SUMMER 2013

As I look back on the summer of 2013, the words that come to my mind are family, fun, fun, fun and ouch.  Our family crammed in 3 fun filled vacations over the summer that left us rejuvenated and ready for recovery. 

In June, we met up with my siblings and their families at a beach house in Pacific City, OR.  The house was huge and comfortably held us all.  My brother Ken and his wife Christine drove over from Van Couver, WA; Joanna and her kids Kailee, Jacob and Kiyanna came down from the Seattle area; Leslie and her husband Chris and their family Isabel, Gabe, Adeline, Beatrice, and Charlotte traveled from Twin Falls; and Richy flew up from San Francisco.  The only person missing was Mark who would have loved it! 

The five of us had not been all together since our Grandmother’s funeral in January 2010, and we all felt the need to reconnect with each other.  The beach house was situated about a block from the beach which was great because we ended up spending a lot of time at the beach.  We were able to also explore the tide pools and a handful of kids hiked over to some caves and up a huge sand dune.

One night we enjoyed roasting marshmallows and making Smores and another night we snuggled in to watch a movie and enjoy some carmel corn.  My sister Joanna kept the kids busy one rainy morning with decorating little cakes she had prepared ahead of time.  The kids had a great time and it kept them busy until the rain cleared up and we headed back out to the beach.  Even though the water was cold and the kids turned all colors from pink to purple, there were no complaints because all of us love the ocean.

Our time together ended too soon and we decided we cannot let another 3 ½ years go by before seeing each other again.  There just isn’t anything better than watching your kids run through the house playing with their cousins.  Even though it was loud at times, I loved every minute of it!

After we said goodbye to the ocean, our family headed down to my Dad’s farm in Alsea, OR.  On the way we stopped at one of my favorite places in the state…the Oregon Coast Aquarium located in Newport.  My favorite exhibits are the Seabird Aviary and the Jelly Fish.  There is something mesmerizing and relaxing watching a jelly fish move in their tank.

As always, my Dad had another fun treasure hunt for the kids so that they could explore all facets of his farm.  The great thing about the farm is that there is a lot to do and I never heard the words “I’m bored.”  There is a large pond not too far from the house that the kids can fish in and can hop in the canoe and paddle around.  My kids love to capture salamanders and anything else they can get their hands on. 

Part of the treasure hunt was going out to one of the barns and collecting owl pellets and picking out all the mice bones.  I was surprised that Mikaela didn’t find it gross and she had a blast dissecting the owl pellet.  My dad also had the kids get a sample of the pond water and look at it under a microscope.  That was a hit with all the kids.  It took several days for the kids to complete their treasure hunt, but once they did my Dad took them up to the general store and let them eat as much ice cream as they wanted.  They all came back full and sick of ice cream. 

In July, we went on our yearly vacation to Bear Lake, UT/ID.  There is so much to do there and each year we find ourselves exploring another part of the area.

Our family loves boating and we spent a couple of days zipping around the lake and trying to dump the kids into the water. 

This year, we were fortunate to rent a banana sled and that was a hit.  At one point everyone but me was on the sled as I drove the boat and took pictures.  It made me smile to see all four of their heads bobbing up and down as I created waves for them to bounce over.  The kids like it when I drive because my goal is to try and eject their bodies from the tube and get them to fly as high as possible.  Needless to say, I don’t drive very often because it takes up time driving back for the kids and getting them back in either the boat or the tube. 

For the first time since vacationing in Bear Lake, we went to the Pickleville Playhouse and watched a melodrama. Max gave me a hard time about going to watch singing and dancing, because he thought he was going to be bored and the evening would drag on. However, all the kids were entertained and said that they wanted to go back next year. Hooray!

Next year we hope to explore a couple small lakes we were told about by some locals and tick a few more “To Do’s” off our Bear Lake list. It seems like the more we find to do, the more time we need to spend at the lake. I think the first year we went up we only stayed two nights and now we are up to five and it isn’t enough time.

In August, I had to have surgery to remove a 5lb fibroid. As a result my uterus is now gone and I have a scar from above my belly button down to my pelvic bone. I was in the hospital 4 days and spent another 5 weeks at home recovering. Paul was wonderful! I am so grateful to have married such a good man. He didn’t pull a face each time he had to check my Frankenstein looking wound and he helped me not only physically but mental too. I think he is forgiven for being late to our wedding 21 years ago. Love you Paul!

My Mom also went above and beyond. She came out for two weeks and not only spoiled me but my kids too. Her time with us went too fast and we all missed her a lot when she had to go home. Thanks Mom, you were the help I didn’t think I needed but was grateful for receiving!

The one downer in the whole summer is that I was diagnosed with Endometrial Cancer after my surgery. Luckily, I am only a stage 1A so I should be just fine. I have to go through another surgery to remove more body parts, but our hope is that I won’t need any more treatment than that.

