Dewey Family

Craters of the Moon

2011-11-23T10:46:00.000-08:00

Our next stop on our road trip was to my sister Mindy's house in Rexburg. We took a detour at Crater's of The Moon. I have driven by it several times and have always wanted to stop and explore. It was definitely worth the stop.

Isaiah liked the name of this cave and wanted a picture by it. I think he's pulling off the casual, contemplative look, very well.

This is the Indian Tunnel. It doesn't seem like much when you first make your hike into the entrance, but the further down you get, the more majestic it becomes. This was my favorite spot of the entire park. It makes you feel very small in a massive world.

I was so happy Isaiah endured the many stops we made along the paths to read every detail about the landscape around us. At first he just wanted to fly through the park so he could see his cousins, but he eventually got excited by what was around him.

Isaiah overlooking the park from atop the Inferno Cone.

I love all the rock formations.

This tree is along the path in, "The Devil's Orchard." The trees here were all infected with a non-native shrub called witches broom. Isaiah and I both thought they were very fascinating.

At the bottom of the Inferno Cone.

This was my favorite tree in the entire park! Apparently the trees there learned to adapt to the weather in order to survive. This tree has survived the wind and snow by bending and twisting along with it, rather than pushing against it. The result is the above picture. I like it because to some the tree may seem dead, but the reality is, it is still alive because it was adaptable.

Going Back

2011-11-22T14:25:00.001-08:00

I will be periodically posting about our summer in an attempt to get caught up. Isaiah and I took a two week road trip to start the summer off. It was a little ambitious with many stops but we had a great time. With that being said I think it will be a long time until I attempt it again. Our first stop was only three hours east in Bend to visit my sister Debora and her family. Oddly I didn't take one single photo. We only stayed one or two nights, I can't remember exactly, (this is why you post right away). My sister has four boys so Isaiah was really excited to see them. Our only "outing" was to the outdoor pool they have there and the boys had so much fun we stayed all day. I left with a sunburn. Isaiah came down with something so we started the next leg of our trip like this.

I felt so bad for him. There is nothing worse than feeling yucky and being stuck in a car for eight hours. Our next stop was Grandpa and Grandma Dewey's house. We love visiting them!

This is the beautiful scenery along the way.

Isaiah still feeling sick. He was such a trooper though. He didn't complain once!

Again these pictures are out of order. I still can't figure out how to drag them to where I want to. G & G took us fishing while we were there. Exactly what Isaiah wanted to do. I of course could not fish because I didn't want to purchase an Idaho fishing license for the one time. Isaiah had success and he was more than excited about it.

Isaiah's little bit of Heaven on Earth.

G& G then took us to one of their friends farm so we could play around with this machine. Grandpa won't be too happy with me that I have completely spaced on what it is called. Let's just say giant digger:)

Isaiah was a bit intimidated by the "machine" and wanted Grandpa by his side the whole time.....

.....then again so was I.

Isaiah enjoying some story and game time with Grandma Dewey on her ipad. He loves that thing. So much that he asked for one for Christmas this year.....keep dreaming kid.

Isaiah's fish fry. With the help of grandpa, he learned how to clean and fry up his own fish!
Thank you Grandpa and Grandma Dewey! We had a wonderful time, although it was a tad too short.

Halloween Fun!

2011-11-01T19:26:00.001-07:00

I am not the biggest fan of Halloween but I decided to have a little fun with our food this year. Isaiah thought it was pretty cool so I guess it was worth it.

Daniel toasted our pumpkin seeds from pumpkin carving.
They were yummy!

We had some family visit for the BYU vs OSU game. My sister's husband got tickets to go with his brother and they took a couple of their kids. As you can see they were obviously not cheering for OSU.

We made these monster cupcakes while the guys were at the game. I thought they were more cute than scary.

Pumpkin stuffed peppers. Daniel told Isaiah we were eating pumpkin brains, (sort of like the monkey brains in Indiana Jones). Isaiah thought that was pretty awesome.

Mummies in a blanket.

Now on to our pumpkin carving fun. We each had our own different ideas and I thought they turned out nice.

Stephanie: Boo pumpkin on the left. Isaiah: Scary pumpkin in the middle. Daniel: Hoffman pumpkin on the right (he was pretty proud of that one).

Halloween night getting ready for Trunk or Treat. Isaiah was very specific on what he wanted his costume to be, which was sort of a mix of things. He wanted green hair, white face, dark circles around his eyes, and blood dripping down his chin.

Daniel and I thought the green hair was pretty cool.

I think it turned out pretty good! Now that I look at it though his hair sort of looks like Dennis Rodman's :)

Isaiah with one of his buddies from school. It turned out to be a great Halloween this year!

Crater Lake

2011-10-05T09:10:00.001-07:00

I haven't posted in so long maybe something has changed. I used to be able to just upload all the pictures I wanted to and then arrange them later. Now when I try to click and drag nothing happens. I'm annoyed but life must go on. The pictures may not be in order but our trip this year to Crater Lake was, in my opinion, the best one. We have gone the last five years and every year is different. We usually try to go after the season has closed which is after September 22nd. The pluses to that are way less people and easy to get our favorite campsite. Minuses - COLD at night. This year we went at the very beginning of September because it just worked out that way. We left our house at about 4pm and it's only a four hour drive but we didn't get there until 2am! Daniel wanted to sloooowly make our way down there this year. Basically he wanted to stop at the new Cabella's store in Eugene and stock up on more camping and fishing stuff. We spent at least an hour in there if not more. I enjoy trying out all the cozy camping chairs and Isaiah and Daniel love looking for the perfect fishing lure. Seriously there are about a million, just grab one! It is fun to watch though. Daniel really searches hard to find the type of lure he thinks the fish at Crater Lake will bite at (every year it's been a basic black lure so I don't quite understand what he's still searching for). Isaiah on the other hand thinks the bigger the lure the bigger the fish he'll catch. He seriously picks out lures that are basically the size of the fish that are in Crater Lake. We're not catching sharks out there Isaiah! After Cabella's we went out to eat to celebrate Isaiah's 9th birthday. I still can't believe he is 9! When we arrived all the campsites were full. We like to camp at Lost Creek. It only has 16 campsites but it is so pretty and quite there. Most people staying there are just passing through so we knew a site would open up in the morning. It was already 2am at this point so we decided just to sleep in our car for the night. It was interesting to say the least. I was so tired in the morning I didn't even budge when Daniel drove us to our campsite. When I woke up our entire campsite was set up AND Isaiah and Daniel had chopped a huge pile of firewood already! I felt pretty spoiled that Daniel let me sleep. I can be quite the bear on little sleep:) I really wish these pictures to follow were chronological.

Isaiah fishing and catching crawdads our first day at the lake

Isaiah caught a fish! Daniel and I were so excited for him. He has never caught one at Crater Lake before. I think he actually ended up catching 4 or 5 this year!

Eating his fish back at camp. Daniel makes some delicious fish

Isaiah's face here is priceless to me. You can just see how proud he is of that fish!

The walk down to the lake is long but it is so beautiful. The walk up is a different story.

We always pull over once on our drive to the trail that leads to the lake. I love seeing how excited Isaiah gets to see the lake.

Daniel working on his fly fishing on his favorite rock.

I caught a fish as well! :) This was my first fish that I have ever caught at Crater Lake as well. Of course we didn't keep it but I had to get a picture with it. Daniel wasn't very happy that I wouldn't hold my own fish. I tried but I can't handle feeling their lips move on my finger. It just feels gross.

Enjoying some relaxation by the fire.

There were forest fires all around so the Sunsets were amazing. We were so bummed because right before we took this shot the sun was just going down behind the mountain and it was bright red. It only took me about two minutes to find my camera and the sun had already gone down.

Okay now you can see why I thought this was the best year at Crater Lake:) I caught this one just minutes after that tiny one. I was pretty excited! Daniel is usually the only one that catches fish.

More relaxing.

Daniel wanted me to get a picture of our campsite. It really is so peaceful there. Behind those trees in the back is just miles of forest and they spread the campsites out far enough that you really feel like you are there alone.

I had to snap a shot of Isaiah in his undies. :) I have no idea why he wouldn't go inside the tent to change but this is what you get when you don't.

Cozy! For some reason this shot makes me want to go camping right now. Sitting by the campfire is one of my favorite things. Does that make me lazy?

Daniel and Isaiah cleaning the fish. I always make sure that I am too busy getting everything else ready when it comes to fish cleaning time. Daniel thinks I should learn how...I don't.

These are the Pinnacles. I think they are fascinating. We slept in the parking lot here our first night. We did all the site seeing of Crater Lake the first year we went and have only fished since. This year I wanted to do more site seeing and hiking. Daniel says we did it to make me happy but I know the real story. This year we camped through Monday so that means we were there all day Sunday. We already decided we weren't going to fish on Sunday so that was the perfect day for hiking and site seeing. It was actually really nice because they had opened up new trails and we saw many things we hadn't seen before.

These shots are along one of the new paths. Daniel and I thought it was the Tumalo Falls but now I don't think it is. I don't remember the name of the falls but it was really beautiful.

More fish cleaning

Hiking the trail near the Pinnacles. These pictures make me laugh because Isaiah was actually really mad on this hike, (don't remember why), but he still walked very close behind Daniel and would copy everything he did with his walking stick. The walking sticks are also another story. Daniel and Isaiah spent hours looking for them and carving them just right. Daniel really put some extra effort into his. He's a good dad.

It was a beautiful day....the walking stick and hat on the hand....Daniel seriously looks like an old man from the 20's here. I could have dealt with the hat but he insisted the stick be in the picture as well.

Gotta love Isaiah's outfit here. Sleeveless shirt, board shorts, soccer socks, and basketball shoes. Wow!

We saw some pretty interesting insect life while we were there this year. Isaiah brought his "Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America" book, so we had fun trying to identify them. We decided the beetle above was the White-spotted Sawyer but upon further investigation we aren't as sure as we were before.

These butterflies were all around the falls. I don't know why but they made everything seem so magical to me:)

These things were all over.

Okay this is where I am a mean mom. I had made this ribbon out of some grass and had secretly placed it on Isaiah's head. I asked him to stop for a quick photo. He actually looks really cute in this picture so now I wish I hadn't put that ribbon on his head. I guess the joke ended up being on me:)

Daniel took this picture INSIDE our tent in the middle of the night! He said he felt something on his arm and when he flicked it off it made such a big thump he had to find out what it was. Pretty sure this one is called the Great Grig. Whatever it is, I'm just glad it wasn't on me and that Daniel took it out of our tent.

Down by Crater Lake

This was the pile of wood Isaiah and Daniel had chopped while I was sleeping in the car.

I saw this spider right as we were getting ready for bed. We were never able to find out what kind of spider this was. I didn't care what kind of spider it was as long as it stayed away from me.

I know this was a long post! We had a great trip this year and hope to have many more! If you ever want to go with us let us know. The more the merrier!

HELLO!!

2011-09-13T18:33:00.000-07:00

For anyone that is still out there.....AMAZING summer!! Hopefully I will get caught up on my posts now that school is back in session. I will have to go back in time a bit but for the sake of my "electronic" scrap booking I have to do it:)

Snow Day!

2011-02-24T07:39:00.000-08:00

Today was declared a snow day and Isaiah doesn't have school! He doesn't even know it yet because he still resting his sweet little head. I say sweet because, well one he is sweet, and two I am having a nice peaceful morning in my office watching the snow fall doing various things. As Daniel was leaving for work around 5:45am I stirred and decided to say good-bye to him (something I don't get to do too often). He went outside and came back in and said it was snowing. I decided I should get up and check the Internet to see if Isaiah's school was cancelled then so I could go back to sleep if he didn't. I checked and he didn't. Yes! I love no school days. Well I went to go rest my pretty little head all ready for a cozy sleeping morning and guess what? I couldn't sleep! I decided to get up and do all those things I like to do without noise; reading, writing, blogging, thinking:) It has been a great morning. Now that I have done all those things I look forward to Isaiah waking up and seeing his excitement at the snow and his even more excitement that he has a FREE day. Although it's never a free day around here lately. With my gimp of a left leg he will have chores to do. All the things I have been waiting to get done that involve carrying things or pushing things (laundry and vacuuming), might just get done today:) Don't worry sisters who think I am so hard on Isaiah. He will get plenty of play time in first:) Hopefully I can post some pictures later. My computer was taken away along with my job (bitterness was implied here), so I am operating from Daniel's laptop. I can download pictures onto his laptop but I haven't decided if I want to mess with that yet. We'll see.

One other little story I wanted to share from yesterday. We were getting ready for school, and I say we because I seem to do a lot of the getting ready part. Anyway I saw a shadow walk past our front window. If any of you know me, you know that I scare easily. My heart jumped into my chest knowing that Daniel did not lock the front door when he left (something we discuss quite often). Being the wimp that I am I snuck over to the door to lock it only to see a little boy staring in at me through the window. I didn't recognize him so I called Isaiah over and told him a kid was at the door for him. He came and told me it was Gabe. I know Gabe. Apparently Gabe walks down from where his bus is supposed to pick him up so he can wait and ride with Isaiah every morning. I guess Gabe must have arrived early so he decided to walk down to our house to get Isaiah. I invited him in to wait while Isaiah was finishing brushing his teeth. He came in and looked around for a bit while he waited for Isaiah. As they were leaving Gave looked at me and said, "You have a really beautiful home." I told him thank you and sent them down to the bus stop. After they left I sat down and looked around pondering his comment. I have never viewed my home as a beautiful home. I do my best to keep it clean and tidy but I often find myself complaining about how old everything is and how brown everything is. This little boy completely humbled me. I have seen the outside of his house and it doesn't look much different form ours. It makes me wonder what it was that caused him to think our house was beautiful. Was it just the fact that it was clean and warm, or does this kid just have a knack for interior decorating? When I was younger I thought about being a mom A LOT. One of the things that I knew I wanted was for my kids' friends to feel comfortable in my home and I wanted my home to be the place they wanted to be. I figured if I could create that kind of an environment; one, my kids would be happy, and two, I could keep a close eye on them as they played with their friends:)

I don't know really know why I shared that story other than it has been on my mind since yesterday. It really caused me to reflect on all the things that I have been blessed with and that I really don't have a lot of room to complain. It's also caused me to think about what I can do to help others who are not in the same situation as I am. Isaiah has a lot of friends that I know could use a little more love and attention. I do try to make them feel welcomed and special when they are at our house but I'm always wondering if there is more that I can do.

