What to DO????

It's just amazing how fast time is going by. Seems like school was just starting and now we're halfway through the year already!!
Besides the fun I've been having watching the Olympics.....I've been keeping myself busy with all sorts of projects. It doesn't matter that I'm doing a hundred other things as well..... I've spent any free time I can find scrapbooking the past few weeks. First of all I decided I needed to put Jon's mission letters and things into the scrapbook I figured I would do someday.....until I just kept going and ended up finishing it completely (up to this point). He's sent a few hundred pictures home already...so it is a very fun book....each year of his mission will have a separate book because this one is already full. I don't do fancy scrapbooks... I use regular notebooks with black cardstock and the clear plastic pages......................(so I don't have to think)
I caught the bug......I had so much fun learning how to upload the pictures to Walgreens, that I went through all of our pictures from the church history trip we took 2 years ago and uploaded 300 pics and am now working on a scrapbook for that......... I'm obsessed!! But seriously I'm enjoying re-living our trip and knowing that my boy is back there very close to where we were ......it makes my heart HAPPY!!
On another note.....we enjoyed a nice Valentines dinner, just the 3 of us, last Sunday. Josh begged me to get the candle-abra down so we could eat by candlelight (even though it was still light outside).
I guess that's all for now...I have a busy day tomorrow. I'm going to the church cannery in the morning and then I'll be helping check in the youth for the 7 stake dance that's part of Dance Festival tomorrow night...... EEKS!! No time for Olympics OR scrapbooking tomorrow.......
What to DO???

Adams Baptism

A few weeks ago we got a call from Marilyn (Richards sister) to tell us her son in law Adam was getting baptized. Adam is married to our niece Cheree. We were so excited when we heard the news. Though not a member of our church, Adam has been a wonderful Dad and husband, who without any knowledge of the family began feeling his family needed more in there lives. Being LDS, Cheree and her family began going to church together and Adam took the missionary discussions at Darrell and Rene's house and wanted to be baptized!! We are so very happy for their entire family. They have 3 very handsome boys (top row with cousin Lindsay) who will be eternally grateful for their Dad's decision. Here is a group picture with all of our family....we drove in force to Chehalis Sunday night for the baptism. Michelle and Scott(Cheree's bro & sis) came all the way from Nevada to be with them for this special night:)
Here is Adam with Rene, who spoke at the baptism. He looked very spiffy in his white shirt and tie.... It was a wonderful evening. Congratulations Adam!!

Esther Drew Memorial Scrabble Tournament

Earlier this month we had the 5th annual Esther Drew Memorial Scrabble Tournament. For those of you who didn't know Grandma Drew, she passed away shortly before her 99th birthday, and she was an avid Scrabble player. She liked Yahtzee and Boggle as well, and would always get us to play a game or 2 when we would go to visit her. SO....in her honor, whether we're very good players or or not, the family gathers to remember her around her birthday time.
We have some very competitive people in our family....and of course some very smart ones too. In the end whoever is hosting for the year (this year it was Cousin David and his wife Sara)... usually does something fun for prizes. Cousin Tom was the Grand prize winner this year (he's an MIT graduate...no wonder). Cousin David (center with his son Carson) and my step Mom Rose and brother David were winners as well. Rose is holding the picture of Grandma Drew that we display each year to honor her.There was a little friendly competition going on between Josh and Aunt Sue. Josh was using his I POD dictionary and Aunt Sue was wondering if that was allowed....in the end no hard feelings:)
Cousin Jane regaled us with stories of her recent trip to China. What an experience!!! She has a friend who teaches there and she was able to go along with her and even teach a lesson or 2 herself.
There were about 18 of us there.....here's cousin Neal showing us his scorecard (he beat me) And last of all....I am the posessor of Grandmas Coffee can. Grandma would bake her infamous Snickerdoodle cookies and place them in this can which would be lined with wax paper. So each year I make snickerdoodles (and sometimes peanut butter...another favorite she would make for us) and fill the can to share with my family as we remember how much Grandma touched our lives.

Christmas and more........

Christmas this year was pretty quiet. We missed Grandpa Drew and Grandpa Cameron and Christmas wasn't be the same without them. Our usual Christmas Eve at the Allens was postponed due to Marilyns being in the hospital with the swine flu. We felt so bad for her....SO, we spent a quiet evening with Grandma Cameron (my mom) watching Christmas videos and eating pizza. With Jenny and Jon both gone, Josh is indulged in just a bit more these days. The older ones say he is "spoiled"....as well it should be since he's stuck with us!!(hee hee)

I LOVE my new nativity!! Last year Audrey from work gave me the shepherd and animals from a set she had extra of...and this year she and my boss Carollee gave me the rest of the set for Christmas!! I put it in the entryway for everyone to see:)

Every year on the first of December, I set up a little tree in the corner of the living room with 25 wrapped books. Then, each day of December we count down by opening a book and reading it each night. The kids would always take turns, but the past few years, Josh gets to do it every day. I add a new book (or 2) every year. We have over 50 Christmas books that we love to read!