I feel so blessed to have the family I have. Life is getting more fun now that Max is 15 and talking about girls and driving; Mikaela is 11 going on 30 and chatters about crushes and things she wants to do with her life; and Miles is almost 7 and becoming a gentleman. My kids all gave me the most wonderful service while I was recovering even though there were times they didn’t want to. One incredible gift I was given during recovery was being able to have amazing talks with each of the kids privately. I love who they are and who they will become. Each of them makes me feel proud to be called their Mom. I love you Max! I love you Mikaela! I love you Miles! You make me so happy!!!

Halloween 2009

Halloween is always a fun time for our family. This year we headed out to Pack's Pumpkin Farm and grabbed a little hand cart and spent the next hour picking out five pumpkins. The pumpkin crop was not the best this year so the Pack family bought a ton of pumpkins and spreads them out over an acre of pumpkin vines. As usual the kids all find the pumpkin they must have...about three times. Trying to reason with a 2-year-old that the perfectly proportioned orange pumpkin in the cart really is better than the deformed yellow and green pumpkin he is trying to lift. Yep, super fun!

After we weigh in, pay and load the ultra expensive Halloween decorations into the car, we spend the next hour watching the kids run through the maize. This year it was drizzling but the kids didn't mind, just Mom and Dad did.

Thankfully this year Max was the only one that wanted to carve a pumpkin. In years past, I tend to cut myself so I am always glad when the kids don't want to carve. Both Max and Paul worked on this pumpkin and I think got some pretty good fangs.


Mikaela opted for the "Princess Pumpkin Head" accessories I bought from Target. The beauty of this kind of decorating is the lack of cleaning out the inside of the pumpkin. Plus it is fast. Make some holes, shove in your lips of choice.



Miles decided a Pirate was more his style.


So the day of Halloween is always a rush and by the time I took these pictures the sun started setting. All of their costumes relate perfectly to what they are all obsessed with this year. Max loves anything Army/military, Miki loves dressing up and looking pretty, and Miles loves "Toy Story."

Miles loved Halloween this year. He was fascinated that all he had to do was go door to door, knock and get candy. Easy!

It was almost like Christmas for Mikaela because she ended up getting a new dress up outfit. I think she has worn the dress about 20 times since Halloween.

Max made the marshmallow gun in Scouts a few days before Halloween so he was ready to be in character.

Miles wears his costume, almost daily. We started using it as pajamas just so we had the excuse to wash the costume.

More Summer Fun 2009

This past summer was an eventful one in our family with the completion of our play set. We have been working on this project for a year. As some of you know, our backyard has many levels. We decided that in order to have more room for the kids to play, we needed to take out one of those levels. We were able to get a backhoe into the yard via our neighbor’s yard and dug down several feet in order to create more play room. We were also able to dig a hole for the trampoline so that visually, we have more space. Paul put a lot of back breaking work in order to transition the other levels. In Farmington we have a lot of big rocks so it tends to be slow work to remove earth and smooth things out. The end result is a nice big play set for the kids.

On one visit from the Lheron cousins, we had a water balloon fight and the play set was a big hit. As in most children wars, the boys were against the girls.

Miles didn’t understand why Gabe and Max were aiming at Mikaela and Adeline.

Sorry Dude, no muscle yet!

Miles broke a water balloon and was not too happy about it

The little kids decided it was more fun to break the balloons while jumping on the trampoline.

Gabe, Max, Miles, Adeline and Mikaela all ended up having a fun day.

California Summer 2009

We arrived at Morro Bay in the late afternoon and it was a cool 65 degrees, but didn't care because we were all starved for the beach. We found out later that Utah was a mere 100 degree scorcher that day. We were glad to be in California.

The kids didn't seem to care about the cold water. In fact, before we left for the day they were all wet and shivering. It was worth it. A smile tells it all.

Miles ran and splashed and jumped in all the holes that were left behind by others.

We also spent time at Avila Beach, which was sunny, warm and not much wind. Of all the beaches, Avila is my favorite.

Max and Mikaela had just finished four weeks of swimming lessons and they were trying to swim as the wave broke. Can you see Mikaela's arm coming out of the water on the left side of the photo?

Munch!

Paul burried both boys and then began to tickle necks.

Unfortunately, we were not able to get a very low tide at Shell Beach. We did see a few sea anemones and a star fish.

This was a wonderful vacation for our family. We stayed in Morro Bay and then were able to spend time at Avila, Pismo, Atascadero and San Luis Obispo. I took the kids on a tour of all the houses I lived in while growing up. (I think they were glad to have a movie on in the car.) I wish we were able to spend more time there. I miss it a lot!