Although it isn't yet quite September just yet (that actually comes tomorrow), today marks the very first day of the new school year for Evan and Sierra!!! The summer went by quickly, probably more due to the poor weather we had for most of it, and it is already beginning to act and feel like fall outside. Football season has arrived, and so I guess it is appropriate that school should also be starting back up once again.
Today Evan is a 5th grader!!! His last year in Elementary school. Hard for us to believe, since we can still so vividly recall taking him in to see his new school, and meet his new Kindergarten teacher, as if it were just yesterday. Boy oh boy have these years flown right on by us. And today Sierra is a 2nd grader!!! She is so very excited to be starting school once again, and is also excited to have her same teachers and same class room this year, as she is part of a multi-age class.
The weather is quite appropriate for today....... rain showers happening right now, and about 56 degrees outside... feels like it is time for school.
Today also is Papa's 64th birthday!!! Happy Birthday to Papa. As is his tradition, he will spend today at the Oregon State Fair. :-)
So, my son is now 10 years old and in the 5th grade, my daughter is nearly 8 years old and in the 2nd grade, we are approaching the 6 year mark of living in our "new" place, I just completed my 20th year with the BFD........ WOW!!!
Well, better go rumble the kids from their slumber....time to get the school year started!!!!! :-)
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
What The.....??? I have a 10 year old?!?!?!?!?!
Well, it happened...... the first 9 years of Evan's life just flew right on by, leaving Tracie and I with a 10 year old son as of yesterday!!! It's true, Evan has reached double digits now.... and starts the fifth grade in just one week from today!!! Another bitter-sweet moment in life for Tracie and myself, as we are so happy for Evan, and so proud of the young man he is becoming. But of course, we miss our little baby boy at the same time!
Evan has had a great birthday experience this year, as he got to bring his good friend Adam Dugger with us to Oregon for a week. While in Oregon, the boys got to play mini golf, go watch the truck and tractor pulls, along with the Combine tractor demolition derby, spend a day at Bullwinkles Family Fun Center, and spent two full hours jumping around at Sky High yesterday. In addition, the boys had lobster for Evan's birthday dinner, at Red Lobster!!! They have stayed up late every night, watching movies, and they have spent a great deal of time riding bikes around the "loop" at Grammy & Papa's place, or playing football together in the street. Adam learned to play "hand and foot", and there have been a couple of Monopoly games thrown in as well.
I would have to say that Evan has had a really great 10th birthday!!! In addition to all of these fun things, Evan got a new pair of motorcycle riding boots from Grammy & Papa, a new OSU Beaver football from Sierra, A new Monopoly board game from Grammy, and a new Pellet/BB air rifle from Mom & Dad, along with some money from others.
Today, we make the long trek back home. Time to get back into our own routine again, if that can even be possible. It will be nice to have our own little family together at home once again, just us. Football season is now in full swing for us, and school starts for both kids next week. Tracie still has to get back in the groove of being home from Africa, since we immediately came to Oregon after her return. I need to get back into my groove of fitness and eating right once again, and need to get my cycling and running game back in gear.
Hard to believe, but it appears that August is about gone, and Fall will be here shortly.....................
Evan has had a great birthday experience this year, as he got to bring his good friend Adam Dugger with us to Oregon for a week. While in Oregon, the boys got to play mini golf, go watch the truck and tractor pulls, along with the Combine tractor demolition derby, spend a day at Bullwinkles Family Fun Center, and spent two full hours jumping around at Sky High yesterday. In addition, the boys had lobster for Evan's birthday dinner, at Red Lobster!!! They have stayed up late every night, watching movies, and they have spent a great deal of time riding bikes around the "loop" at Grammy & Papa's place, or playing football together in the street. Adam learned to play "hand and foot", and there have been a couple of Monopoly games thrown in as well.
I would have to say that Evan has had a really great 10th birthday!!! In addition to all of these fun things, Evan got a new pair of motorcycle riding boots from Grammy & Papa, a new OSU Beaver football from Sierra, A new Monopoly board game from Grammy, and a new Pellet/BB air rifle from Mom & Dad, along with some money from others.
Today, we make the long trek back home. Time to get back into our own routine again, if that can even be possible. It will be nice to have our own little family together at home once again, just us. Football season is now in full swing for us, and school starts for both kids next week. Tracie still has to get back in the groove of being home from Africa, since we immediately came to Oregon after her return. I need to get back into my groove of fitness and eating right once again, and need to get my cycling and running game back in gear.
Hard to believe, but it appears that August is about gone, and Fall will be here shortly.....................
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Tracie is home from Africa!!!!!
YAY!!! We made it!!! Two and a half weeks without my wife, my best friend, our mommy.....