We went to Thorntons to get our tree....Josh is the lucky one to cut it down by himself now.

We talked for about 45 minutes to our favorite missionary....he's doing great!! Said he's gained like 15 pounds and when asked how many ties he has, he told me he has 2 more than the tie rack we sent him for Christmas (that holds 24 ties...hence 26 ties are in his collection). He was having a "white" Christmas, but nothing like Arctic Blast 2008 which we had LAST Christmas here at home!! He's loving the work and just hearing his voice made my heart HAPPY!! Though, he did say I was probably the only mom who hung up on her missionary when he called.....(when I was trying to take the phone off of loudspeaker because he couldn't hear us I accidentally hung it up...OUCH!!)

One of Josh's presents was this memory box I made for him from his cub scout days...

I'm supposed to look like I'm exercising with my new wii fit board. Instead I look like I'm cheering....either way, I was very excited to get it!!

Josh is STILL giving it his best shot....and one of these days he WILL beat his Dad at arm wrestling. Keep trying Josh....you'll be there in no time!!

I couldn't resist this picture of Mom and I with our sock feet! We are so in style!!

MY brother Ron and his kids (Ashley was there too...but left before this picture) and girlfriend Tami came for Christmas dinner.......It was a very nice day. .....I'm so thankful for my family.

Traditions

(Disclaimer...dates on pictures are WRONG!!)
Most families have traditions....ours is no different. Granted, as we get older we end up adapting our traditions a bit, but we are creatures of habit and we like doing the same things over and over, year after year.When all the kids lived at home they each took piano lessons. After dinner I would say..."whoever plays piano doesn't have to clear the table!!" So...they fought over who would play and I would hear beautiful music while the others cleared the table. Since Josh really doesn't play anymore, when Jenny and Logan came home for Thanksgiving last week, I told her if she played the piano she didn't need to help clear the table. Hence....this tradition lives on:)
Grandma and Grandpa Cameron always come over for special occasions and even though Grandpa isn't with us anymore, Grandma was here for our special Thanksgiving dinner.
We're a funny family.....When we gather together for holidays we have this "thing" about taking pictures of us all gathered around the table before we eat our food...except of course, I'm usually NOT in the picture because I'm taking it. A tradition we will look back on fondly and wonder WHY we've gained so much weight (do you see all the food we're about to eat???)
And then of course....my ongoing tradition with my longest and dearest friend Melanie....we don ourselves in matching sweaters and get up before dawn the day after Thanksgiving. One of our traditions is that we get someone to take our picture while we're shopping. We usually find one of our friends to take it...or we've been known to ask complete strangers too. They're happy to do it because everyone thinks we're so much fun to dress alike. Actually, one reason we do it is so we can find each other in the crowds:) This tradition has gone on for 23 years.
Each year we have always tried to do some fun things with the kids during the Christmas season....whether it's going to see the light displays at PIR... going on a night tour of Fort Vancouver or touring the Victorian mansion in Portland.....we kept the tradition alive this year by attending the tree lighting in downtown Vancouver. We had never done this before...so it was a treat!! Jenny, Logan, Josh and I had fun out in the "cold" waiting for Santa to arrive:)On the kids last night at home we went to Zoo Lights at the Oregon Zoo. It was BEAUTIFUL!! Jenny sang there during her high school choir years, but the rest of us had never gone. I'm so glad we did it together this year. We even rode the Zoo train to see the over 1 million lights displayed. We'll have to go again when Jon gets home from his mission:)

So you see.....I love the traditions we've created over the years!! We may be getting older.... but I will never tire of the traditions that bring us together as a family:)

End of the Season

Another marching band season is finished....we had a great year!! This was one of the best show's we've had (I think I say that every year). Enjoy some pictures of our season....and then follow the link to watch our show...(my sister has been bugging me about this) You can watch several of our performances to see how the show progressed. Go to www.ehsboosters.com and click on one of the video links. The championship finals one has a great view from above, though it starts a bit into the show. You can watch it full screen by clicking the little flag looking box under the video. The other videos are closer up. I am in AWE of these kids to be able to play music and march like this...it's incredible. Josh worked so hard this year!! Way to go Josh!!
Lining up for preliminary competition.
Bollywood.... cast of many colors (don't you love the Taj Mahal?)
The band all ready to start...most are behind the curtains.
Weaving in and out of the arches:)
Josh warming up in the tents with a cup of hot chocolate at Championships. It was a very wet day!!
On Halloween Day some of the kids dressed up between performances....Josh included. Date on pic is wrong....it really was Halloween!
Warming up the same day. By the way we came in 2nd at Championships!! Like I said ....a great year!!

