The Legend of the Tree

It has been a bit of a sad week here this week. We have said goodbye to a longtime friend of the family. Years ago when we bought our house this little tree was planted out front. It was a funny looking tree......it was growing crooked and it's limbs were all in disarray. We didn't know anything about caring for trees and Richard thought we should take it out and plant another one, but I resisted, saying it would be a good tree climbing tree for the kids. I have pictures of the little tree, but don't know how to get them here, so just imagine a little tree.It was true....it was a good friend to the boys. Jon and his friend Jared spent many hours climbing it and as the tree grew bigger, so did Josh. He loved the tree and he and his friends would dream of building rooms in the tree for a fort. One summer a few years ago, I consented, and build they did!!
Hours upon hours were spent, dragging wood from the neighbors houses. Hammering would begin early in the morning and go into the night. The front of our house looked like a wreck from all the hammers and nails and wood pieces strewn about our front yard out, but the kids loved the tree. (Forgive me if I might sound a little like Shel Silverstein)
As the boys grew older, they forgot about the tree and moved on to more exciting things.....but the tree stood giving shade to our home and as it got older it continued to bend. The tree was decorated on numerous occasions by neighborhood rascals, each time it got harder and harder to get the decorations out. It covered the house and one had to look very closely to see a house was even there.
Then one day, while the mother was gone, the tree came down. The mother had thought of the idea, but was unprepared for the sight as she drove in. Tears welled up in her eyes as she remembered all the memories the tree provided, but thankful that the tree had a good life....grateful that the tree was loved.
Goodbye tree. Thank you for all the love you showed my family....thank you for the beauty that you provided for our home.....thank you for the warmth that you will bring to another family on a cold winter morning in the not too distant future.

Word Verification

I have been encountering some spam on my blog. To try and put a stop to it I am enabling word verification on my comments link. For those who regularly comment on my blog, you will just need to type in the words you see on the screen to be able to leave a comment. Sorry! I must try this to stop the unwanted comments. Keep your fingers crossed that it works:)
I've been very busy and tired. Will blog again soon:)

Eagle Project Part 2 (scroll down)

I'm having trouble finding the before pictures on the computer, but these will do for now. We are glad that Jon's long drawn out project is finally finished!! He began the research for it last July and then was too busy until January to get everything in motion. Jon did a great job and learned ALOT in this entire process....Good Job Jon!!

Jon's Eagle Project

Jon's project was at the cemetery in a neighboring town called Camas. They replaced bases on 3 headstones, cleaned up and redid a sitting area, and cleaned and trimmed about 60 headstones. Josh cleaning a headstone.
Jon showing the younger boys what to do.
A Before picture
I even got in on the fun!!

Dad's 75th....UM....... I mean 38th Birthday.....

On Saturday Feb. 9th we celebrated Dad's birthday. This is a very fun picture with the goodies Debi sent........We all had alot of fun playing with the toys!!
Notice the big smile on his face here with Aunt Sue and Aunt Adele. (Since HE is only 38 and they are much older)
Here he is with his most awesome children........though the OLDEST was not here. She's older than he is anyway, so it was for the best that she wasn't there to show him up:)...but we missed her!!
The highlight of the day was the entertainment. We played Dad's version of "Are you Smarter than a 5th Grader" and there were $$$$ prizes. Imagine GIVING money away on your birthday!! A First!! Happy Birthday DAD!!!!

TWO POSTS in one Day.....WOW!!!

It's amazing that I am so energetic to post 2 blogs in one day!
These are Jon's souvenirs from today. We left at 7:30 this morning and drove to Seattle for Jon to have an audition for a music talent award from BYU Idaho. He could have sent in a tape, but we found out about it less than a week before the deadline. Doing a live audition gave us some more time. Jon was a good sport, giving up a great cross country ski trip with his quorum, to spend the day with me. He was quite nervous, but I think he did a great job. Besides he got out of school for the day...... We went to see Grandpa Nash before the audition, then drove to the Institute building at the University of Washington for the audition at 3:00. I had talked to Brother Meechum on the phone and he was the one doing the audition. Weather or not Jon gets anything, he will still be in one of the bands and he didn't have anything to loose by trying. Great job Jon!!
The most harrowing part of the day was the traffic!! Besides being a Friday....all of the presidential candidates were in town just miles from where we were and all 3 of the mountain passes were completely closed going east because of the avalanches in the mountains.... which created traffic being diverted to I-5 (which was our only way home) AND it was pouring down rain the entire day. Traffic was literally bumper to bumper for 60 miles and it took us 3 hours to drive those 60 miles. All I could see out of my window was a blur of taillights because my window would not clear up. I need new windshield wipers. I stayed in the same lane for 3 hours, too scared to try and change lanes. Once we got through the worst of it it was pitch black and people were whizzing past me at 70MPH, when I could barely see the road. The trucks were splashing water so bad I couldn't see anything. It would have been a white knuckle ride for you Seester...you would have died!! By the time we got home, the usual 3 hour drive had turned into 6 hour drive..... I SURVIVED!!!!