Slight Set Back

2011-02-18T16:41:00.001-08:00

Many people near me already know by now that I ruptured my Achilles tendon. I have had so much help and support from friends and family. I feel so blessed. I have told the story of how it happened almost too many times, but I'm gonna go it again:) About a month ago I was playing basketball at the OSU gym. I was trying out to get on a competitive team for the intramural league. Daniel was at the gym with me working out elsewhere. He came to the gym and I told him just one more game so he continued to work out. After that one more game Daniel wasn't back so I decided to play one more. Basically I was just transitioning from defense to offense. I turned and heard a loud "pop" and felt some pain in my heel area. It didn't hurt crazy bad so I thought that someone had just kicked me in the heel or someone had thrown something at me from the track above. It took me a few seconds to realize that I had done something to my Achilles tendon. The only reason I knew that for sure was it had happened to a family friend just weeks before and I had heard his story. I went to the on call doctor and squeezed both of my calves. It's called the Thompson Test. Basically the injured heel will not react when the calf is squeezed and that is an indication that the tendon is ruptured. He wrapped up my ankle, referred me to an Orthopedic, prescribed me pain medication, and told me to ice it until I saw the Ortho. Luckily I was able to get into the Ortho three days later. He verified that it was a complete rupture, about 3cm apart. He gave me several options and I chose surgery to repair it. Again luckily I was able to get in for surgery two days after that appointment. I am a major wimp when it comes to blood, needles, or the thought of someone cutting into me so I was very relieved I was going to get the surgery part out of the way. The surgery was an outpatient procedure, meaning I would leave that day. Daniel came with me to get me all checked in. He tends to use humor to ease tension. When I am nervous about things I just need it to be quiet. I knew he had meetings to go to and was planning on missing but it really was a waiting game once we got checked in. The surgeon was an hour and a half behind. Once the nurse put the IV in I politely told Daniel that I would be okay if he just went back to work and the surgeon would call him once I was in the recovery room. I think he was relieved. The anesthesiologist came in and let me know what he was going to be doing to put me out. He had to perform a nerve block and I had to be awake for that because if I started to hear ringing in my ears that meant he had hit something he should not have. He did give me something to calm me as they wheeled me into the waiting room but that never really kicked in for me. The nerve block was HORRIBLE. It felt like someone was grinding a rock into the back of my leg right into my nerve. He had to administer 30ccs of the medicine and it seemed like it was taking eternity. I felt like the biggest baby as I was squirming and clenching my pillow. Next thing I remember was a mask being put over my face and then lights out. I woke up in the recovery area wishing to go back to sleep. My leg was throbbing. My first thought was, "I am going to be so mad if that nerve block didn't work after all that pain." I told the anesthesiologist that my leg was throbbing and he told me that the surgery only took thirty minutes so the nerve block probably hadn't taken full effect yet. I basically had to lay there in the recovery room next to other patients recovering wondering what I was waiting for. My surgeon came in and told me that everything went fine and just as planned. A huge relief to me. He did verify that the tendon was completely ruptured but it had ruptured in the best way making it the easiest to repair. Basically the ends of each side were not all shredded but more like two stumps. The surgery happened on a Thursday and my mom couldn't come until Monday. Isaiah was such a good boy the whole week prior to my surgery and the day after. He got himself up and ready for school every day and made it out to the bus on his own. I also had a lot of help from friends providing rides and meals for us while I was down and out. Again I feel blessed. The nerve block was annoying and I wanted it to wear off so badly because it just felt weird. After two days it finally wore off and I wanted it back so badly. The pain was indescribable. I had to lay on the couch for four days straight with my leg elevated and I only got up to use the restroom or if I needed to get something and I was alone. The sensation of the blood rushing to my foot when I stood up was so painful, especially at night when the pain medication had worn off and I had to use the restroom. There were many nights that I would wake up and take some pain medication and then just sit there and wait for it to kick in before I attempted the walk to the bathroom. It actually feels weird thinking about that time now because I am in no pain now and really healing nicely. My stitches are out and I am in a walking boot but I can't walk on my foot yet. I have one more week until I can start putting 30% of my weight on my week, adding more weight each week for four weeks. By then I should be standing flat footed and putting all my weight down on my foot. I have to take this one stage at a time. It drives me crazy to sit around and not be able to do as much as I am use to. I've told myself that I will not complain because I know many others in my life that are dealing with much worse. This is only a bump in the road for me and has just caused me to have to slow down and have patience. It really has been a blessing for my family. Isaiah has learned so much about service and I have been able to see that he loves being able to help me. It has also caused me to swallow my pride and ask my husband for help from time to time. Not an easy task for me. I like to think I can do it all. I know most of you will think the pictures I attached are disgusting but I just had to post them. My leg is hairy, swollen, and just plain ugly but hey, it is what it is right? Enjoy...or not.This was right after I got my cast off. My legs have never been this hairy. It actually grossed Isaiah out the most.
My skin was also saggy and dry.

I know really gross shot but I had to show it:)
I guess I was a bit naive because I was really surprised at how swollen my entire leg and foot was.

My foot reminded me of the feet of the people on WALL-E:)

As you can see I have already lost a lot of my muscle in my calf.

Look at that WALL-E foot!

Okay now I shaved. I can't tell you how good that felt. My skin was a little tender to the touch but getting rid of that hair was fabulous! I have never had skinny calves so it is weird to see my let this way. One of my older sisters has really slender legs and I love the look of them. It's kind of fun to see what my leg would look like slender. Is that just totally weird and vain? Yes.

This is the most recent shot of my leg. I think the swelling is starting to go down. I can't express how happy I am to be on the mend!

Just one last shot to show my lopsided legs. I can't decide what I am going to do. Should I build the muscle back in the left one or loose the muscle in the right one and go for the slender look? I kid. Totally want the muscle back!

So there you have it. I'm an unemployed gimp. If it wasn't for all the love and support I have around me I would probably be going crazy....not to say I don't have my days, but seriously thank you to everyone near and far that have brought meals, helped with Isaiah, provided activities for me to do while I am out, or just called to give me company. You are all so great!

Blue and Gold Banquet

2011-02-17T13:39:00.001-08:00

Isaiah had his first Blue and Gold Banquet tonight. All the cub scouts had to make their own cake. Isaiah wanted to do Sponge Bob. I think he did a pretty good job (with only a little help with brainstorming on how to put him together from his mom).
Isaiah walking in for the flag ceremony. He always has his hands in his pockets!

He received the "silliest cartoon character award."

All the boys with their awards and prizes.

There were some pretty cool and creative cakes.

The boys had learned a cub scout song they were performing for us. Isaiah always has to check with his friend Gavin to make sure it's "cool" for him to do the hand motions. It's funny to watch those two when they have to perform.

They had a fun craft activity as well.

The boys were trying to construct an archway using sugar cubes and frosting. Some worked, most did not. :)

Overall it was a nice and enjoyable night!

Happy Belated Valentine's....

2011-02-15T12:36:00.001-08:00

.....From Mr. Brownie Man....

......and Isaiah....

....and Daniel and I!

Hope your Valentine's are as great as mine!

2011-02-12T13:16:00.000-08:00

This post will be quite wordy and long. I usually don't post without pictures but I have a long story to tell. I have to admit that when I see blogs with long stories I usually scan through them and then move on to the next when so don't feel guilty if you do that with mine. :)

There have been a few changes around here in the Dewey home. I posted previously that my mom had recently retired from her Office Administrator job of 24 years. Well they offered me the promotion about a year ago. It came with quite a hefty raise but the catch was I would need to work in the office. They still promised to be flexible with my hours since I wanted to be at home when Isaiah left for school and came home. At this time Daniel was commuting to McMinnville which is about 15 minutes away from my work. Problem solved right. Just move to Forest Grove and Daniel's commute would be much shorter. Well it wasn't that easy. Daniel was supposed to be working on a site in Corvallis but it was delayed and the start up date was unknown at the time. Due to the economy they had to make some changes. So Hoffman put Daniel in McMinnville. We were sort of in limbo at the time because it could have gone either way. They could have kept him in McMinnville until the project was done (two or three years), or they would move him to Corvallis whenever or if ever the project got started. I decided at that time to turn down the offer because there were too many unknowns. I didn't want to take Isaiah out of school, start him in a new one, and then a few months later get word from Hoffman that they were moving Daniel to the Corvallis job. I stressed and stressed over what to do for months. When I finally made the decision I felt at peace so I know I made the right decision. It was still hard for me though because professionally it would have been a great opportunity to expand my skills and my knowledge, and I'm not going to lie, it was hard to turn down that raise. That offer came to me in May of 2009 and sure enough by September Hoffman moved Daniel to Corvallis to work on the site he is currently working on. Now let's fast forward to September 2010, two months away from my moms retirement. My boss called me again and asked if I would meet him for lunch. I was really nervous that he was going to tell me that I was going to be out of a job, basically I was almost sure he was firing me. Much to my surprise he again was offering me the office administrator position that would soon be opening up. The offer went up even higher and at this point we are getting closer to Daniel's job here being finished. Professionally I was very excited but we still had the uncertainty of where we would be next. There is a huge chance that Daniel could get put on a job starting in Hillsboro but there is just no way to know until that time gets closer. I told my boss I would think it over and talk to Daniel about it. Daniel's job here won't be finished until May or June and they wanted me up there as soon as possible. That would mean I would have to commute three hours each day (sorta ruled that one out right away), or Isaiah and I would have to move up there until Daniel could join us in May, that is IF Hoffman moved him to Hillsboro. The offer they gave me was almost too good to pass up and that was why I was having such a hard time making a decision. Daniel of course did not want us to be apart but he also didn't want to tell me that I shouldn't take it because he knew how badly I wanted to. I finally made my decision that I would take the job but that I couldn't be up there until May or June when Daniel was done here. I didn't feel it was right to be put in that position to choose between what's best for my family or advancing professionally. Since my mom's retirement they have been in complete chaos and were in need of someone right away. The guy they had hired a couple years ago to replace my mom couldn't do all the things she was doing. She was an amazing employee and they were lucky to have her there. Once I made my decision I knew they were going to have to hire someone else to at least come in and do the billing and other odds and ends. I figured that would hold them over until I could come in May or June. I even offered to drive up a couple days a week and help out. Well five days after I gave them my answer I got a call from my boss. He said that they had hired someone to do the billing, posting, and basically take over my mom's position. I didn't quite understand what he was saying because I do the posting along with other things he said the new employee would be doing. He basically told me that I had until the end of the month, (this was Jan.). I really couldn't believe what I was hearing. They had given me no reason to believe that if I didn't take this promotion I would lose my job. It just felt weird and wrong to one day be given a huge promotion and then the next be laid off. I went through a long series of emotions all in about five minutes. At first I was shocked, then I was mad, then I felt sad, and then I felt betrayed. After all those emotions passed I felt a big gushing of warmth go through my body. I felt relief and peace that this was what was supposed to happen. For days after this news I tried so hard to be mad at the way they went about letting me go, but I kept getting these feelings of peace. I knew if they would have told me ahead of time that if I didn't take the promotion I would lose my job, I would have done anything to make it work out of fear of not having a job. I have literally had a job my whole life. When I was younger my dad owned some apartment complexes and my sister's and I were in charge of mowing the lawns and cleaning out the units when tenants moved out, (worst job ever, but definitely fun with my sisters), Then my dad opened two Hogi Yogi's (sandwich and frozen yogurt shop) that I worked at all through high school again alongside my sister's. We had a blast. OK now I am getting off course due to reminiscing. Basically as of February 1st I have been unemployed. I can't stand that word. It's been a very humbling experience for me. I have worked for 12 years at that place and I honestly thought I was irreplaceable at the clinic. I've learned a lot already, mainly to trust in the Lord and what his plan is for me and my family. I don't know what is in store for me right now but I do know that losing my job was something that had to happen for whatever it is Heavenly Father has in store for me. I couldn't be happier. I've never experienced motherhood without a job and so far I am loving it. I know this was a long way of saying, "I got fired." but what can I say, it's the woman's version of a story. :) Stay tuned for another fun little story about another happening.

5 Years!

2011-02-10T19:53:00.001-08:00

Wow five years gone by! I always love to look through my wedding pictures on my anniversary. It truly was one of my most favorite days I have ever had. So many friends and family came to celebrate with us and I was so happy to be marrying the man across from me at the alter. The best word I can come up with to describe how I felt on that day is "magical." I know that may sound silly but it's the truth. Since then Daniel and I have learned so much about ourselves and each other. It hasn't always been easy but I wouldn't change anything.
Due to a recent injury I had we were unable to do our normal activities which would involve physical activity of some kind followed by dinner and a movie. I told Daniel early on in our marriage that every five years is renegotiating time:) We decided to renegotiate at one of our favorite places to eat. It's at Nye Beach in Newport. It's only a 45 minute drive from our house and the drive was very pleasant with just the two of us. Our renegotiating really just involved reminiscing of the past and hopes for the future, he knows and I know that good or bad we are in this for the long haul.
We ate at The Chowder Bowl. I highly recommend it to anyone visiting Newport Beach. You will not be disappointed.