But she is finally home once again!!! :-)
Tracie got in to SeaTac yesterday with the whole group at around 3:30pm. At around 4pm, we finally got to see the group and welcome her back..... many hugs and kisses and smiles!!! It was so great!!!
We drove home in traffic, and it just didn't matter.... Tracie just talked and told us all about her trip, her journey, her experience.... it was wonderful and gut wrenching and awesome.
We stopped off for some dinner on the way home, and finally got back to the "farm" at just after 8pm. Tracie had gifts that she had purchased for each of us, so we went through her things for a while. But after that, she headed directly to the shower!!!! First real shower in 2.5 weeks!!! She took a long and hot shower, and came out feeling completely new again.....except for sleep!!! Tracie didn't get much sleep at all for the entire duration of her trip, for many reasons. So, after her shower, I tucked her into our freshly cleaned and made bed, where she drifted off into a deep and wonderful slumber.....and where I expect her to remain most of, if not all of today!!! :-)
Today, when she finally awakes and feels ready, we hope to have her share her photos and videos with us all, as well as more stories, etc.
I missed my wife greatly while she was away!!! She is my wife, my best friend, and the mommy to our kids. It was tough not having her here with me. I was so very happy for her, and so excited for her to take this trip. This was beyond anything she could have ever seen herself doing....and she DID it!!! What is really cool is that she did it with two very amazing and wonderful girl friends at her side!!! :-)
This was a big leap for Tracie, and one that I am certain has changed her forever!!! The cool thing is, she can't wait to do it again some day!!! And, she wants to do ti together next time!!! :-)
WELCOME HOME TRACIE!!! WE MISSED YOU!!! NAKUPENDA!!!!! :-)
But she is finally home once again!!! :-)
Tracie got in to SeaTac yesterday with the whole group at around 3:30pm. At around 4pm, we finally got to see the group and welcome her back..... many hugs and kisses and smiles!!! It was so great!!!
We drove home in traffic, and it just didn't matter.... Tracie just talked and told us all about her trip, her journey, her experience.... it was wonderful and gut wrenching and awesome.
We stopped off for some dinner on the way home, and finally got back to the "farm" at just after 8pm. Tracie had gifts that she had purchased for each of us, so we went through her things for a while. But after that, she headed directly to the shower!!!! First real shower in 2.5 weeks!!! She took a long and hot shower, and came out feeling completely new again.....except for sleep!!! Tracie didn't get much sleep at all for the entire duration of her trip, for many reasons. So, after her shower, I tucked her into our freshly cleaned and made bed, where she drifted off into a deep and wonderful slumber.....and where I expect her to remain most of, if not all of today!!! :-)
Today, when she finally awakes and feels ready, we hope to have her share her photos and videos with us all, as well as more stories, etc.
I missed my wife greatly while she was away!!! She is my wife, my best friend, and the mommy to our kids. It was tough not having her here with me. I was so very happy for her, and so excited for her to take this trip. This was beyond anything she could have ever seen herself doing....and she DID it!!! What is really cool is that she did it with two very amazing and wonderful girl friends at her side!!! :-)
This was a big leap for Tracie, and one that I am certain has changed her forever!!! The cool thing is, she can't wait to do it again some day!!! And, she wants to do ti together next time!!! :-)
WELCOME HOME TRACIE!!! WE MISSED YOU!!! NAKUPENDA!!!!! :-)
Monday, August 15, 2011
Middle of August!!!
Today it is August 15th already.....and YES, I do know that I haven't been blogging as of lately. The reason, or reasons...... just been out of sorts this whole month of August. Things just haven't been the same this year.... Tracie hit the missions field with a group from our church, and has been in Africa since the start of the month!!! I have been missing my wife, my best friend, and the mommy of our family!!!
My mom and dad (Grammy & Papa) decided to come up and stay here in their motor home for the whole time that Tracie is gone, to spend time with the kids, and to help me out until she returns. Though this has been a good thing for the kids, and they have had a lot of fun with Grammy & Papa here, it also has added to my days, and takes me away from my more "normal" routines. Though I also love having them here with us, I must admit that I have longed to just have some time of just me and my kids....and I haven't been able to have that. I also miss being able to do things the way that I am used to doing them, of when I am used to doing them.
A lot of things have happened in these first couple of weeks of August.... we took a five day trip with Grammy & Papa's motor home, and went over to the area of Republic, WA. We camped at a place called Swan Lake, where we had fun swimming, hanging out, and scouting the area for deer hunting season in October. After returning from that trip, I celebrated the completion of my 20th year with the BFD, which still shocks me!!! We have managed to get a fair amount of yard work done. And Papa went ahead and drained and cleaned and filled the swimming pool for the kids to use when summer finally arrives. And then, most recently, yesterday became the official move-out day for Brad. He moved into his apartment in Lynden, and has officially moved out from living with us here anymore....... bitter-sweet for us all, since he has been here for 2 years now. And lastly, we had Marty and the kids over yesterday afternoon for swimming and playing, as well as BBQ dinner and camp fire. Lots of fun....and now today will be clean-up day around here!