EEks!!!.......This is Embarrassing

OKAY.........this tells it all. My life is out of control. This looks somewhat orderly, but in my purse it is a nightmare!!! Piled in back by my purse, are coupons and reciepts and deposit slips. These are what keep my purse a mess. Then, there are the usual club cards, insurance cards, etc....they are tucked into a special place so I can always find them, but never can. This was a good day....I had a few dollars stuffed into a side pocket. The little coin/zippered thingy (as Jenny would call it) usually has coins in it....but at the moment we are saving every coin we get for our church history tour this summer. A baggie with a candy cane in case I need a quick breath freshner...cell phone...movie tickets from when Jenny was home a few weeks ago. There are hand cleaners, a bus schedule for the kids from work, a partially spent gift card from Debi and Mike (thanks guys) and oh yes....does it look like I have enough writing utensils?? The negatives are from Jennys wedding/bridal shower that I need to get copied for her..... theres a red yarn necklace with scrabble tiles on it that I wore at the scrabble tourney in December. AND....I CANNOT live without AT LEAST 2 lipsticks in my purse at all times. Also very important is my basic grocery list and 2 pages of my ongoing foodstorage list I keep with me at all times too (this is very important to my salvation) as well as my Temple Reccommend which is tucked in under the lists. That about does it. Judge for yourself........hopefully you won't be too hard on me. Hee Hee!!

We're On Our Way!!!

Today I took the plunge and bought the tickets for our summer vacation. We've been planning this since last summer. I have a hard time making decisions, but I couldn't put it off any longer. Airline prices went up last week and it looked like we would have to pay alot more. BUT....I kept checking and by leaving a day earlier and staying a day later we got the bare bones price!! We will fly to Newark, NJ and spend 3 days touring New York City. As a suprise for the boys, we will see a New York Yankees game at Yankee Stadium. We'll go to Ellis Island, a must for my family history buff husband, see the Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, the New York Temple and shop at Times Square. We'll ride a subway and take a tour bus around the city and see Ground Zero and the UN Building. The 4th day we will begin our Church History tour by driving to Palmyra NY. We will stop in Fayette where the church was organized and then on to Palmyra where we will go to The Sacred Grove and attend the Hill Cummorah Pageant. (I meant to blog the picture of the Sacred Grove here, but just realized this is Joseph getting the gold plates from the Angel Moroni.) OOPS!!
Day 6 will take us to Niagara Falls and on to Kirtland, Ohio.
Day 8 we will drive 10 hours to Nauvoo Ill. where we will spend 3 days seeing so many special sites and driving to Carthage. We will attend the Nauvoo Pageant. Day 11 takes us 6 hours to Council Bluffs Iowa where we will spend the night after going to Winter Quarters Nebraska.
Our final trek will be to Far West, Gallatin, and Independence MO. where we will see Libery Jail and The Community of Christ Visitors Center and the Independence Visitors Center where my brother and Sister in law served their mission. We should have some time to go to Jamesport MO an Amish community near there. In all we will be gone for 15 days, flying across the country then driving 1900 miles, flying home from Kansas City MO. It will be a wonderful preparation for the boys to serve their missions, especially Jon who will be going next year.

Ten Happenings of the Past Week

I know Jenny will want to post about her trip home,, but here are some I can share........