I may look pregnant in this picture but sadly I am not. Since I am on crutches I carry everything in my sweatshirt pouch. I'm a Kangaroo.

Happy Anniversary Daniel and thank you mom for watching Isaiah so we could enjoy the evening together!

Retirement

2010-12-14T08:10:00.000-08:00

I took a little blogging hiatus. There have been many things that have kept me away from the computer lately but I will tell about them in a later post. If there is anyone out there that still looks at my blog from time to time you may have to bear with me for a little while. I use my blog as part of my scrap booking and journal so I will be going back a little bit to get caught up. My wonderful mother was able to retire after 24 years of working full time. During those years she also raised 8 kids and those 8 kids produced 26 grandchildren. My sister's and I have been waiting for this day for a long time. We wanted to make this event as special as possible to her so we decided to surprise her with a weekend at a cabin in Hood River. The surprise was that all 8 of her daughters would be there. We had one fly in from Arizona, one from Idaho, and one from Colorado. We told my mom that we had all pitched in and were giving her and my dad this weekend away as our retirement present to her. Then we all made arrangements to be able to get away for the weekend and sneak up there to surprise her. My sisters and I are all kids at heart when we get together so the whole event was really a blast. We loved sneaking around Hood River waiting for my parents to get to the cabin and of course we loved sneaking into the cabin to surprise my mom. Below is some video I caught of the initial surprise. (Brace yourself. You are about to hear 9 women squealing in delight).

Right away we had to take a picture along the stairway. We have plenty of these shots from our younger years. Maybe they were Brady Bunch inspired??

A few of us ventured out into the snow for a play day. There was a long sled run right along the cabin. My sister Bridget and I were the first to try it out. Bridget won the craziest mom award. She had no fear.

Michele ventured out onto the deck with baby Isabelle to watch.

Debora also got in on the action. (Not pictured is my sister Lindsey who finally came out to play with us. She was the most scared which surprised us all because she is the toughest of us all. We decided that was okay this time since she had just had a baby less than a month prior).

The area around the cabin was beautiful so some of us decided to go for a walk.

We started off in the light and walked a long way up the mountain. It started to get dark and we all decided that maybe it wasn't the best idea to have walked so far into the mountain with just five women. We made it back safely though.

I have some really fun videos of us sledding but I can't get them to load onto this blog. :( We had such a good time and many of us have had the chance to spend more time with our mom since her retirement.

Happy Halloween and Thanksgiving!

2010-12-06T22:51:00.000-08:00

In my attempt to get caught up on my posting I am combining Halloween and Thanksgiving. We have already had so much fun this holiday season! We have been able to spend a lot of time with family and friends.

We took Isaiah and his friend to the OSU Homecoming parade and bonfire. We had a lot of fun even though the bonfire took FOREVER to get going.
In between Halloween and Thanksgiving this little sweetheart was born. My older sister Lindsey had her 5th child Isabelle Dawn Ordyna. I happened to be in town so I got to see her in the hospital. My sister invited us to Thanksgiving at her house so we could help out since she had just had a baby.

The kids watching Swiss Family Robinson while the adults were busy cooking.

It was a feast. We had way too much food. We ate for three days straight. What a holiday!

Uncle Daniel at the kids table

After all our feasting Daniel and I took the kids on a walk to the duck pond. These boys love trying to catch things.

We had a great weekend and we were glad to spend it with the Ordyna's

CAUTION: Do not read if you have a weak stomach :)

2010-11-18T08:54:00.000-08:00

The last few weeks have been exhausting. Just in time for the holidays:) I started coaching Isaiah's basketball team last week. I did this last year and must of forgot how much patience it takes because I volunteered again. I figured if I was going to be driving him back and forth I might as well just stay and coach, besides how hard can it be? These kids have the attention span of a blink. We had practice on Tuesday night. I decided with games coming up I should teach the kids different ways to get open. I first taught them the basic v-cut. This went ok. I then attempted to teach them how to set a screen. This was a disaster. What was I thinking? Way over their heads. After about ten minutes of explaining and having them practice one of the kids raised his hand and said, "I don't get it." I then asked, "How many of you don't understand what your doing?" All eight hands shot in the air. Needless to say we will be playing games and doing relays tonight.

I also organized freezer meals with my mom, sisters, and one of my sisters friend. My sister was pregnant with her fifth child and instead of having a baby shower we all got together and made 11 dinners for her to have on hand once the baby comes. Of course we all made dinners for our families as well so it was a win win situation. We couldn't have picked a better weekend to do it. My sister had a doctor's appointment on Friday where she found out they wanted to induce her on Sunday. I drove up on Friday and we started cooking at about 4:30pm and didn't finish until 2:00am! It was a loooong night but I am already enjoying the fruits of that labor this busy week. (side note:My sister delivered her beautiful baby girl Isabelle on Sunday night). The next day after the freezer meals I threw a baby shower for my little sister Monica. Her baby is due in January. I was a little tired but I love throwing parties so it was fun. I was looking forward to coming home and going back to my normal pace. Not so. My older sister Debora has an 18 month old that has been really sick for the last two months. He has been in and out of the hospital and every time we think is getting better, he has a relapse. Needless to say Debora is emotionally and physically exhausted and in need of as much help as she can get. My dad and mom have been taking turns driving over to Bend and helping for the last three weeks. My dad's mom lives with my parents so when my dad leaves he has to find someone to care for my grandmother. He usually asks my sisters that live up in Hillsboro but none were available so Nana came home with me on Monday. My grandmother has dementia and she is actually quite weak so it can be a little mentally and physically draining. I haven't taken care of her for about a year now and I am a little surprised at how weak she has become. She has a hard time just getting out of bed. Once I get her up and going it's fine, it's just the getting her up and going part that can be tiring. She came with Isaiah and I to our dentist appointments and basketball practice on Tuesday. I brought a comfortable chair into the gym for her to sit on during the hour long practice. I felt bad about how much she had to sit around and wait for us but with work and Daniel's new calling, he hasn't been home much in the evenings. I looked up about a half hour into practice and didn't see my Nana sitting in her chair. My heart jumped. Luckily she had only made it a few steps outside of the gym. I asked a parent to take over and I ran out to get her. She said she was looking for something to eat. I don't think she knew where she was or why she was there but she knew she was hungry and decided to try and do something about it. I purchased some chips from the vending machine and got her back in her chair.

Yesterday was EXHAUSTING! I scheduled her for a shampoo and style at the salon I go to. She likes to be pampered. I got her up, fed, and dressed in 45 minutes. I was pretty surprised because it usually takes longer than that. We pulled up to the salon with just enough time to slowly make our way to the door. Just as I turned off the car my Nana said she needed to go to the bathroom. She struggles with incontinence so I knew I needed to hurry. Too late. She started to go and she was mortified. I felt so bad because there was nothing I could do. I told her I was going to run in and let them know that we had to reschedule. I took her home and did what I thought was the impossible for me. I apologize if this grosses anyone out. I honestly did not think I would be able to clean up this mess. I have the weakest stomach when it comes to these things, but I guess when there is no other option, you do what you have to do. An hour later all was well. I was so tired when my head hit my pillow last night and continued to stay tired even when my feet hit the floor this morning.

I have a new appreciation for a young, working body. I just keep thinking about how life really does come full circle. We come into this life with people needing to care for us and we leave this life the same way.

A New Boy!

2010-10-18T22:48:00.001-07:00

I have a little catching up to do. Oh how I miss the summer already. I used to be such a scheduled person. Not so much anymore. I love the freedom of summers. Another school year has begun and with that Isaiah has had another birthday. His 8th birthday was on his first day of 2nd grade. He awaited this birthday with much anticipation. It was his magic birthday because he turned 8 on the 8th!

I can't believe my boy is a cub scout! He loves it. He was so thrilled when his uniform came in the mail. He couldn't wait to put it on.

He had a really fun birthday party with lots of family and friends.

He saved up for a long time to buy this tether ball. This kid loves tether ball. It's the only thing he does at recess. It cracks me up because I can't help but think of Napoleon Dynamite.

This kid scored big time this year. His grandparents got him his very own tackle box. This picture does not do justice of how excited he was. He kept wanting Daniel to get out his tackle box so they could compare. He organized and reorganized it all week long. It was very cute to see him haul it around with such pride.

His mom and dad spoiled him a little this year;) I have been wanting to buy him these clubs ever since we saw them about a year ago. They are a little big for him but that was the idea. I wasn't going to buy him clubs that he outgrew in a year. He was so excited to use them. We took him golfing for his birthday and it was a little rough for him. The clubs are a little too long for him so it was harder for him to control. He was expecting his new clubs to make him play like Tiger, (he really did think his clubs looked, "exactly like Tiger's clubs"). He was a little discouraged after that and it made me nervous he wouldn't want to keep playing. My dad took him out a few weeks ago and helped him with his swing and encouraged him to keep playing and have fun. Thanks dad. That really helped!

The most important decision Isaiah made since he turned eight was to be baptised!
I can just cry looking at this cute little boy here.

A little pre-baptism bumper big wheels in the culd-e-sac with his cousins.

Handsome boys!

I am so happy for the choice Isaiah made to be baptised. Isaiah and I had several conversations prior to his baptism. One of them went like this:

Me: "Isaiah, have you prayed about your decision to be baptised?

Isaiah: "Yes, but even if I said I didn't want to be baptised you and dad would make me.

Me: "No we wouldn't. This is your decision to make (I said this with much hesitation, because had he came back with, "I don't want to be baptised." I don't know what I would have said:)

Isaiah: "Really? You guys wouldn't make me get baptised?"

Me: "Nope, really"

Isaiah, after pondering for a moment: "Well I want to be baptised. It's the right thing to do and I want to live with my Heavenly Father again someday."

My heart immediately swelled with joy! Can a mother really ask for more than to hear their child express such righteous desires? I felt so much gratitude at that moment of motherhood. Gratitude for such a sweet little boy and gratitude for all the people in his life that have been a positive influence and example.

Thank you.

Yellowstone National Park

2010-09-01T08:40:00.000-07:00

Our Vrtiska family reunion was at Yellowstone Park this year. We stayed in a resort in West Yellowstone. We had so much fun. Most families had their own rooms except for the little ones, which is mine and my little sister who is a newly wed and pregnant with her first. We stayed together. All the rooms were right next to each other so we all left our rooms propped open so the kids could go from room to room and play. Each morning the kids would wake up and go find their buddies and play until it was time to go to that days activity. At one point I had all the four and five year old kids in my room playing and Isaiah was off somewhere else. It was pretty fun!

First shot of the kids inside the park. They were just a little excited.

Our first stop was the Artist Paint Pots. Very beautiful and not as stinky as the geysers.

We were pretty lucky to get an amazing view of the buffalo. Daniel and I took a wrong turn and ended up getting lost from the rest of the family. We went all the way north to the Mammoth Falls which are amazing. On our way back to find the group, pretty much impossible since there is no cell phone range and the park is huge, we came across some traffic. This usually means there is an animal to see. The cars slowly moved along. When we came up over the hill we could see this huge herd of Bison come up over the hill. The cars kept moving forward and some people had pulled over and gotten out of their cars. Just as we were the car in the front the herd started to cross the street. It was right in front of us! Daniel looks over and says, "Look at that guy jump into the back of his truck. Wait isn't that Adam?" We had found my family. They ended up in the exact spot we did and we all got to experience the Bison together. It was a pretty majestic sight!

Daniel and Isaiah wanted to stop at about every river and creek in that park to fish. Finally on our way out we did. We never caught anything of course but the scenery was so relaxing.

The park days were long and packed. They were super fun but we all need a day off after the first couple outings. It's tiring to go all day long with 18 kids! The next day we all hung out at the resort. The kids' favorite thing to do was swim. They were in that pool for hours. The adults organized a mean game of whiffle ball. I am sad I didn't get any pictures of either. I have known my whole life that my sisters and I are all very competitive but I had no idea how competitive every one's husbands were. My dad even got after it. Luckily nobody got hurt....as far as I know.

The next day was Old Faithful day. I have seen Old Faithful erupt before but I had no idea that there was so many more cool things to see around the land there.

We had front row seats. We only had to wait 45 minutes and the kids kept themselves entertained playing in the rocks the whole time. Daniel and I found a lovely couple from New Zealand to chat it up with while we waited.

This is actually just after it went off.

It's starting to go. The rest of it I got on video so you can't see the maximum height of it all.

The next few pictures are just of the geyser's and springs that caught my eye. The whole thing is really just amazing. The coolest thing is that the volcano is constantly changing so you won't necessarily see the same things each time you go.

One of my favorites. It looks like coral but it's not! :)

I also love the ridge that has formed on this one.

I know the colors just look dirty here but the camera didn't capture the whole picture and the beauty of it all.

Another one of my favorites. I love the different color.

Makes you want to jump in it's so clear. I don't think that would be too safe though.

This is called Anemone Geyser. Can you guess why?

Heart Spring

All the kids wanted to throw something in the holes that look like they go to the center of the earth. I'm sure it took a lot of self restraint for them not to.

On our way home from Old Faithful we drove down Fire Hole Canyon drive just to see what was back there. We were pleasantly surprised by a beautiful canyon with water falls and a great place for Daniel to try out his fly fishing.

I guess this is the fastest way down. Makes sense to me.

Isaiah and I had fun exploring while Daniel fished.

Last day:(

There is this nice little swimming hole on Fire Hole Canyon Drive. The water is supposed to be 75 to 80 degrees. On a nice warm day that would be great. Our last day at the park just happened to be the coldest one. The original plan was to go for a nice family swim before we had to leave. I backed out and Isaiah, Stephan, Daniel Dewey, and Daniel Long went.
I was pretty impressed with the boys just jumping in and swimming. There was a little rock slide upstream you could ride down. You just jump into the current and let it take you down the river. The boys had to swim.....
...and climb all the way there.

