again, but he didn't. I recorded the entire game on the camcorder... Mom and Dad(AKA Grandma and Grandpa) I will get you a copy. The girls were thrilled that both Grandma Judy and Grandpa Don came to their game. It was a great game to end their season. This morning Maddy woke up feeling even worse.. so I am thankful that she felt great during her game.

Presley had her last game Saturday morning. I was so proud of my team. All season all but one of the kids had made a basket in a game. So my goal was to make sure he got the ball to score. It was in the first quarter when we set the play up and Jacob made the basket! I had to hold back the tears of joy out there on the court! The crowd went wild! It was the best!
Being that this was Presley's last game I asked Steven to record it. I kept looking over and he appeared to be doing a good job. Well.. Presley had made 2 baskets up through the 3rd quarter and I was glad he was recording... then Presley gets the ball again and from behind the 3 point line she throws it up and swishes it in! I look over again to make sure he is still recording... the crowd went wild again.... full on excitement. Out team scored 41 points! Yes.. Kindergarteners and first graders! Pretty awesome!
Immediately after our game we had our team party. Presley had been looking forward to it ever since the other girls had theirs. I handed out bobble head trophies... The kids were so much fun!
So you know that after the party we went to the girls last game, then home to watch the games that we had recorded. I was so excited to watch Presley make that 3 pointer again. Well Steven in his excitement of the moment did not get it.... he however got good footage of well basically nothing.. but you can hear the crowd go wild! Hey we know what happened... that's good enough right? In his defense he did get video of the first 2 baskets. Steven, thanks for trying.. I do appreciate your efforts. I love you!

Cars Washed & A Movie!

So Thursday afternoon Steven and I decided that we wanted to go and see the new movie... Race to Witch Mountain... and that the kids wouldprobably like to go see it too. So both of our vehicles were in need of a wash.. and we decided that if they washed and detailed both vehicles AND did all of their regular chores that we would take them with us.Sounds like a fair deal to me! RIGHT! They did a pretty good job. They lucked out and the sun was actually shinning! As you can see in this picture, the girls even put on shorts! Yes, 52 degrees & sunshine= shorts! I know that sounds cold.. but really the sun felt amazingly warm! Sierra and Cole of course ducked out of the pictures.... these 2 girls still like getting their picture taken.
Of course it always ends with a water fight... and you see who has the hose; Maddy... she thought it was sooo funny to spray Sydnee... it would be if the temp was about 30 degrees warmer! BRRRRR.... so naturally Sydnee comes in alll dripping and crying... Maddy comes in all smiles and snickers! Her response to me was, "Mom, I couldn't resist!"

Oh, I had to throw in a picture of my new tires... and those are snow flakes... We have absolutely CRAZY weather around here! (That was Tuesday)

And, Yes, we did take all of the kids with us on Friday to see the movie! It was GREAT of course!So great that on the way home from the movie Steven told the kids that we should all write a letter to Dwayne "the rock" Johnson for making such a great movie for us to see. The kids were all like.. yeah right Dad... we will get right on that!

Oh, also FYI we finally talked Steven into removing the headache rack on his truck.. So Cole spent the time he had from when he got home from school on Friday until we went to the movie taking it off! I must say... it looks much better! I am certain that I am not alone on that!

Monday March 9th.. Snowing Again!

Well for starters... it is snowing again as I am writing this. We got an inch yesterday and will probably get that much again today. Now.. in the cascades... they got a couple more feet and the skiing is good! Not that I ski, but if I did... whoo the conditions are good! I tried snowboarding once(remember Angelene & Chelle) I was one with the mountain! Ha...
Saturday the girls basketball games were at the same time. I of course had to go to Presley's.. since I am the coach and all.... so I sent the video camera with Steven to record Maddy and Sydnee's game. I was a bit hesitant only because of past experience with Stevens video recording skills. But I went ahead and sent it anyway. He didn't do too bad.. Cole comentated the play by play... and there were a few floor shots and the camera not quite following the plays on the court.. but the worst is that the disc ran out before the end of the game and Maddy made a 3 pointer! And I missed it! Well there is one last game next Saturday.... and I actually get to go to it! Yeah! I really enjoy watching my children do things they love! By the way Presley did amazing. Our team made 18 baskets... that is 36 points in a 32 minute game! (they play 4/ 8 min. quarters) the other team scored 22 pts.
So let me back up to Friday, Cole did not have school. He stayed busy all day doing yard work and washed and detailed my excursion for me. It looks so good! (although now it is covered in snow) Oh and also, Steven did get new tires for it! I need to post a picture! Anyways... back to
what I was saying... Cole has a friend that happens to be a girl and she attends a different school. Well her school was having a carnival that evening.So Cole had asked if he/we could go to it. Yeah... now you know why he didn't complain having to do yard work all day... he washed the excursion without me even asking. So I did take him and the 3 little girls. I think they all had a good time. Sierra stayed home with 2 friends that she had sleeping over.
Okay so this was the weekend that we spring forward with daylight savings time... It is not an easy adjustment! I really don't like the whole daylight savings time thing! I think it is a rediculous waste and it really messes with your bodies internal clock! It is just wrong! But hey for the next 8 months we are the same time as Arizona! That part I like! I hope everyone that reads this had a good week.. and will have an even better one this week!