So, Tracie is starting her very long journey home from Africa as I write this now. We won't have her back here at home with us until tomorrow evening sometime. I am so excited to have her home, and just want to have her back here with us, so we can be a family once again. Of course, we won't have any sense of normalcy when she returns, because Grammy & Papa will still be here, and won't be going home until we head to Portland, this coming Friday.
There we have it.....the month of August will be at an end before I post again, I am almost certain. So much going on over the next couple of weeks, so I will just fill in the details at the end of the month, when we finally start trying to get back to our regular way of life around here once again!!! :-)
My mom and dad (Grammy & Papa) decided to come up and stay here in their motor home for the whole time that Tracie is gone, to spend time with the kids, and to help me out until she returns. Though this has been a good thing for the kids, and they have had a lot of fun with Grammy & Papa here, it also has added to my days, and takes me away from my more "normal" routines. Though I also love having them here with us, I must admit that I have longed to just have some time of just me and my kids....and I haven't been able to have that. I also miss being able to do things the way that I am used to doing them, of when I am used to doing them.
A lot of things have happened in these first couple of weeks of August.... we took a five day trip with Grammy & Papa's motor home, and went over to the area of Republic, WA. We camped at a place called Swan Lake, where we had fun swimming, hanging out, and scouting the area for deer hunting season in October. After returning from that trip, I celebrated the completion of my 20th year with the BFD, which still shocks me!!! We have managed to get a fair amount of yard work done. And Papa went ahead and drained and cleaned and filled the swimming pool for the kids to use when summer finally arrives. And then, most recently, yesterday became the official move-out day for Brad. He moved into his apartment in Lynden, and has officially moved out from living with us here anymore....... bitter-sweet for us all, since he has been here for 2 years now. And lastly, we had Marty and the kids over yesterday afternoon for swimming and playing, as well as BBQ dinner and camp fire. Lots of fun....and now today will be clean-up day around here!
So, Tracie is starting her very long journey home from Africa as I write this now. We won't have her back here at home with us until tomorrow evening sometime. I am so excited to have her home, and just want to have her back here with us, so we can be a family once again. Of course, we won't have any sense of normalcy when she returns, because Grammy & Papa will still be here, and won't be going home until we head to Portland, this coming Friday.
There we have it.....the month of August will be at an end before I post again, I am almost certain. So much going on over the next couple of weeks, so I will just fill in the details at the end of the month, when we finally start trying to get back to our regular way of life around here once again!!! :-)
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
SAD in July?!?!?!?!
SAD... Seasonal Affective Disorder, is NOT something typically seen or heard of during the summer months around here, but rather something very common during our long and dark and wet and cold and dreary winter months!!! But alas, this years weather actually SUCKS!!! Here it is the end of July, and it is completely cloudy and cold and wet and ridiculous outside!!!! I do believe that I am beginning to feel the start of SAD coming on :-(
I am not one who likes it to be hot in the summer, but simply sunny and 70 would be very nice for sure!!! As of right now, I am just thinking about all of the places we could/should be going where we can enjoy some sunshine and warmer temps.
Feels like fall outside today....has me thinking about lighting off burn piles, and planning for a hunting trip.... or even that I should be getting ready for the annual chili cook-off!!! Crazy!!!
OK, my complaining isn't changing the weather any, so I may as well stop..... I am sure we all feel the same way about it anyway. :-)
I am not one who likes it to be hot in the summer, but simply sunny and 70 would be very nice for sure!!! As of right now, I am just thinking about all of the places we could/should be going where we can enjoy some sunshine and warmer temps.
Feels like fall outside today....has me thinking about lighting off burn piles, and planning for a hunting trip.... or even that I should be getting ready for the annual chili cook-off!!! Crazy!!!
OK, my complaining isn't changing the weather any, so I may as well stop..... I am sure we all feel the same way about it anyway. :-)
Saturday, July 23, 2011
OK, so July has nearly passed on by now..........
Another two weeks have slipped on by in a real hurry...... at this rate, I should be looking to retire from the fire service in another year or so!!! ;-)
Well, STP weekend was a huge success this year. So much fun, with such great people..... absolutely love this weekend each year, and am already excited for next year! After a great weekend of riding from Seattle to Portland with my two fantastic buds, Scott Taube and Stu Hodnot, we then spent Sunday night at Grammy & Papa's place. They were gone, over on the Metolius River, camping and waiting for us to arrive. Sunday night we met with Tracie's parents and younger sis, Sherri and her girls and boyfriend, Scott. Great time out to dinner at Coyote's, then back to Sherri's for a visit and campfire evening.