Isaiah not too sure about his decision to do this.

Daniel had to help the boys swim once they got closer to the current. The rest I got on video. The video basically shows Stephan get in just fine and have a blast and then Isaiah refusing to do it after. I told him that was the only way he could get back and so Daniel and he jumped in together and they did it. Once Isaiah reached the other side it was all frowns from him.

We had such a great trip. It went by way too quick though. For those who have never been, I highly recommend, at least at some point in your life, taking a trip to Yellowstone National Park.

Grandpa and Grandma Dewey's House

2010-08-30T22:13:00.000-07:00

We had a reunion for the Vrtiska side of our family this summer at Yellowstone National Park (post coming soon). We were able to stop along the way and have a quick visit with Grandpa and Grandma Dewey. It was way too short but we had a good time while we were there. It was nice to break up the long drive to Yellowstone as well.

Isaiah got to try his hand at driving. I love this picture because it shows so perfectly what kind of driver he was. He was very nervous and cautious. No joking around with this kid.

Daniel set up a course and we each had a turn to see who could drive the fastest around the course.
I think I know where Isaiah gets his cautiousness from. Daniel had no fear on the lawn mower so of course he was the winner.

Isaiah running away from Daniel. It was funny because the lawn mower really can't go that fast but Isaiah was still nervous Daniel was going to get him just because of the noises Daniel would make.

Isaiah acting like Darth Vader with his helmet.

Later that evening Daniel and grandpa went out to the field to move some pipe. Isaiah ran after them wearing grandpa's irrigation boots. I think they were a little too big. Who knows, maybe some day he will fit them? It's hard to imagine that!

After the pipe was moved grandpa went to turn the water on.

As soon as the water started to trickle out Daniel and Isaiah prepared themselves for a water fight.....

.....getting some more water pressure....

.....a little more.....

......full blast!

Isaiah soaked Daniel.

Daniel cheated and used his height advantage over Isaiah to pick him up to get him back.

They managed to still walk away as friends.

We love visiting G&G in Idaho. Next time we need to stay longer than one day!

Isaiah's First 50!

2010-08-04T07:57:00.000-07:00

It has been a rare morning for me this summer to be up earlier than Isaiah. I should be working right now because we are leaving for Yellowstone Park in 2 days but I can't resist getting one last post in before we go. Isaiah had a swim meet in Lincoln City yesterday. I was hesitant to sign him up for this one due to all the things we need to get done before we go and it being an hour and a half drive. This would be his last meet of the summer so I decided to just do it. Up until now Isaiah has only been racing 25's. He has been learning flip turns and I saw the other day in practice that he is actually quite good, (much better than his mom who has also been practicing but making a fool of herself in a public place). I decided to sign him up for one 50 this race. 50 freestyle. I figured out of all the strokes that would be the easiest for him to do. He was not happy about this. He gets really nervous when he tries new things. I was trying to explain to him that at practice he swims 50's all the time but he wasn't having it. So for an hour and a half drive I had to figure out ways to distract this little boy from what he was envisioning as the drive to his death. The Box Car children worked for a moment but the closer we got the more whining I was hearing (I don't do well with whining). I finally broke and played I spy with him, (also not my favorite game to play). This however is his favorite car game and it kept him busy the ENTIRE 45 minutes left. Once we were at the pool I turned him over to his coach and went and sat up above with the other moms.

I was bummed because I didn't get the start of the race. There was a slide in the way of lane 2 so I didn't see Isaiah on the starting block. I thought he was in heat 2 but apparently I was wrong. I also wasn't in very good filming position. I was so proud of him for just diving in and doing it even though he was nervous. More importantly he was super proud of himself. He came straight up to the observation deck with a big smile on his face. Proud mom moment for me, very proud:)

One of my favorite races is still the butterfly. It makes me smile every time I watch him. I think you'll get what I mean when you see the video.

Isaiah just woke. 9am! I think he was a little tired. He swam two races and participated in his first 100 relay. It was so cute to see them all try and figure out who was going to swim what stroke. Each child started calling out their stroke and of course butterfly was the last one left and Isaiah hadn't made his claim. Isaiah, "Oh man!" It was too funny. In the end they ended up doing an all freestyle relay. We then had a little gathering on the freezing beach and then headed home. It was by far the most fun swim meet we have attended this summer!

Cub Scout Day Camp

2010-07-25T21:55:00.001-07:00

Isaiah had is first year of Cub Scout Day Camp last week! I was very excited for him because I knew he would have so much fun but it is always a little bitter sweet watching him get older.

He's always a little nervous at the beginning of new things but quickly finds his place and buddies and has a great time.
Watching the first flag raising ceremony. It was cute to see him stand and salute the flag with the cub scout salute while reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.

Here he is learning a little about map and compass reading. I was volunteering this day so I got to see how attentive he really was. I have a pretty good feeling that he was more interested in the sticks on the ground than what the different colors on the map represented.

Archery was of course one of his favorites. The last day we had a BBQ and all the families were able to come and go around to the different stations with their children. I got to shoot some arrows along side of Isaiah and it was super fun. I took archery in Junior High and loved it but definitely didn't retain any skills. Isaiah beat me.

Nothing like the parachute. The Den Leader came up with this game that all the kids would toss the parachute up in the air and then try to make it to the other side and catch it as it was coming down. The first thought that came to my mind was, that was the worst possible thing you could tell these boys to do. I envisioned bloody noses, bumped heads, and teeth falling out. In retrospect I should have listen to that prompting and spoke up but I was only a volunteer for one day and I didn't want to step on her toes. Well as it went the first time through one of the little boys lost his tooth. Luckily it was a baby tooth and one that his dentist had given him a week to lose or it was getting pulled. The sight of it all was still a little frightening.

The obstacle course they had set up for the kids was pretty fun. The rope swing across the pit was Isaiah's favorite....

....but only because it was hot and he wanted to drop in the water.

So proud of himself for getting wet!

Nothing like water fights on a hot sunny day.

Another one of Isaiah's favorites was the BB guns. They got to shoot every day along with archery every day. I was so impressed with all that the volunteers did for these kids. The lady that ran the whole thing did it on a complete volunteer basis and she did an amazing job. By the end of the week Isaiah was happy, tired, and already looking forward to next year.

Christopher

2010-07-04T17:10:00.000-07:00

I have been watching my nephew for the last two weeks. My sister has been in Italy with her husband and her two older daughters. I told her about a week ago that I would post some pictures on my blog of Christopher. We have had a fun but very busy time.

The week before last when the weather was nicer we went to Otter Beach. It's an outdoor swimming pool in Corvallis. Christopher loved it! We plan on going again this week before he leaves.

Jumping in at his swim lessons. He loves swimming!

Christopher is making ice cream in these pictures. This was an activity we did for achievement day.

We went to the Corvallis Knights $1000.00 dash for cash. Christopher was a little weary of the Knight at first but Daniel helped him figure out that he was a pretty cool guy. Christopher kept saying, "I don't want to see that baseball Knight guy anymore." I told him that it was just a regular guy with a giant head on for a costume that he could take off whenever he wanted to. After that he seemed fine.

We went clam digging in Newport on Saturday as part of our fourth of July weekend. The weather was beautiful!

This was a long walk down to the area we went clam digging. Christopher was a trooper on the way down and walked the whole way. The way back was a little different. By that time he was tired so Daniel put him on his shoulders.

Later that evening we did some fireworks in front of our house.

Happy Fourth of July mom, dad, Alex, and Lauren! Come home safe to me.

A Little Father's Day Gift

2010-06-26T00:19:00.000-07:00

This picture is a little disturbing to me.....

....but not as much as this one! For Father's Day this year Isaiah really wanted to get Daniel a BB gun. They have both been talking about it for a long time but I have been dragging my feet on it. I decided it would be okay since Isaiah is going to cub camp this summer and apparently they shoot BB guns every day.

I am so glad that I have a husband that I can trust 100% with Isaiah's safety. He doesn't always show it on the outside, but every time we have done something potentially dangerous, Daniel is always the one to show and teach Isaiah the safety rules first. Thank goodness for that!

For family home evening the next night we decided to make targets for our activity. This had absolutely nothing to do with the lesson, but Daniel and Isaiah were pretty excited to see how good of a shot they were. Isaiah's target is on the left. He made points for each area on the target. My target is on the right. The bulls eye on mine is a credit card. If I hit my bulls eye I got to use it. No such luck for me though:)

It was hard to tell with the cardboard from far away. Daniel actually almost hit the bulls eye on the first shot! Isaiah and I were a different story. I found most of my bullets lodged into the fence behind the box.

Isaiah doing his happy dance after emptying a round:)

Consumer report: Good buy!

Next target: Pop cans.

Another Baptism!

2010-06-24T19:43:00.001-07:00

There were five kids born in the same year in our family. Stephan was the second to be baptized. I am sad that I didn't get any of Connor:( Stephan is my third the the oldest sister Debora's, son. He asked me to give a talk on the Holy Ghost. I felt pretty special because we have a big family and there were a lot to choose from. He is such a sweet boy. He was so reverent and seemed as if he was taking it all in.

Afterwards was a whole different story! We have some goofy boys in our family.

I finally got them calmed down for a good picture. Now I can say that we have some very handsome boys in our family as well!

Isaiah, Ethan, Claire, and Evelyn waiting patiently for the baptism to start. Can you guess you the family clown is? She is always doing and saying things that crack me up.

This all happened the day after my little sister was sealed in the temple. Major thank you's to my mom for hosting both gatherings to follow in her home. She is always so willing to do what she can so we can all get together and enjoy these kinds of experiences. I am so grateful for my amazing family!

I stole this picture from my sister's blog of the whole family. I know it is small but I think you can click on the image to view it larger.....if you want:)

Family Time!

2010-06-22T23:41:00.000-07:00

It has been a crazy two weeks! Two weeks ago my sweet little sister was sealed in the temple to her husband Daniel. Unfortunately I did not take one single picture of these two together on that day. Like I said it was a crazy time. My ENTIRE family was in town for several family events we had going on. That means 8 families with 22 kids which equals total chaos. Of course we did have a blast. We started the trip off with a sisters night out in a hotel. Nothing fancy just a Marriot Residence Inn stay on 185th in Hillsboro. We just wanted one night to play games and hang out and talk. The picture above was taken at about 1 in the morning. We were all getting a little loopy at this point which is why we started playing Indian Poker. My little sis posted the whole night. If you would like to view click here: http://monicavrtiska.blogspot.com/

The rest of these pictures are in no particular order. They are just pictures of my beautiful nieces and nephew that I love so much. From left to right: Claire 6, Ethan 7, Kate 3, Evelyn 7, and Isaiah 7.

This is my sister Mindy's little girl Kate. She is just about the cutest little thing. My mom says she looks exactly like me when I was her age so of course she melts my heart. She has the softest little voice and she is so lovable.
Left to right: Isaiah 7, Evelyn 7, Ethan 7, and Jack 5. They are all sitting on grandpa and grandma's bed playing. Growing up this is where you could often find my sisters and me as well. We loved being in my parents bed and I think it is so funny that now our children love it as well. Maybe it's because they have always had a water bed and kids think that's fun??

Here are some of the little ones. From left to right: Jeffrey 3, Christopher 4, Jarem 4, Joshua 3, Jack 5, and Dallin 5.

Isaiah playing a little soccer with his cousin Ethan.

Uncle Adam wrestling with all the kids. This is definitely a favorite with all the little boys and thankfully there were no tears this time.

Little Kate trying to pick up uncle Daniel. She loves him!

Highlight of the sisters night; trying to get our husbands to pose for a picture. I love how they all have there arms folded.

Getting a little more comfortable....

...maybe a little too comfortable for our cop Rich!

Now in complete submission to their wives whining. "Puleaaaaze do a pyramid for us!!" What a bunch of sweeties!

After a long day of running from place to place, eating, and playing, the kids were all a little tired which equals silliness.

Teenagers. Gotta love them. I do!

Sweet little Christopher adding his silly face.

Bear with me I have two more weeks of extended family posting to go!

2010-06-03T23:54:00.000-07:00

We decided to head out and go fishing for Memorial Day weekend. We went about 40 miles east looking for a fishing hole along the South Santiam River. The Salmon were swimming upstream so it was supposed to be a great time to go. We found a great spot but unfortunately it was already occupied by some locals. The told us of another hole right down the path but we would most likely only catch trout. (I don't think any of us were really thinking we would ever catch salmon anyway. We headed down the path and there was this huge fallen tree in the way. I went first and crossed right over it. Isaiah went next but he decided he wanted to walk down it. Just as Daniel was saying, "Careful bud it might be a little..." and whoosh right off the log Isaiah went down the bank and right into the river. I saw it all out of the corner of my eye and two thoughts quickly crossed my mind. The first was I hope he didn't land on any rocks and the second was I am SO glad he is on swim team and becoming a stronger swimmer. He climbed right out and was fine but then started to cry because of the shock of it all, (I'm sure the water was just a tad cold as well:).

Here he is shivering a bit from the cold.

Daniel gave him his long sleeve shirts to wear. At first he was not too excited about looking like he was wearing a dress, but I think he felt much better once he was out of his wet clothes.

Now he has a fishing pole in his hand and ready to go!

We love Daniel! He always gets us all set up before he starts fishing. I mention this in my blog because I know that he really thinks we should be able to do this ourselves but he also knows I like it when he does it for me:) What a sweetheart huh?

After a few hours of fishing and catching nil, Daniel took a little nap. The sun was shining and it was so quiet and peaceful where we were.

Isaiah was happy to get to listen to my ipod. Not a privilege he gets very often.

I think I slept the longest out there. I love to fish but after an hour of not a single nibble I was done. I must say I had quite a nice nap. Isaiah and Daniel fished the whole time.