One of Those Days!

Have you ever had one of those days that things just don't seem to go your way? Well yesterday was one of those days for me! A simple trip to the grocery store turns into a punctured tire! As I was turning off of the main street to get home.. all of a sudden I hear this most awful clanking noise.. so clearly I know I have ran over something and it is stuck in my wheel wells or under the carriage of my excursion. I pulled over immediately and see this piece of metal thing stuck in my tire... I can hear the air coming out.. but worse.. it had already made 3 gouges(spelling?) in the paint..So I have 2 options... one.. leave the piece of metal in and it will keep dinging the paint.. or Two. pull the metal out and the tire go completely flat.. and I am about 5 blocks from home (with groceries in the back) So I took option #2... And yes it went completely flat... I did make it home. I am thankful I have Steven's truck to drive in the meantime... it is a little less convenient as the excursion.. but hey.. it beats walking! Right? Here are the 3 dings...

This is the stupid piece of metal that somehow went in the tire... I ended up getting a call from one of the ladies I Visit teach needing her prescriptions picked up and some groceries.. so I went back by the intersection that I picked up this piece of metal (this time driving the truck) And there was a broken metal/wire basket in the road.. I had ran over the handle... Presley's team had a basketball game last night too.. we had to split up...since we don't all fit in the truck.. Steven had to drive his work truck. It makes me appreciate a vehicle that we all fit in! When the kids were younger we could cheat and squeeze them all in sharing seat belts. That doesn't work anymore.. they are all too big. There was more to the day but I will stop there.. I have rambled on enough. To be honest... this morning was worse! I won't even begin!

Maddy and Sydnee's Team "The Hurricanes"

This is the girls team. A mix of 4th and 5th graders. I am bad with their names.. So I will not even attempt. They have now played 6 games and and are 4 wins 2 losses. The 2 they lost were only by one basket.... It is fun to watch none the less!I took my digital camera with me to their team pictures.. so I was able to get these shots. If you notice, Maddy's hair is about 8 inches shorter! She begged to get it cut. She wanted it to be noticeable. It pained me to take that much off. She has such beautiful hair!

Sydnee wants hers cut too.. but I refused! Maybe in a couple years. For now she gets just the ends trimmed!

Yesterday Maddy's softball team attended an evaluation clinic at the High School. She is playing up this year with 12U. One of the drills they run is timing the girls running from homeplate to first base. Out of all the girls.. every age.. up to 15.. Maddy holds the record. Her coach told her she has braggin' rights. She ran it in 3.21 seconds! Woo hoo! Way to go Maddy!

The Grape Apes! Purple Power!

So here is Presley's Basketball team....Top row.. Maddy,Adia,Jane(holding the ball and waving) Kyle, Cameron, then on the first row is Presley, Christian, Kaleb & Trevor.. off to the side just out of the picture is Jacob.. He refused to be in the picture. He is very tempermental.

We have now played 5 games... and they have all improved in the past 5 weeks. We just have 3 games left of the season. I will be sad for it to be over. I have had a blast coaching this team! When they make a basket in a game it is the best.. they come over and give me a high five everytime! Presley made a couple in yesterday's game! Grandma Judy came to watch so that was extra special!

Sierra has been my roster girl. She keeps track of their baskets ( Because we don't keep score on the score board) I do so I can tell the kids after the game how many they made! They thrive on that! She also keeps track of who goes in the next quarter. Thanks Sierra, I couldn't do it with out ya!

Steven took a few shots of Presley as she shot the basket! This was during warm-ups!

Snow and a Field Trip!

Okay so we had more snow... and it stuck around for about a day.... then rain, then more snow... our weather can NOT make up its mind! It is CRAZY!!! I have a hard time believing in Global Warming! The past couple of weeks have been busy... of course life is always busy around here. I got to go on a Field Trip with Presley's First grade class. We went downtown Portland to the Children's Theater and watched "Click Clack MOO" It was quite entertaining. At the last minute one of the other chaparones couldn't make it so Steven met us there and filled in. It made it especially nice for Presley! Below is a picture of a few of the kids in our group. 6 & 7 yr. olds are so sweet! At least these one's were!