1. We had the aunts over for dinner Sunday night. We ate Cafe Rio and had a good visit. Unfortunately it was cut short by freezing rain and we got the news of President Hinckleys passing.
2. Jenny brought us this beautiful nativity from Mexico from her and Logan:)3. Richard and I went to see "Riverdance" (Irish dancing) on Friday night. Jenny and the boys had a Harry Potter movie night while we were gone, and they all fell asleep early.
4.Jenny and I had a chick flick night.....but I fell asleep this time. We finished the movie the next day.
5.We went clothes shopping for Jennys birthday and we had a great time!! Now that she's an old married lady it's much more fun going shopping together:)
6. It was wonderful having Jennys beautiful voice join ours in singing hymns before scripture and prayer.....it sounded much prettier and we actually had piano accompaniment for a change.
7. Happy 22nd birthday Jennifer.....I shared my labor story with her today. She loves to hear it.
8. Jenny finally made it home tonight after missing her plane on Tuesday because she was in the emergency room at the hospital. Southwest Airlines is an absolutely wonderful airline. They not only changed her flight but didn't charge her the fare difference:)
9. Jon testified before the House via telephone on Monday as his AP Government class submitted a bill on Washington State History. As soon as I figure out what to do I will post the link where you can listen to him.
10. Jon got his acceptance into BYU Idaho today!!!

Married One Returns for Visit.....

Jenny arrived safely Wednesday morning. We are enjoying a nice visit. Last night we played games with the boys.....tonight Jenny and I went to the movies with Jessell, her sister Hayley and mom Jill...my friend of many years. Tommorrow we're going to lunch with Richards Sisters and family and will surprise the grandparents. Richard and I are going to see Riverdance (Irish dancing) tomorrow night so Jenny and the boys will spend some time together. Will keep you posted.....(I know Jenny's blogging too)!!

Josh the Genius.......

Well...at least I think he's a genius!! Here is a picture of Josh at the Honor Roll assembly a few weeks ago. It is his very first Honor Roll assembly in Middle school. He's made the honor roll 2 other times, but it was on the last tri mester so they didn't have an assembly. He has worked very hard this year and we're very pleased with his efforts!!
Here are a few of his Lego creations. He's been building a whole city and I just noticed he snapped these pictures while I was resting yesterday (I'm sick with a cold)
He's added so much detail inside his buildings....here you can see the little chairs and tables, etc....!!

TORNADO IN VANCOUVER!!!

We had a bit of excitment here at 12:30PM this afternoon. As I got in my car about 12:15 to go back to work after lunch, I heard thunderstorms overhead. At first I thought it was a plane, because our house has a flight path over it. I got to work and the thunder was getting louder and there was a huge grayish cloud with black all around it. The lights in our classroom flickered and we went out to get the kids off the busses. I had 2 kids with me and one of the bus drivers said she had just had a report over her radio that were were under tornado watch. Well, we've had them before, and after having lived in Texas I knew it could last awhile. I handed off my kids to Audrey, the other staff assistant, as the secretary came over the intercom telling us to get all the kids into the main building into the hallway. I helped check the other buses to make sure all the kids were off. My last bus #24 pulled into the drive and we all hurried to get our kids as the secretary kept coming over the intercom....each time more adamant that we get in NOW.
We were inside the hallway for about 30 minutes until we got the clear to go to our classes. It was a bit interesting because we are in a cluster of schools...4 schools altogether. The intercoms were saying to get all kids out of portables immediatley. Well the trouble you see is that our entire school is portables. Our secretary was asking the district on the phone what they expected us to do since we were all portables. As we sat there they were getting reports that the tornado had touched down in 3 places. We were sitting ducks! We were safe though, but it has been an exciting day!!
Josh came home and was so excited about it all. Vancouver had a tornado touch down in 1972 that was much worse and 8 or 9 people died. There have been no reported injuries from this one.

JON....THE GUY ON THE GO

Well, Jenny has been waiting for me to blog about her family. I tell her we are boring, but she doesn't care. So I am posting about her brother JON.....Here's what he's been up to....Jon came home on New Years Eve after being with friends and before we went to bed we were locking up and lo and behold, his car was once again papered. They must have followed him home. He asks me WHY do I keep taking pictures of everything??? BECAUSE I CAN!!!
Jon is a guy on the go....When he's not with one group of friends, he's usually with the young men in his quorum, or with the kids in his government class preparing speeches. This Friday he is hoping to get the first signatures for his Eagle Project signed off. He is currently up in Olympia Washington, our Capital, to compete in the State "We the People" competition. It something he is involved in through his AP Government and Politics class. The competition is Wednesday, then Thursday he will be meeting with some of our state representatives and senators and will tour the Supreme Court with one of the Wash. State Justices. His teacher, Patti McMaster, has taught for many years and these are some of her colleagues and previous students They will have a picture taken on the Senate floor. I wish I could have gone to see him give his speeches, but I needed to be home to see Josh get an award for honor roll (his first). The story behind this picture is the reason they wrote Happy Birthday isn't because it's his birthday, but because he's taking after his Dad, always telling people it's his birthday (even though it's not)....so it's a joke:) GOOD LUCK JON!!!