I was very impressed with Isaiah this trip. We got there at about 9am and left around 3pm. He never complained once about being bored and he even started fixing his own snags and tangles!

Great trip, no fish. Better luck nect time kiddo. Mom and dad just need to figure out what we are doing out there!

Camera's Back!

2010-05-20T09:20:00.001-07:00

I am so glad to have my camera back! I found that I didn't take as many pictures as I had thought on Easter. It was a great weekend in Bend. We stopped at Foster Lake on our way. Daniel was pretty adamant about finding a new place to fish along the way and Isaiah agreed. As you can see by the gray clouds in the background, I wasn't too excited to get out and fish. It did turn out to be a success however, and I was glad we stopped.

I tried to get Isaiah to keep his coat on but as you can see it found a place on the rocks beside him. (Others who have boys may agree with me. I have decided that coats are something boys drag along with them because their mothers insist. They don't quite understand why they have them but they know the sooner they take the coat the faster they can get out the door. Poor coat however, rarely gets to fulfill it's purpose. They are merely drug along only to be plopped on the ground at the destination of boy. In many sad cases coat is left on playground, bus, or park bench of the last destination of boy, many times never to be seen again by family).

You cannot see the wind in the pictures but it was blowing. My hands were freezing (I was fishing myself. I never want to stop but as soon as I am out there my competitive side overtakes me. It is me against the fish. I have not caught one yet, but I know that once I do I will feel more guilt than victorious, but this still does not stop me from trying).

I decided I was cold enough and I told everyone they had one more cast. Then we heard, "I got one dad, I got one!" I did not react right away. We hear this many times while fishing. Isaiah feels a tug and thinks he has caught a fish. We rush over, camera ready, net ready, only to find he has snagged the bottom of the lake, river, stream, etc. This time he really did have one! We were so excited for him. I didn't make it over in time to get a picture of the fish. Isaiah was holding it and it squirmed out of his hands and back to freedom. It was a successful stop, cold weather and all.

Pink cheeked boys waiting patiently for Jarem to get some eggs before they darted off. There was still snow on the ground in Bend.

There off!

Thanks Debora for always being such a great host. We love coming to visit!

2010-05-05T00:27:00.000-07:00

I played basketball until about 10:30 tonight and now I can't sleep. We have such a fun group of girls that get together and play basketball at the church every Tuesday night. I have had a blast playing with them. Tonight only 7 girls showed up but six of us were from second ward so we were pretty impressed with ourselves. I LOVE basketball and I love getting the extra exercise but I really look forward to the laughs and fun we have. It makes me feel like I am 16 again. It only takes me a few times up and down the court to remind me that I AM MOST DEFINITELY NOT!!

I am so bummed I am not able to post my Easter pictures. We went to my sisters house in Bend for Easter and GC weekend. We had such a good time. My sister and I planned this nice great meal for Sunday. Daniel and Hodge put on fun Easter egg hunts for the kids in the back yard. They still have snow over there so we stayed close to home. Anyway I bought this nice $50 organic ham and made one of my favorite desserts. It's a mint ice cream pie with Oreo cookie crust. Yum! I didn't get to enjoy any of it! Sunday morning we were all watching General Conference and I started to feel a little sick. I made it through the whole session but immediately got in bed after that. I slept on and off, only waking up when I felt like I was going to vomit but never could. That is the worst state of sick to me. Just feeling like crud waiting to throw up and get it over with. Well about 6 or 7 hours later I still hadn't thrown up. I did wake up every now and then to hear the happy voices of everyone enjoying Easter dinner. I was so bummed to have missed out. Then it came time to go. I still felt bad and still hadn't thrown up. Daniel came in to ask what I needed him to pack. I am a horrible sick person. When I feel like that all I want to do is lye there and NOT MOVE, and now Daniel is expecting me to get in the car and drive for 3 hours! Seriously though what other option did we have? Daniel packed our things, and gathered "just in case she throws up materials" for the road. It consisted of two gallon zip lock bags and paper towels. I'm sorry if I am disgusting anyone here. Now here I am sick AND grumpy headed for home. About 30 minutes down the road it came. I told Daniel to pull over but thankfully we had the zip lock bags because our car floor would have been toast. I hate throwing up but even worse I hate throwing up when people can see or hear me. Apparently I don't mind blogging about it though. Well I felt much better afterwards but we still had two and half hours to go.
When we got to the pass there was snow, which would slow us down at least another half hour. Then we come across this SUV facing toward us on our side of the road in the ditch. At least two cars passed by in front of us and possibly more before that. I couldn't believe no one was stopping! Daniel and I pulled over to see what we could do, well what he could do since I was basically lifeless in the passenger seat. It was a young mom with a toddler. To make a long story short, with the assistance of another man with a big truck and a tow, they got her out of there. I was glad we could help but man was I glad to get home. What should have been a 3 hour trip tops, ended up taking 5 hours.
Oh yeah back to why I don't have any pictures. Daniel forgot to pack our camera when we left Bend so it's his fault:)

Well I guess I will try and get some sleep now. Happy Cinco de Mayo everyone!!

Spring Break

2010-04-01T21:02:00.000-07:00

I really love blogging, I do. I think I always wait a couple weeks to post because I love the little trip down memory lane from a not too distant memory. I don't think these pictures are in any particular order. If I start fussing with all that it ends up taking me too long and then I give up.

We had a great spring break this year. The weather was AMAZING! I can't remember the last spring break we've had with actual sun. The first part of our break brought us to Astoria. Astoria, oh how I love you. I have many, many fond memories visiting cousins, uncles, aunts, grandma out on the Fernhill Holly Farm. Literally acres and acres of land to explore. This town also holds special memories for me because it was down on the docks with the barking seals that my then boyfriend proposed to me. Below is a picture of the tree in my grandma's yard that Daniel carved our names into. He started to carve STEPHANIE and after he got to STE he decided that was good enough. This tree brings a smile to my face.

Beautiful grandma Timmerman's house. She has lived in this house for at least 30 years alone since the passing of my grandpa. She took care of the yard, house, and garden up until pretty recently. She's 91 and we all decided it was time to force her to relax. My cousin Liz and her husband live with her now and they are so good to her.

My sister Lindsey and I took our kids here for a couple of days (Daniel had to stay home and work. He was pretty bummed). You can barely see the kids at the bottom of the hill. I just loved watching the kids run around with so much space and freedom. They are about the age that I remember the most as a kid. We would wake up in the morning, eat breakfast, and not be home until we got hungry for dinner.

The kids running down grandma's hill and off to another adventure. Below the grass on the right is actually a very old concrete swimming pool that was there when my mom was growing up. I've never actually seen it full and functioning but the thing is pretty ancient and cool. We used to love and play in there after a long rain.

Did I mention that the Timmerman's have amazing gardens? This is my aunt Evelyn's garden. She is prepping it for the season. This is my DREAM garden. You should see it when it is in full production. All kinds of yummy fruits and veggies to eat fresh!

I had to snap a quick shot of the boys in the loft playing in their PJ's. These are the exact teenage mutant ninja turtles that my cousins and I played with growing up.

My cousin Jerry lives with my aunt still. He has epilepsy and has to take medication that affects him pretty heavily. These kids were fascinated with him! He is a very good artist. The kids were all huddled around him watching him sketch a dragon.

Jeffrey and Isaiah sitting in Dieter's makeshift swing. Dieter is my cousin Greg's son and he is just about one of the cutest kids ever.

The kids running off to more adventures. This one is on the other side of the farm.

This adventure brought them to a dead porcupine. They drug it down, with a stick, to this bush. They said it was his burial site. Tanner thought he was pretty brave by pulling out a few quills. I thought he was as well.

What a great trip!

The latter part of the week Daniel took some time off of work so we could go camping. Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate. We still found some great things to do here in Corvallis. The night before Daniel and Isaiah ventured out to the river to drop our crawdad trap. We got up early the next morning to go retrieve it.

Unfortunately it had rained all night and the water level had risen so much that we couldn't get out to it the next day. It's still out there. Just waiting for some sunny days to bring the water down.

It was so early that Daniel fell asleep at the wheel and Isaiah had to take over.

Later that day we decided to drive along the Alcea and find a new fishing spot. Isaiah's friend Gavin came with us which was a lot of fun.

Isaiah caught his first fish!! Daniel has been dying for this to happen for him. From the mouth of Isaiah, "I've caught fish before in ponds filled with fish but never in the wild! This is awesome!" For the rest of the day he was saying, "I can't believe I caught a fish! Can you believe I caught a fish?)

Gavin and Isaiah. They had so much fun together. We were hoping Gavin would catch one as well. Maybe next time.

I ventured off to look for a more private spot and just about died when I almost stepped on this snake. I came running down the path yelling, "There's a huge snake down there." Instantly three boys running the opposite way back down the path to catch it. Classic boy/girl difference.

Life is Good!

MARCH MADNESS!!

2010-03-19T10:28:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite events of the year! I love watching college basketball and I love a little friendly competition.

Our championship predictions.

Dan: Kentucky vs. Kansas with Kentucky winning (taking the safe route)

Isaiah: BYU vs. Old Dominion with BYU winning (BYU being one of the few teams he actually knew)

Me: Syracuse vs. Duke with Duke winning (I don't particularly care for Duke. I can't help that they are a good team though)

There have already been some pretty amazing games. Several upsets and several buzzer beaters. Isaiah gets very into the games. It's so fun!

What are your predictions?

Basketball

2010-03-15T23:43:00.000-07:00

I was organizing my photos tonight when I noticed a couple things I forgot I wanted to post. About a month ago Isaiah lost his first front tooth. I knew this day would come and I wasn't too excited about it. I thought it would make him look so old and I would be sad. I was wrong. Everything is making him look so old, but I am okay with it now!

Isaiah played on his first basketball team and I got to coach it! Words cannot express how much fun it was. Isaiah really loves playing basketball. There are three basketball hoops in our culdesac and if it's not raining, and even sometimes when it is, he's out there playing. I love playing with him and I love watching him play.

I had to scan this photo in because when I was younger my dad coached my basketball team, and several of my sisters, and we all have a picture just like this one.....except my dad was rockin' an awesome 80's mustache!

A couple of years ago I coached 7th grade basketball for the Future Spartans program. This was a lot more laid back and fun. It was so rewarding to be a part of those kids first experience with basketball.

Isaiah using all his power to shoot the three. In one of the games Isaiah stole the ball and had a wide open layup at the other end of the court. He was dribbling up the court and I saw him slowing down to shoot it right at the three point line. Just as I was yelling, "keep going!" he swished it. He was very excited along with his teammates. I was glad he made it but knew this would only encourage more outside shooting and possible ball hogging. Of course it did. He thought he was on fire and attempted to shoot almost every time he had the ball. I couldn't help but laugh to myself, but also had to have the "being a team player" talk with him later.

A little fancy ankle cross shot here:) I had such a blast coaching and can hardly wait until next year!

Sister's Weekend

2010-03-03T08:27:00.000-08:00

A weekend away with my sisters! All eight of us were able to get together and enjoy a weekend on the Oregon Coast. We stayed in Daniel's family coast house. We were so lucky to have amazing weather for our retreat.

In order from oldest to youngest, right to left: Michele, Erica, Debora, Bridget, Lindsey, Mindy, myself, and Monica.

My parent's floors were being redone so they came out for a place to stay. It was fun to have them there.

My sweet sister Mindy from Idaho.

My two oldest sisters, Michele and Erica, are always texting now. They have teenagers, can you tell?

Still texting.

There are a few things that will almost always happen when we get together, and competition is one of them. Eating, playing games, long chats are some others. Eating is what brought us outside to walk the hill. I don't know who suggested it but eventually we were having races up the hill. The youngest Monica won. Way to go!

The weather was so nice. We had many of our long chats outside on the deck.

Thank you to my sisters for such a great weekend! You are all amazing mother's, wives, and sister's that I look up to. Can't wait to do it again.

Decisions

2010-02-17T10:39:00.000-08:00

Things have been a little stressful around here lately. About two or three months ago my boss called and offered me a promotion. This would require me to be working at the office which meant a move for us. After many discussions with Daniel and much prayer, we decided it would be a smart thing to do given the economy right now and Daniel's line of work. I had a meeting with my boss and a few other people about a month ago to discuss the changes that would be ahead. I had until after spring break to find a place to live in Forest Grove or Hillsboro and then I would start training. My house hunting was very slow. For some reason I couldn't decide on a location. Daniel came home last week with news from his boss that he was being moved to the project in Corvallis that he was originally hired to do. I should have been excited about this news because Daniel has been commuting two hours each day and we were both getting very tired of it, but my promotion ruined that for me. The stress of this all was a little too much for me so we decided to head out to the coast for some R&R while we contemplated our options. We both decided that I would turn down the promotion and stay here. The other options would be too taxing on our family life and not worth pay offs. Now that the decision is made I am happy because I do love Corvallis.

I haven't posted in a long time and I am tired of seeing my Christmas post on there......but now I am adding more:) We did so many fun things and I got too busy after the Holidays to post them so I am going to do that now.

Every year the "Vrtiska" side of our family celebrates Christmas with a service project and family dinner. My sister Erica hosted it and we had a blast. Santa comes and all the kids get to sit on his lap and receive a present. Santa is actually Grandpa but some of the younger kids are still fooled. Santa as a bell he rings and says "HO HO HO" A LOT! He makes the night so fun. I am sad that I didn't take any pictures of Santa this year.

For our service project this year we made Holiday signs to give away. My amazing sister Bridget organized it all and we had a great time making them together.

I had to add these pictures of my sweet nieces Alex and Lauren. They are so excited when their aunties come over. They make you feel like a Rock Star. They're adorable!