"Bollywood"

We are in the throws of Marching Band season!! It's quickly coming to a close though. This is honestly the best show our band has had in the 6 years Jon and Josh have been in band. The music is great and there's a little bit of everything going on in the show. Josh is in the middle ....
Here he is enjoying himself at one of our football games.......
This year I've been helping out with the merchandise table, along with my friends Michelle and Diane. We roomed together on the DC trip. We like to be silly! Notice the green board in the back of them...it has prices of our merchandise.....
Well....I couldn't take it. I took the poster home and made it into a REAL poster. Granted I went a little crazy, but it was fun to do. This weekend is The McKenzie Classic....the competition our band puts on every year..... where we raise the most money for our band. I'm really looking forward to it. 2 weeks and it will all be over.....championships at Oregon State University. For now, I'm loving every minute!! GO EVERGREEN!!!!!!!

Ode to a Handyman

What can I say....except that my man is SO smart!! There is very little that he cannot do. He can build houses, fix cars, put in water lines, soder pipes...you name it he does it. Granted there are some things he just can't do, but most things he can. Every major appliance in our house has gone out one time or another in our
26 years of marriage....and he puts on his thinking cap and fixes them. Just this past week our Dyson vacuum started making this horrendous noise. I tried to figure it out. Couldn't do it. So, I tell my handyman when he gets home and VOILA....he takes it apart and finds a little roller that guides the belt has fallen out. THEN....a few days later, I'm doing laundry and feel water on my feet. The washing machine is leaking. Having only the manual, which doesn't have a schematic of the thing....he gets on the internet and finds it. Then he proceeds to eliminate what it could be until he finds the defective part. Part ordered....machine repaired. JUST LIKE THAT!! He never learned things like this from his Dad....but he is very quick to teach our boys...they work beside him so they can learn. I hope that you are as blessed as I am to have your own "handyman"....

Going Back

Today was a day for going back.....for all of us. Joshua started his Sophmore year.....WOW!! Time is flying by so fast! When did he grow up? He loved his first day back, although this morning on our white board he wrote the word "school" and then drew a circle around it with a slash mark through it. I'm glad he enjoyed being back to school. Josh went back to BAND CAMP in August and he is LOVING it! The show this year is titled "Bollywood"....it is wonderful!! The kids are doing a GREAT job and I can't wait for all the props and everything to be finished. It is SO MUCH work....he told me that today's practice after school was one of the toughest practices he's ever had. When you see the show you will know why....it is AWESOME!!

Not only did Josh go back....but Richard went back to work after a month off because of his surgery. I know he's glad to get back to normal, but he will miss being home.
And last of all....I went back to work myself. I'm working at a different location this year, same job, same teacher, just a different school.

Going back is actually moving forward, because let's face it.....life is too short to stay the same. We move on...we go back...we learn, we grow, we progress. It's the way life is!!

Week-end Get Away

The summer is nearly ended and with so much going on in our lives......we needed to get away. Richard is starting to feel like his old self again. We decided to go to Longbeach for the weekend. On the way to the beach we stopped in Astoria OR at the Maritime Museum. Did you know that where the Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean it is known as "The graveyard of the Pacific"?? Over 2,000 ships have sank and over 700 men have died because of the dangerous conditions that exist on the bar.
We toured the Coast Guard vessel "Columbia" which has been decommissioned. Here is Josh laying in one of the 17 bunks used by the crew. Very tight space.
When we got to Longbeach on Friday afternoon....it was RAINING of all things!! It was long enough for Josh to do his favorite thing....DIG!!
Today it was nice enough he got to DIG some more. He played in the water and built big piles of sand to stand on when the waves came in.
At one point we counted 13 horses along the surf. We had a wonderful afternoon flying the kite and playing frisbee. Later in the day we rented a surrey, a double sided bike that looked like a cart. (camera died so no pics) Josh and I peddled all over the trail next to the boardwalk, and we met Richard for ice cream cones. He waited for us while we were riding. Josh and I raced go carts, the 3 of us played minature golf, we had clam chowder, Josh and I went on the bumper cars and bumper boats.....and if that's not all we ended up the day digging MORE on the beach while we watched the most beautiful sunset!!! THEN....we went swimming in the pool and lounged in the biggest outdoor hot tub you have ever seen.....and we just finished watching Wall E and eating popcorn. I think I'll sleep GOOD tonight:)