Beach Trip

Saturday we took a trip to Seaside Oregon. Jon stayed home....to have independence I suppose, so it was just the three of us this time.All along the way it was incredible to see the damage from the storm that came through here the first part of December. The storm had hurricane winds that devastated both Washington and Oregon and left the mountain forests a horrendous mess. It also dumped so much rain that it caused terrible flooding all over for hundreds of miles. (Jon helped with the flood relief with Mormon helping hands)). Anyway, we saw first hand the thousands and thousands of trees destroyed on our way over the coast mountains. In this area we were able to stop, but just driving down the road it was incredible...trees down everywhere. In this place, the oldest living sitka spruce tree in the U.S. and the oldest living thing in all of Oregon was snapped in two. Very sad.
We stayed at a hotel on the beach...here Richard and Josh act up while I take their picture from our balcony. Our room was pretty, but the wind was so strong that our patio door creeked all night long and it was hard to get to sleep. But....what a beautiful view!!
Josh had alot of fun doing what he loves the most....DIGGING!! It was very cold outside and he had a blast digging. The wind was howling and Richard was freeezing outside with him (I was in the nice warm car watching the ocean), but he stayed out with Josh for over an hour.
Here he is building a bridge in this little river. He finally had to get in the car when it started hailing really bad, but he had a great time, even though he was soaking wet. He changed in the car:) We stayed until the tide got up far enough and took out his work.

CHRISTMAS FUN....

We've had some fun Christmas events. Christmas Eve we delivered our usual goodies to neighbors and friends, then headed out to eat with my brother and sister in law Art and Marilyn and their family. We have spent many years with them on Christmas Eve. This year we ate at a buffet place called Izzy's Pizza. Then we all went to their house for the nativity, Santa and our craft, this year the kids made t-shirts. Jon and Josh were very creative! Grandma and Grandpa Cameron and Aunt Ellouise came for Christmas morning gift opening and breakfast. We ate so much I never did cook dinner, we just snacked all day.
Tonight we had my brother Ron and his girlfriend Tammy and their kids over as well as G& G Cameron and Aunt Ellouise again. I made spiral ham in the new roaster I got for Christmas. Yum Yum...Here all the kids had a great time playing Apples to Apples.
G & G Cameron and my brother Ron.I hope you enjoyed this. It was very exciting to blog tonight. We got high speed internet today and it only took a minute to post my pictures. You will hear from me much more now!!

3rd Annual Esther Drew Memorial Scrabble Tournament

I only took 2 pictures, but this tells it all!! From right to left: Aunt Adele, Jane, Aunt Sue and myself in our Santa sweatshirts Jane made for us several years ago. It's fun when we can all get together and wear our shirts!!
I didn't hear a final count on attendance, but it was well attended!! Cousin Tim Lum joined us for the first time this year. It was held in Oregon (Beaverton I think) at David and Sarah Lum's house. We ate yummy soups made by different people, as well as breads, veggies and delicious snickerdoodle cookies. (Grandma Drew's recipe)The way it works is everyone sits at a table that has a scrabble game. We played 2 games this year. After the first game 2 people from that table move to a different table. In the end there's a handicap and the scores are added from both games combined. This year Carol Sibley, cousin Toms wife won. Debi sent little black coin purses as prizes since Grandma always carried a little black coin purse. David made a croetched piece as a prize as well. I took a picture of a board while we played, because Grandma would always say "Now isn't that an interesting board...we need to take a picture of it". SO...this time I did Grandma....in your honor!!!

Christmas Traditions Part 2

You can't see any of the lights and the tree looks plain, but it really looks nice in person. Joshua did a good job on the lights (even though I was a pain in the neck while he did it).
Josh loves to play with the train under the tree. He even followed tradition by getting his army men out and putting them on the train (they're usually in the tree too!)

Christmas Traditions Part 1

It was a very cold rain free year for cutting down the Christmas Tree. This was one of the easiest years to find a tree we liked...we found it within 15 minutes of arriving. Maybe this year the trees are just the right maturity.....
Josh plays his imaginary guitar... AKA saw.....
TIMBER!!!!
For those of you who have no idea what a tree farm is....there are acres and acres of different kinds of trees at our favorite place. Noble Fir, Grand Fir, Douglas Fir...etc....
You walk around and look for your favorite tree. Trees with pricetags are the only ones you can choose. There are saws on stands that you can use (or bring your own). Voila!! You're all done (It hasn't always been easy though...especially for us picky Moms who want the perfect tree.) The older I get, the less picky I am!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

From my house to yours!!Watch a parade....
Eat lots of turkey lurkey......
Have a GREAT day!!!