Isaiah was thrilled to sit at the little, little kids table. The Little kids table was full. I love how Jeffrey is looking at Isaiah in this picture. He really adores Isaiah. Last time we went to visit them his mom said, "Isaiah's coming to visit today."

Jeffrey:"I LOVE Isaiah!"

When we showed up Jeffrey followed Isaiah around the whole time mimicking everything he did. Very cute.

The "Dewey" side of our family got together at the coast house for a little celebrating. It was a really fun weekend and it was nice to see family that we don't always get to see.

Isaiah very excited to open his first present this Holiday season.

Grandma Dewey's toys are always a big hit for the kids. The new toys that trip were Gormiti's. We ended up getting Isaiah some for Christmas. Isaiah was talking to Grandma Dewey the other day on the phone and they were comparing their Gormiti's. Each of them have different powers and some are bigger than others so Isaiah was trying to figure out if his army was more powerful than grandma's.

Christmas bells are one of my favorite things. I wanted to purchase some this year but just about died when I saw the price. I called my MIL and asked her if she owned any. Of course she did and I asked her to bring them when she came. It was so cute and fun to watch the kids, and Grandma, create some festive music.

This guy won the cute prize. He was so fun to watch. He only had one note but he took it very seriously. His face was very serious watching for grandma to point to him and when she did he would brighten up, ring his bell, and then he would lower his eyes down and smile shyly. It was adorable.

Grandpa tried hard but it's really hard to get a picture out of Isaiah anymore.

Now back to the Vrtiska's we go for a New Year's celebration.

We love to eat in my family.

My nieces brought over their Guitar Hero. My niece Ashley above is AMAZING at guitar. She plays expert and rarely misses a note.

Grandpa really got into it and decided to pull out all of his cowboy hats.

Seriously, who holds drum sticks like that? Absolutely NO skills whatsoever in the drumming world. I did provide entertainment for my two sisters watching and laughing at me though!

After our New Year celebration we headed off to Bend to visit my sister Debora's family. Above the boys are in their "ninja" clothes, as they like to call them. We were heading up to the mountain to go tubing.

from left to right: Justin, Stephan, Isaiah, and Jarom. They were so excited.

Isaiah could hardly contain himself. It was a little weird for me this year because Isaiah is getting older and so are his cousins. The boys went up and down the mountain all on their own.

There's nothing like sitting in the hot tub in the snow.

Twas the night before Christmas

2009-12-24T23:31:00.000-08:00

We get real fancy around our house for our Christmas Eve dinner. Wine glasses and martini glasses with sparkling cider. I love Isaiah's giant glass! It's so much fun.

Nana and Isaiah toasting. It was nice to see Nana having such a great time.

Next we all get to open one present each on Christmas Eve. I actually got to open two because Isaiah decided to give me $2.00 from his savings account. What a sweet boy.

(actually earlier that day Isaiah had 29 cents and he wanted to play a game that cost 50 cents. I told him he didn't have enough so he would have to find something cheaper. Instead he decided to donate his money to the salvation army on the way out of the store. I was so proud of him. Later that day I gave him 50 cents out of my car and told him I was proud of his decision to give to those less fortunate. I told him to keep the money in the car so he wouldn't forget to use it next time we were there).

Dad got the book "The Christmas Oranges" He was so thrilled (sarcasm emphasized). This will be a new tradition to read the story each Christmas Eve to remind us of how blessed we are to have the things that we have.

Isaiah got a new family game. I didn't get a picture but it is called Fundominos. That is another one of our traditions to get a family game and play it on Christmas Eve together. Nana actually really liked this one so it was extra special.

I got my new annual snow globe. I love these things. This one sings, Hark the Herald Angels Sing.

Nana got some of my old perfume that I have never used. I know we are so sweet but really she doesn't need a whole lot and it was mostly to help her feel welcome and loved. I think she had a really great night.

Now everyone is tucked all snug in their beds. I love Christmas!

Traditions

2009-12-18T13:55:00.000-08:00

Due to my tardiness of getting organized, we are currently celebrating the "16" days until Christmas. Under each number is an activity we can do together as a family. It has so far been a lot of fun.

One of my favorite traditions that we celebrate is the Christmas Pickle. After all the presents are opened we hang the last ornament on the tree, the pickle (it's a cute little pickle ornament). The person who is, "most observant," and finds the pickle wins a prize.

One of our family activities was to make gingerbread houses and then decorate them. This took us three days to do. Daniel gets home from work so late that we don't have time to do a whole lot in the evenings after dinner. The first night we made the gingerbread dough, the second night we baked it, and the third night we assembled our houses and decorated them.

Isaiah actually decided to make a gingerbread man/soldier. I think his decorating technique was to cover every spot on his cookie with candy.

Daniel's, of course, ended up looking like the house straight out of the book, "Hansel and Gretel."

I messed up on my gingerbread so I ended up making this crazy cathedral looking house. It's a little creepy looking to me.
I was actually pretty tired by this time and ready to be done. I had a little Christmas "bah hum bug" that night.

Every year here in Corvallis the Pepsi plant puts on an amazing light display with music. I love how excited Isaiah still gets to do these kinds of things.

He was amazed by the huge piles of crushed aluminum cans.

When we drove by he asked me to stop. He just looked at it all in awe. He said to me, "Wow mom that is a lot of pop cans! We could make a giant Tin Man with all that!" I love his imagination and enthusiasm.

We had a full moon that night and Isaiah snapped this shot.

This picture came out blurry because the beavers were moving but it's my favorite display. It's a bunch of Benny the Beavers each representing a different sport.

There's even a TMNT out there!

Isaiah wanted to jump out and sing with the choir and then got embarrassed when I took a picture.

I love this time of year that we get to spend more time with family. The only problem is time just flies by.

Creating Christmas

2009-12-11T12:18:00.000-08:00

Nothing says Christmas more than raking leaves! We have a tree in our front yard that refuses to shed it's leaves until the first of December. It was Isaiah's delightful duty to rake all the leaves prior to putting up the lights.

(given it's Christmas time Daniel and I did help him a little:)

Daniel putting up the lights.

(Do you see those leaves up there in the gutter? There were a whole bunch more on the roof as well. While we were out getting our tree the wind blew all those leaves onto our nicely raked lawn. Isaiah was devastated).

Isaiah got his own tree this year. There was a man giving them away because they didn't grow correctly. We were happy to give a home to a misfit tree!

Isaiah waiting for dad to find the perfect tree. Daniel is seriously Chevy Chase from Christmas Vacation. We spend a lot of time and do a lot of walking to track down the perfect one. Isaiah of course never takes my advice when I say it's going to be cold so grab a jacket and a hat. He was soooo cold, but still smiling!

No help from us this year carrying the tree. We finally got cold enough and went inside for some hot chocolate.

The Perfect One!

Isaiah's Misfit.

All decorated and ready for presents.

It makes a nice nightlight for Isaiah. He really loves it and he actually waters it without having to be reminded....for the most part!

Thanksgiving

2009-12-04T23:42:00.000-08:00

It's been awhile since I have updated my blog but a lot has been going on. I will give a quick run down. We have definitely been busy and we have had some good, great, and not so great times. Now of course I am only going to blog about the good and great unless by special request someone wants to hear about the not so great:)

I will share one really bad moment. Halloween. What a bummer it was. I love Halloween here in Corvallis. We bake treats and go see friends, we get all dressed up and go trick or treating downtown, and we make a special stop by my Aunt Roxanne's house to get some disgusting, (in both taste and sight), candy eyeballs. Well a few days before Halloween Isaiah came down with swine flu. It was horrible. High temp, head ache, body ache, and just overall feeling bad. He handled it so well as he does every time he gets sick. Just a few days later I came down with it. After getting it and being in the thick of it I couldn't believe how tough Isaiah was. I felt horrible! I kept thinking the whole time, 'This is why I thank Heavenly Father for a healthy body and this is why I always ask to be healthy and strong.' I HATE being sick in any way, shape, or form. Needless to say Halloween was cancelled for us this year. Since Isaiah was feeling better he and Daniel passed candy out but that was as far as it went. I kept thinking as Isaiah would hand out the candy, 'Happy Halloween, enjoy the swine flu you might get from taking our candy!' I was too miserable to protest.

Now November. My moms 65th birthday was on November 15th and we invited her down to our house for a little party. My parents crack me up. I remember when they turned 55 and they were so excited for their senior citizen discount. Now that they are 65 they are so excited for Medicare, and in a year retirement.

I made my mom a special "cake" since she swore off treats over, I don't know 30 years ago or something like that. It was sugar free raspberry jello with cool whip topping and as you can see,raspberries for garnish. It was actually pretty good and I think she enjoyed her weekend here. I know Isaiah did. He loves his grandparents so much and gets very excited when they come to visit. I am so grateful to have parents who take the time to make their grandchildren feel special and loved. I know this is something I didn't have growing up and I'm glad that Isaiah does.

We have a really fun toy store here in Corvallis called the Toy Factory. They have really cool toys, books, and games and I love it because they always have toys out for kids to "test" while parents shop around. The game of the weekend was Labyrinth. I love it because I love mazes. My dad got into it as well which was pretty fun because last time they visited we played Clue and he seriously had NO CLUE. Isaiah did a really good job. At first we modified how he could play to give him an advantage but it made it way too easy for him so we decided he was old enough to play the real way:) Daniel, of course, beats me every time we play, just like in Blokus. I always thought I was a good strategist. Apparently not as good as him. I do recommend this game to those out there that enjoy games. It's very versatile meaning you can play it with your adult people or your little people.

At the beginning of November I threw my sweet friend Ivy a baby shower. I love throwing parties and it had been a long time since my last one. I think it went well. I had fun and was glad to be able to get together with so many of my friends.

THANKSGIVING!

We had an amazingly great Thanksgiving. I was so happy when my sister called and suggested coming to our house, from Idaho, for Thanksgiving. I love her family so much. She has four adorable little kids. Our house is only three bedrooms and we were taking care of Nana since my parents went to Colorado for Thanksgiving to visit my sister Bridget and her family. Nana gets her own room. We can never convince any of the kids to sleep with her. We don't know why? We gave Dallin, Mindy, and little Kate our room and her three other kids slept in Isaiah's room. Thankfully Daniel had finished Isaiah's bed, which is amazing I must say, and then there is a day bed with a trundle that pulls out. I had the big couch in the living room, Isaiah had the small one, and Daniel, by request slept on the couch in the garage. He likes it. So we were all nice and cozy and crazy but we were together and I LOVED it!

The kids eating their artichoke appetizer (Not pictured, the platter of deviled eggs devoured and a whole bowl, and almost whole bag of chips and salsa).

We spent a lot of time cooking. This was my first year hosting Thanksgiving and all I could think of the whole day and day before was, 'how did my mom do this every year with eight kids and very little help?' I mean my husband knows his way around the kitchen. I love my dad, but he does not! I did the meal planning, we went shopping as a family, and then all the adults cooked together. Daniel cooked the chicken (no turkey lovers), ham, potatoes, and green beans. I made three desserts, and the artichokes for appetizers. Mindy and Dallin made yummy cranberry chutney, deviled eggs, and a yummy raspberry, pretzel, jello dish...seriously yummy. I really wish I would have added up how many sticks of butter we used because everything we made called for at least a cube. I guess that's why everything tasted amazing

All the cuties in Isaiah's new bed. Isn't it awesome! It hangs from the ceiling with a very cool, yet a tad bit dangerous of a rope ladder to crawl up. From left to right, Jack, Isaiah, Kate, Claire, and Evelyn.

Jack is my little sweetheart! He loves me, what can I say:)

Claire is one you have to keep your eyes on. She loves, lotion, lipstick, and anything else she shouldn't get into. I do have to say she was quite well behaved. I love her to death because she is the most like her mom and her mom always can make me laugh. Very fun personality!

Little Kate. If you looked at a baby picture of me, you would think this was me.

These two have been buds since the day Isaiah was born. Evelyn came first and then two weeks later Isaiah. We all lived in the same house together their first year on this earth and it was a sad day when Dallin took them away to Idaho:) It just makes these times when we get together even more special though!

Thank you to the Heiner's for a great Thanksgiving, even if it was way too short of a visit. I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving as well!

Crater Lake

2009-10-16T08:38:00.001-07:00

We were very pleased to see that Crater Lake was still as beautiful as we had remembered!

We did however find that our favorite campsite was full. We like Lost Creek campsite. It only has 16 sites but it is so quiet and secluded. We usually wait to go to Crater Lake until the season is closed. This year due to Daniel's new job we had to go earlier, meaning more crowded. We went up to Mazama Village which houses tents and RV's. Daniel and I were irritated because we were both looking forward to our campsite.

We even had traffic this year getting around Crater Lake!

We vacationed this year with my little sister Monica and her hubby Daniel. They just got married in May. Daniel (Monica's husband), is such a ham and makes me laugh all the time, so does Daniel (my husband:). Monica and I have resorted to just saying my husband or your husband, or my Dan or your Dan.

Isaiah was super excited to use his new pocket knife. He started sharpening sticks as soon as we got there.

He's so proud of his sharpened stick.

I like to go hiking. Daniel does as well but never on the marked paths. The first year we went to Crater Lake we all went hiking down the side of the mountain. Daniel and Isaiah went again this year. I opted out. The first year was enough for me!

I was happy when they were back. I'm a worrier:)

The view behind our campsite.

We knew some people were leaving Lost Creek the next day so we convinced Monica and Daniel to get up the next day and move. We were able to get our same spot that we loved last year so it was worth it.

After breakfast we headed down to the Lake to fish. Daniel saw all the cars in the parking lot and was convinced our secret spot was taken.

Pictures on our way down.

Daniel and Isaiah were both in a hurry to start fishing so they don't look too thrilled here:)

Just a few more yards to go.

Our spot wasn't taken! I always tease Daniel that he is the only one that ever catches fish because he hogs the best spot every year.

Monica fishing.

Her Daniel fishing.

Isaiah fishing.

Stephanie fishing.

Guess who caught the fish? Yep, my Daniel:)

After a long day of fishing we got cleaned up and warmed up and ate some yummy fish.

Isaiah all tucked in.

He was so tired every night he was asking to go in the tent so he could go to sleep! He never would do that at home.

A Little Reminder

2009-09-29T18:23:00.000-07:00

I'm sure I am not the only mom that can say that I sometimes get so caught up in the every day tasks that I forget we are supposed to "enjoy the journey." There are many dreaded mornings of the daily rush off to school. Waking up, showering if needed (for the kid:), getting dressed, getting breakfast, packing lunch, brushing teeth, and doing this all in a timely matter. Sometimes my timeline does not always work for Isaiah. He has become so much more responsible this year but I still find myself saying, "you need to hurry," or "you're going to be late." This morning was a good example of that. Isaiah woke up and it was a shower morning. He did not want to shower. He had scraped his back the day before and he was afraid it was going to sting when hit by the water. I assured him it may sting for a moment but then it would be fine, "and regardless of how it feels, your taking a shower!" (what a mean mom huh?) After a very short shower, that I am sure didn't wash away a single germ, Isaiah proceeded to his room to dress while I made breakfast. By this time I was beginning to get frustrated. Five minutes later, "Isaiah you need to hurry up." Seven minutes later, "Isaiah your breakfast is ready." Ten minutes later, "Isaiah you have had enough time to get dressed now get in here and eat your breakfast!" Very shortly after that in walks Isaiah looking like this.

He said, "It looks like there is a chance of rain and this is my rain cap!"

My heart instantly melted and I had to smile/laugh. This little moment in our day reminded me that I need to take joy in the fun things kids bring into our lives. Their imaginations, their ability to slow down and enjoy the little things. When all was said and done Isaiah was ready for school with time to spare. He may have done things slower than I would want them done but sometimes when we slow down we don't miss the important things in our lives. I just needed this little reminder to slow down and I thought I would put this post out there just by chance that someone else may as well.

I went through my pictures and found some of my favorites that each tell a different story. Isaiah is usually very good at bringing a smile to my face. He makes me laugh and I love him so much for that.

I can't look at this picture and not laugh. I think of Napoleon Dynamite every time. We were just getting ready to do a service project at church and Isaiah chose to strike this pose for the camera.

He loves his cross eyes....it gives me a headache just looking at them.

More swim cap humor.

And my sweet sisters would say, "He gets those from his momma!" :)

This is what Optimus Prime looks like in his underwear.

This one brings me back to my childhood. My sisters and I loved putting olives on our fingers and pretending we were witches.

He seriously thought he could roast this marshmallow in front of a gas fireplace. Too cute!

More cross eyes but now with the tight lips and hands on the hips.

Dad's hat, mom's glasses, apple in the hand, and sucker in the mouth, and....awesome speedos kiddo!

WAR!

2009-09-24T11:25:00.000-07:00

The other day Isaiah and is friend were outside playing. I was inside and heard a whole lot of, "you have bigger stuff," and "you have more bombs," so I decided to go out and take a look. I was instantly brought back to my childhood. My sisters and cousins and I loved playing make believe of any kind. It was mostly cops an robbers but we occasionally set up for war. The fun part was the setting up of our barricades. We usually never got around to the actual 'war' part of it. I found this same thing to be true for Isaiah and his friend. They spent at least an hour setting up and going over the rules and when all was said and done, they moved on to something new.

Isaiah thought he had a pretty good set up.

The next night I pulled out some of my fall decorations. I wasn't planning on decorating for Halloween yet since it is over a month away but all of a sudden all the neighbor kids were at my door asking if they could help decorate for Halloween. I figured the more help the merrier so why not. We are just going to look like a family that really looks forward to Halloween.

I was really hoping they wouldn't find the webs because they make such a mess when it rains. I'm pretty sure those are going to mysteriously disappear in the next few days.

Isaiah got some glow in the dark planets for his birthday and he has been dying to hang them up. This is how the whole decorating thing got started.

The kids originally came in stating they wanted to help but very quickly were distracted by playing.

On another note Daniel turned 33 on Sunday! We had a quiet little celebration for him.

Always goofing around!

He only wanted one candle.

After church Daniel wanted to go hiking up at Chip Ross Park. I was so bummed that I forgot my camera on the hike because the views from the top are gorgeous!

Isaiah's gift to Daniel. He was so excited because he went to the bank and took out his own money from his account to buy Daniel his gift.

Isaiahs's 7th Birthday

2009-09-18T15:36:00.001-07:00

I can't believe Isaiah is 7! He has grown in so many ways this year. It has been a great year!

Isaiah's birthday was last Tuesday. We celebrated on Monday because it was Labor Day and Daniel had the day off. We invited our friends the Hales over for Family Home Evening and cake and ice cream.

Isaiah always gets a little shy when he is the center of attention. Unfortunately he inherited that from his mother.

All smiles here though!

I think his face says it all! He was so excited to get a pocket knife. We were leaving to go to Crater Lake that week and he couldn't wait to put it to good use!

He listened very intently as he got his safety instructions from dad.

And then repeated them back to dad. (something we have to have him do a lot lately to make sure he is really listening:)

Another cool tool from dad, a monocular.

Daniel got Isaiah the book "The Call of the Wild," by Jack London, from the Book Bin. It was fun for them to read it in the tent at night while camping.

Tuesday was Isaiah's actual birthday. He got to eat Lucky Charms while watcing cartoons. He was very happy about that!

Isaiah is such a good boy with a kind heart. I feel so blessed to be his mother and to help and watch him grow.

Happy Birthday!

A Fruitful Day

2009-09-08T15:38:00.000-07:00

My sister Monica, Isaiah and I went to Jossy Farms to pick peaches for canning. I love this farm! The scenery is beautiful and the fruit is Delicious.

Our empty carts and wagons...but not for long.
Isaiah loves when we go pick fruit of any kind. He is always so helpful and usually wants to pick longer than I do. This year he had a little problem with the bees and spent more time fretting about them than actually picking peaches.

We still managed to get 60lbs of peaches in about a half hour though!

He is my little cheezer!

We just couldn't wait to dig in!

I had one of these tires in my Kindergarten class and I loved hiding on the inside.

Of course Monica told him to kiss his muscles. She's the silly aunt.

I wanted a picture of the beautiful garden and Isaiah decided to jump in.

Later that day we went to another farm to pick Italian prunes. These were for free though so that was an added bonus. I had to snap these pictures because this is the dream home I want. A modest home on a nice piece of land.

A perfect place for kids to run free.

Hood to Coast

2009-09-06T22:11:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I ran Hood to Coast. This was my fourth time and definitely one of my favorites.

If you don't know what Hood to Coast is all about click here.

I was lucky enough to be in Van 1, which I think is the best way to go. We did have a 7am start time which meant getting up at 4am and driving to Timberline, but I still think it is better than Van 2. I love being the leg that gets to start out on the mountain and also be at the beach at the end. It was a beautiful morning and so much fun.

These were the people I ran with. Here we are ready for our first run at 7am! As you can see there are seven people but only six legs per van. We did a little improvising because one of the guys didn't think he was going to be able to do all his legs. This left less room in the SUV but was well worth it. We seriously had a great group of people!

I love when I get to do things like this with my sisters. My sister Lindsey is in the middle and her friend Nedra is on the right. The team was put together by Nedra. She is 51 years old and she has done HTC for the last 14 years and has had seven children! I am so impressed by this lady.

You see and use so many honey buckets along the way. Surprisingly enough they are the cleanest and least foul smelling ones I have ever encountered.

We were a little late getting to my first exchange I had to rush in to use the "restroom." I didn't even know my sister snapped this shot until later.

I ended up making my runner wait, but only a few seconds.

You've gotta love it when you are huffing and puffing, sweating and tired, and your van pulls up next to you hootin' and hollerin' and wanting to talk to you and snap pictures. It does give you that little bit of adrenaline to keep on going.

Van 1 and Van 2 at the end of my first leg and the first checkpoint of the race.

A picture of us and are "legs"

We seriously didn't mean to match! I love my sister. She has four small kids and is just amazing!

Lindsey got to run along the water front and out of Portland. I love Portland and I love this picture of her running with the cool buildings in the background.

Here we are ready for our second runs at 5pm that same day.

This isn't a very good picture and no one reading this blog will know this guy but he had us all laughing on this leg of his race. From 6pm to 7am you are required to wear a reflective vest and carry a flashlight. Most runners have these real sleek looking runner's vests. John pulled out his full on construction vest and had us rolling. We could see him coming from a mile away! To add to it he just moved to Gooding, Idaho, a very small town where my husband is from. He said that this was the only vest he could find. Daniel thought that was pretty funny.

Here we are at 3am getting ready for our 3rd leg. I didn't end up running until 7am since I was the last leg in my van but once one person is up everyone is up.

Finally we are done and driving the rest of the way to Seaside to greet Van 2 when they finish.

A shower and food never felt better. Our team name was "runs in the family." Love the legs hanging out the back of our vans.

197 miles! Pretty cool.

2009-08-25T22:42:00.000-07:00

Our view this summer

Daniel commuted to Portland for the first two months of this summer. We did a lot of driving. Isaiah and I would usually drive Daniel up on Sunday night and then go home because Isaiah had baseball and swimming. Daniel would stay with his Aunts until Friday when we would drive back up to get him. Many hours spent in the car with a very boisterous six year old. I always forget about the DVD thing so I found myself saying "uh huh" and "yeah" a lot. I gave Isaiah my camera on one trip to keep him busy. Here is some of what I found on my camera.

(He made this blanket with his Grandma Dewey. I love this picture he took because it shows him scratching his blanket how he always does. The scratch is accompanied with a sort of sucking and humming noise).

Hello lips!

Isaiah also loves music. He got to know all the Disney songs very well this summer. My favorite is this one from Pinocchio.

(sorry for the shakiness. Iwas driving and just holding my camera on my steering wheel).

Isaiah and I loved going downtown Portland to visit Daniel. I just love Portland. This is the view from Daniel's building looking down into Pioneer Square.This is the view from Pioneer Square. Hoffman is the one on the right.

Isaiah has needed a new bike for a long time. Now that Daniel is commuting every day to McMinnville we are left without a car. Everything is so close here in Corvallis so it is nice to ride our backs around but Isaiah was having to work so hard because his bike was so small. I was excited when my dad called and said his neighbor was going to give Isaiah his son's old bike for free! Isaiah was very excited as well.

The back tire tred was pretty bad so we went and got a new one. Last night for FHE Daniel and Isaiah worked on it. Daniel taught Isaiah all the parts to the bike and made sure he knew the names of all the tools they were using. It was so cute, and very educational for me as well.

Isaiah using the "Phillip's."

Corvallis Knights Game

2009-07-22T23:29:00.001-07:00

My cousin Roman and his wife Kim took me, Isaiah and Gavin, Isaiah's friend, to a Corvallis Knight's came tonight. We had so much fun. The weather was great and the Knight's played so well.

This is a big change for Isaiah from a year ago. He was so scared of Benny the Beaver and Chuckie Cheese.

Isaiah caught a fly ball! No not really. A guy on the other side of the bleachers caught it and Isaiah asked him if he could have it. What a nice guy!

This picture is so blurry but I thought it was cute that all the kids were getting autographs. One of the players gave Gavin a ball so they were both excited. Gavin and Isaiah play on the same baseball team together. They ran into their coach Mickey at the game. They were both so excited to show him the baseballs they got and they asked him if they could use them in their next game.

At the end of the game all the kids got to go down on the field and run the bases. I didn't get the first part of Isaiah running and I turned on my camera right after Isaiah got stampeded by a bunch of kids on third base. He and another kid fell down and got ran over by a couple of kids!

We had a great night! Thanks Roman and Kim.

Isaiah's First Swim Meet

2009-07-17T23:46:00.001-07:00

Isaiah had his first swim meet a couple of weeks ago. I didn't swim growing up so this was really my first swim meet as well. I didn't realize how long they last. It was a lot of fun and a new experience for the both of us. Daniel is working up in Portland this summer so he wasn't able to make it to this one. Isaiah just swam in his second meet this week and Daniel was able to come home for that one. We volunteered as timers and we got lucky and had Isaiah in our lane for one of his races. Daniel grew up swimming so he felt right at home. I on the other hand thought I was going to mess up and was a little nervous at first.

Isaiah hasn't quite caught onto diving yet but he puts forth a great effort.

Here is some video of the two events he swam in. 25 backstroke and 25 freestyle. Sorry for the shaky camera work.

Isaiah just sort of falls into the pool to start off the backstroke. I got a good laugh out of it.

Isaiah's cousins were with us for the week. They were very patient during the long meet. I think the wait was worth it. They got ice cream and we went to the movie "Up" afterwards. We had a great time!

Friends and Family

2009-07-02T08:22:00.000-07:00

During finals week Daniel needed a break so we took Isaiah and a couple of his buddies to this fun rock slide near Triangle Lake. We had so much fun!

This is the bottom of the slide.

Daniel giving the kids instructions.

The boys were all a little nervous to go down the slide so Daniel took all of them down on his lap first. As you can see you they don't go very fast down the slide, but the water is really going fast. After that they didn't want to stop.

It took me a long time to finally decide I was going to try it. I was the same as the boys. I didn't want to stop. We had a really great time and we can't wait to go again!

After graduation we took a mini vacation to the Nehalem house with Grandma and Grandpa Dewey. Grandma Dewey is always getting new toys for the grand kids to play with. She always has the coolest things and the kids can't wait to get into the "grandma box."