TAG....I'M IT!!!

1. Best thing you cooked last week?
Let's see....I don't like judging my cooking, so I asked Jon....he liked my enchiladas and cafe rio pork the best. Josh votes for cafe rio...I think I liked the teriyaki chicken best, though I do like cafe rio as well. Richard's already gone to bed.

2. If money, time and babysitting were no object, where would you go and with who?
The Oregon or Washington coast....in a luxury condo with an ocean view and room service....with Richard. I have no big aspirations of travelling the world. We're going on a trip to see church history sights this next summer and ideally I would LOVE to rent a motorhome to travel in. If money were no object I would buy a motorhome and travel the country (USA)....with my family.

3. When was the last time you cried?
I don't snitch on myself.....

4. Five things you were doing 10 years ago:
Taking Jenny to: Piano lessons, achievement days, unicycle, gymnastics...
Super Saturday (craft day at church)
Jenny Jon and Josh to birthday parties
Leadership meeting
Having a family picture made
Dental and vision appointments
Lunch with my sister in laws
Day after Thanksgiving shopping with Melanie!!
Okay....thats more than five things...but I cheated and checked my calendar ...it is what I did in a 3 week period in November 1997......boy was I ever busy....STILL AM!!!

5. Five things you were doing 5 years ago:
Cheated again.....Same 3 week period 5 years later
Stake RS stuff...Stake RS choir practice....making a wooden snowman at Super Saturday (we have it every November)...going to the Temple...taking kids to movies...shampooed carpet....went to the coast (Seaside Oregon) with Richard...had lunch in Chehalis Washington with my sister in laws and nieces.....got released from calling...got a new pellet stove...Jenny actually had her first date with Andy Lawler (see Jenny you really did have a date at 16)...went to the Temple.....started my Christmas cards...played Yahtzee with Jon...pack meeting with Josh....talked to my seester on the phone AND went shopping with Melanie.
Okay, okay... but my journals have so much in them!!!

6. Five things you were doing 1 year ago:
Piano lessons, visiting teaching, Temple, chaperone marching band , Enrichment, lunch with Ericka, turned the big 50, working 6 hours a day, birthday parties, wedding receptions, stake conference, band awards, Jenny home for Thanksgiving, taking Jenny to dentist and eye appts., shopping with Melanie!!!
OKAY...I'M DONE BORING YOU!!!

7. Seven of your favorite hobbies:
Does it sound like I have time for hobbies????

8. Five favorite foods:
Vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup and walnuts, Hersheys Kisses with nuts, Payday candy bars, Mr. Goodbars, and chocolate milk. So is it any wonder I look the way I do????

9. Five places you've been:
To the hospital (3 times to have children), Thorntons Tree Farm every year to cut down Christmas tree, top of the Empire State Building, Pearl Harbor, HOME (is where the heart is).....

10. Five Favorite Memories:
All the ones I can remember!!! Sorry....too hard to narrow down!

I TAG AMANDA AND KRISTIE.........

THE LADDER OF SUCCESS

SUCCESS: The achievement of something desired, planned, or attempted; A result or outcome.
Hot summer days, cold autumn nights. Hundreds upon hundreds of hours.....4 years of your life.....for this one final moment.
Silently waiting.....The chill of the night pierces you to the bone....but, you don't feel it. All you feel is your heart pounding.....all the memories come flooding into your mind.....Push ups and running the track.....Over and over.....RESET.....Your family of friends....some have moved on, some will remain....."O"....."The Gates"....."Inside the Box" ......memories of people that have helped shape who you are. Band camp.....water jugs.....dot books....it will never be the same.
San Francisco..... Anaheim......Disneyland....Spokane.... wonderful memories fill your brain.
Inching forward as you prepare to enter the stadium one last time. The long walk....the lights...the crowd cheering. Into formation....heart pounding....the time is here.
7 more minutes..... the final run. Now is the moment.... The crowd....many in gold.... You turn....you hear them cheer....EVERGREEN!!!!..... Your final notes....Your final steps. It doesn't matter what the prize, only that you did your best........AND THEN.... you know....you have reached your final show....THE LADDER OF SUCCESS.