The new toys this year was Tag Ball. Isaiah and Daniel had a lot of fun with this one. The balls actually shoot really hard and fast so this gear is actually very necessary. Isaiah was too scared to run around and get shot at so they just stood across the room from each other and took turns shooting one another.

Our nephew Sam was also there at the beach with us. He and Isaiah had a lot of fun playing together. Isaiah is used to be the younger cousin on the Vrtiska side of the family so he really took advantage of "being in charge" with Sam. I think we spent the whole vacation correcting that. In the end I think Sam still likes Isaiah:)

Daniel and Ross took the boys boogie boarding. Isaiah was super nervous so Sam went first.

Isaiah cried the whole way out but he did it and he had fun. Now we will have to see if he will do it again.

Graduations

2009-06-27T20:41:00.001-07:00

Blogging is turning out to be a lot like my journeling. I get to it when I get to it. Daniel finally graduated! We are so excited but we both admit we will definitely miss the college life. More vacations and more time together as a family. It was fun while it lasted.

These are some, but not all of Daniel's closest friends he met here. He felt very fortunate to have met such a great group of guys. Some married and some single, but all without kids. They were all so good with Isaiah and some even watched Isaiah for us so we could go out. We all got to play on a softball team together and one of Daniel's closest friends went on our family vacation to Crater Lake with us last year. We will miss them very much!

They all wanted to take a piece of Isaiah with them.
This is the building that Hoffman built while Daniel was interning for them. It was great experience for him to get.

Isaiah was pretty excited about the hard hat.

Isaiah also graduated from Kindergarten. Now off to grade school! It's crazy how fast time goes by. We have really enjoyed watching Isaiah learn and grow over this last year.

This is a flash back to Isaiah's first day of Kindergarten. Shy and timid.

No anxieties here! He was so excited his last day of school. He was running around saying, "this is the best day ever!"

Signing autograph books in the hall.

This is Isaiah's teacher. Maestra Ramirez. She is an amazing teacher and we will miss her so much. It was very neat for Isaiah to be in her class because Daniel went to college with her at Linfield. He also went on a study abroad to Chihuahua, Mexico with her where she met her husband.

I am so proud of both Daniel and Isaiah for their academic achievements. Hopefully, for Daniel this is the end of his formal schooling, but for Isaiah, this is only the beginning:)

Just A Thunder Storm

2009-06-06T21:51:00.001-07:00

We had a thunder and lightning storm pass through here on Thursday. It was really exciting for Isaiah because he has never seen lightning before that he can remember. He was taking a nap and woke up from the noise.

The rain came down for a solid 20 or so minutes in buckets. It was still warm outside so all the rooftops had steam rising off.

Our culd-a-sac flooded and it knocked the basketball hoop down.

After the rain let up a little Isaiah felt brave and wanted to go out. He is standing on the sidewalk in this picture.

I laughed so hard here. There was a crack of thunder just as I was taking this shot and it sent Isaiah running into the house.

Here's a little video of the rain, thunder, and lightning. It was a cozy little storm.

That's all there is, there is no more!

2009-06-02T08:25:00.000-07:00

The last Vrtiska girl is married off! I can't believe my baby sister is married! I am so happy for her and thought she looked gorgeous on her special day.

We took her to The Melting Pot for her bachelorette party.

I think this face displays both excitement with a touch of nerves for the day to come.

Half of my crazy sisters.

And here is the rest!

This picture doesn't display the shaking hands of both the bride and the photographer (me)!

I was so darn emotional! Good thing she has other sisters to help her keep it together.

Debora was such a trooper. This girls ready to deliver any day now!

Of course I am Obsessed with shoes, so here are the brides...

....and some of the bridesmaids.

The kids waiting ever so patiently for the bride to be ready.

some of the patience is leaving now...

....okay we're ready already!

After the ceremony one of the chickies pulled the fire alarm.

Don't worry tax dollars well spent. All the kids got some free fireman stickers!

Our big family photo.

Our new brother-in-law. Now we have two Daniel's!

Two peas in a pod.

Monica Vrtiska Long and Stephanie Vrtiska Dewey. The last two girls with the Vrtiska name.

I have to give some recognition to my mom for planning, preparing, and pulling off eight weddings in 18 years! She is one amazing lady!

2009-05-24T18:28:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since I have last posted so I will do a quick run down of the events and happenings in the Dewey household for that last month. It has been a busy month filled with a lot of fun. My Nana came to stay with us for a week at the end of March. She has dementia and is living with my parents. My dad is an amazing person for all that he does! She is a very pleasant person and I love her dearly, but her condition makes it very difficult and tiring at times. I thought I would give my dad a break and take the opportunity to enjoy some time with her. Family is so important to me and I love both my grandma's very much. There is so much you can learn from those who have lived a full life. It is nice to see my husband and son interact with her as well.

My cousin Roman lives here in Corvallis. We took Nana out to gelato so she could visit with him. She absolutely adores him. It was quite funny to watch and listen to her brag about her grandson. Due to her condition, we did hear the same thing over and over again, and explained who he was, and where we were, but for the few moments in that conversation it was nice.

Daniel was such a sweetheart to Nana. She loved my grandpa Frank so much and misses him. She loves to be on a man's arm and Daniel was always so sweet to walk her around and make her feel like the lady of the night.

This video is funky and not the best camera job but I was cracking up. Daniel was salsa dancing with Nana's walker. He sure does know how to make us laugh!

After Nana's visit we drove back up to Hillsboro to visit family and celebrate Easter.

Our first stop was at my nephews 5th birthday party. It was a lot of fun!

I love this picture! It's so nice for Isaiah to have so many cousins and it means so much to me for him to get to see them as much as possible.

Shortly after the party we headed over to my parents house to eagerly await the arrival of the Heiner family. I love these guys so much and miss them all the time. They live in Idaho, but I feel we have been fortunate to see them quite often for an out of state family.

This little stinker has soooo much personality! I could watch her all day long. She is always doing something funny and in fact, if you are not watching her she is probably getting into your make-up or lotion. She is a little comedian just like her mom, Mindy.

Anytime a sister comes and visits from out of town we try to get together and do something. This night was a blast!! We were missing Bridget and Monica joined us later. This was our first time renting a hotel downtown Portland for out sister's night. This was a great idea because we were able to stay up and play games as long as we wanted and not have any of our kids to wake us up in the morning. Thanks to all the husbands for letting us have this great night!

Next was our BIG family Easter egg hunt! Things just don't get any better than this. I am so lucky to have an amazing family!

The loot!

This was Christopher's first Easter egg hunt in America and in his life for that matter. He is such a sweet little boy with so much happiness for life. We are so lucky to have him in our family.

Next on our list is the wedding of my baby sister. I can't believe she is getting married! I am so happy for her and I love her so much. Her fiance's name is Daniel, so of course when we talk we are constantly saying, "your Daniel or mine?" It's kind of fun and makes us laugh but we are definitely going to have to come up with some sort of nickname for her Daniel since mine was first to join the family:)

Seattle

2009-04-17T08:00:00.001-07:00

For spring break this year we decided to take a trip to Seattle. We had no idea how expensive it was going to be! It's not cheap vacationing in a city. We had a lot of fun and we were glad that we got to go. It was something that we have been wanting to do for a long time.

On our way, prior to Daniel getting a speeding ticket, :) we stopped by a huge Cabella's store. I was excited because I have been looking for a heater we could use inside our tent when we go camping and had been unsuccessful until now! They call it, 'The Buddy,' and it sure is. I am going to get some good nights sleep this year at Crater Lake! Daniel says he's never going to be able to get Isaiah and I out of the tent. What can I say..it's stinkin' cold there in the mornings.

Back to Seattle...

We really enjoy cheese in our family. We eat a lot of it. There was a little restaurant by the Pike Street market that we went into a few times to have a cheese sandwich and watch cheese curds be made. I don't get big smiles like that from Isaiah unless he is really excited. Like I said, we really like cheese in our family!

The Pike Street Market was a fun daily event for us. We walked down from our hotel to eat fresh fruit and walk around. Isaiah couldn't get enough of the fish. There was this mackrel that he had his eye on the second he got there. He kept saying, "Dad can we pleeeaaasse buy this one?" Isaiah has never had mackrel before and I don't think he would ever want it again, but Daniel and I knew we were not buying that fish. We tried to distract him by the men tossing fish back and forth, but without fail he found his mackrel every day we went. He would say, "Look dad it's still here!! Can we buy it now?"

I think the crab and lobster dinner made up for the loss of the mackrel.

Isaiah and I were very excited about the tools we got to use to crack the crabs open.

We decided to spend the money and go to the top of the Space Needle. Once we were up there I said to Daniel, "I feel bad for the rest of our kids because we aren't coming up here again." It made me motion sickness, and honestly for what it cost I just don't know if it is worth it.

It was a pretty view from the top though.

Of course Isaiah loved the elevator ride. We should of asked for a few trips up and down so we could get our monies worth.:)

Isaiah turned into quite the photographer while we were there. We went into the butterfly exhibit and spent a lot of time there. Isaiah had so much fun walking around taking pictures of all the butterflies. Here are a few of his shots.

He looks very somber in this picture but he is actually trying to stand very still to see if a butterfly lands on him. I don't know why it creeps me out so much to have them flying so close to my face. They are very pretty. It was quite funny when this one butterfly took a liking to me. It fluttered over my head for at least 5 minutes. Daniel was so impressed he told me to start walking around to see if it followed me. It followed me 2 times around the entire loop. By the second time around I had everyone in the room watching to see when it would leave me. I felt like Snow White!!

We had some long days of walking around! It was nice to go back to the hotel and relax.

We met some kids at the pool one night that recommended this place called Game Works. We thought we would try it out. We aren't really a video game playing family so we stuck to the stuff we knew.

On our way home we stopped at the Rainforest Cafe. I went to one in Chicago when my sister graduated from college and I have wanted to take Isaiah to one ever since. The food is just normal, but it is a very cool environment. Here is some more of Isaiah's photography.

2009-04-04T12:04:00.000-07:00

Isaiah has been on swim team for 3 months now. He started off swim lessons with Daniel when he was 3. He took 3 sessions of swim lessons at Osborne Aquatic Center to get to level 6 so he could join the team. He is on the Novice team and he is so small compared to all the other kids. He was so brave his first week. They just swim laps for about a half an hour and then do relays the rest of the time. He had never swam more than once up and back in a row before. He did a good job. The coach tells them which stroke they need to do and how many laps and then watches and instructs. His first day she had them do the butterfly. He had never done that one before and she didn't give a whole lot of instruction since most of the kids knew how. I was surprised at how well he did. There are a few short videos to follow of his first day on swim team.

This one is the dolphin kick. They were supposed to keep their hands at their sides.

This is stream line on their backs.

The good thing for me is that he actually looks forward to swim team. He is swimming three times a week for an hour each. He has gotten quite well and we are very excited to see him compete this summer!

No Smoking Please

2009-04-01T21:41:00.000-07:00

I am not a real political person, at least not outwardly. I heard on the radio today the cigarette tax has gone up to $1.01 a pack! I don't smoke so you might ask yourself, "why do you care?" They were interviewing smokers to get their opinion about the tax. I felt like screaming through the speakers. Instead I will just dump all my thoughts into this nice little blog.

Right now a pack of cigarettes costs about $8.00. I would say an average smoker smokes at least a pack a day. One week would cost about $56. A month of smoking racks up to about $1,700!!! This just blows my mind. That is a house payment! I get so frustrated by this because I have worked in a doctors office for almost 10 years now and have dealt a lot with people in the welfare system. Please don't misunderstand me, I am completely for government help for those who are in need. I would have to say that 75% (and that is a very rough estimate) of the people that come to the doctors with the Oregon Health Plan are smokers. Seeing those numbers above I just don't get it. How can you afford to pay that much to smoke, but you can't afford to buy food or health insurance. It's already frustrating enough to see people smoking in the parking lot prior to appointments, with or without children. Okay on this one.

A man was asked what he thought about the cigarette tax. Now imagine an old, somewhat smoky, hillbilly voice, "I don't know why they keep raising the tax. I think they just want to pick on us ol' smokers. They try and say that it's bad for you and causes cancer and all that stuff, but I don't even know if I believe that."

There's not a whole lot I can say about that comment but WOW!

Oh, one last thing. Since the taxes keep going up on cigarettes people have now taken to buying tobacco by bulk and rolling their own cigarettes. As if it wasn't already addictive enough, now people are going to be sucking straight tobacco without a filter.

It's been awhile

2009-04-01T13:35:00.001-07:00

Computer life has been quite frustrating for me lately. About a month ago I had to take my computer into work to have some things worked on. I haven't been able to log onto my own desktop since. I can't access any of my files and it is very frustrating. After a month of my computer tech trying to fix the problem remotely, I finally gave up and brought my computer back up to be fixed. I got a call today saying that everything is now working great. We shall see.

There are so many things that I want to post but I am going to wait until I can access my pictures. Life has been very busy, very exciting, and very fun. We are so excited that Daniel is officially into his last term of school. I can't believe it's already here. He only had two classes that he needed to take to graduate but needed at least 12 credits. He has a pretty fun schedule. He's taking tennis, weight lifting, swimming, golf, and a men's salsa class. I am glad he was able to take these classes because the last two terms have been pretty brutal. It's nice to have easy going, relaxed Daniel back. He makes me laugh!!

The most exciting news we have to report is that Daniel got a job! Hoffman Construction Company hired him. He interned with them for two years. They had 18 interns last year and they only extended offers to 2 of them. We feel so blessed that Daniel was one of them. It's not a very easy time for people to be graduating and looking for jobs. Daniel worked very hard for Hoffman and of course I felt he was definitely worth hiring.:) We will be staying in Corvallis for at least the next 2 years. We are all very excited because we love it here!