Monday morning we got up and cleaned up and went shopping and head breakfast....then headed over to central Oregon, Sisters area, on the Metolius River, where we joined Grammy & Papa, along with Great Grandpa and Aunt Janice for a week of camping. We had a great week, lots of fun and nice weather, and really just enjoyed ourselves a whole lot!!! :-)
We came home, 11 hour day of travelling, on Sunday the 17th. I went to work the next day, then spent this week unpacking, cleaning up, and getting ready for the final Africa Missions Trip Garage Sale, which occurred today!!!
In addition, I rode a 10 mile time trial ride this morning, as fast as I could go for 10 miles, as part of an online challenge. Then, after a bit of recovery time and some breakfast, Brad and I took off and rode to Silver Lake and back again..... for a nice 47 mile bike ride today. The girls worked the garage sale, and make around $500. :-)
Now, the girls are at the church (CTK) for their final missions trip meeting. they leave next Sunday night, so the time is running down fast!!!
I head back to work again tomorrow, then again on Wednesday. Grammy & Papa will come up towards the end of the week, with their motor home, to stay with my and the kids while Tracie is in Africa.
Next Saturday, Brad and I will ride in the Tour de Whatcom together, tackling the full 105 mile course. This will be Brad's very first ever century ride, and I am looking forward to being a part of it with him!!! :-)
That's about it for now....... time to go sit and relax this tired and sore body for a bit. :-)
Well, STP weekend was a huge success this year. So much fun, with such great people..... absolutely love this weekend each year, and am already excited for next year! After a great weekend of riding from Seattle to Portland with my two fantastic buds, Scott Taube and Stu Hodnot, we then spent Sunday night at Grammy & Papa's place. They were gone, over on the Metolius River, camping and waiting for us to arrive. Sunday night we met with Tracie's parents and younger sis, Sherri and her girls and boyfriend, Scott. Great time out to dinner at Coyote's, then back to Sherri's for a visit and campfire evening.
Monday morning we got up and cleaned up and went shopping and head breakfast....then headed over to central Oregon, Sisters area, on the Metolius River, where we joined Grammy & Papa, along with Great Grandpa and Aunt Janice for a week of camping. We had a great week, lots of fun and nice weather, and really just enjoyed ourselves a whole lot!!! :-)
We came home, 11 hour day of travelling, on Sunday the 17th. I went to work the next day, then spent this week unpacking, cleaning up, and getting ready for the final Africa Missions Trip Garage Sale, which occurred today!!!
In addition, I rode a 10 mile time trial ride this morning, as fast as I could go for 10 miles, as part of an online challenge. Then, after a bit of recovery time and some breakfast, Brad and I took off and rode to Silver Lake and back again..... for a nice 47 mile bike ride today. The girls worked the garage sale, and make around $500. :-)
Now, the girls are at the church (CTK) for their final missions trip meeting. they leave next Sunday night, so the time is running down fast!!!
I head back to work again tomorrow, then again on Wednesday. Grammy & Papa will come up towards the end of the week, with their motor home, to stay with my and the kids while Tracie is in Africa.
Next Saturday, Brad and I will ride in the Tour de Whatcom together, tackling the full 105 mile course. This will be Brad's very first ever century ride, and I am looking forward to being a part of it with him!!! :-)
That's about it for now....... time to go sit and relax this tired and sore body for a bit. :-)
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Busy Summer So Far.......
We have been on the go since the kids got out of school.....and I am not complaining! It has been fun thus far, and the fun is continuing for us as we prepare to head off again this weekend!!! :-)
We just returned from Moses Lake, WA.....where we spent a week for Evan's 10U state baseball championship series. What a bunch of fun we had over there!!! Great times, great baseball, and great fun!!! No, we didn't win the championship....but, our boys did great, and played really well. Evan played absolutely fantastic baseball, made some really great plays, and hit a stellar in the park home run!!! :-)
Bad news.... our Suburban lost the new transmission that we had put in not very long ago!!! :-( Worse yet, it will take a week before it can be repaired, and we leave tomorrow for our next big trip, which we needed the rig for!!! Long story short there, we have a friends truck to use for our trip :-)
Tomorrow we head to Seattle, for the 2011 Seattle to Portland Bicycle Classic. Very excited to ride with Scott and Stu once again. Should be a fun weekend of cycling, story telling, eating good food, and drinking good beer...... Hopefully I will have some photos and stories to share later!
After we finish up in Portland on Sunday, we will head over to the Metolius River on Monday for a week of camping. It has been a while since we last were there, so we are all quite excited about it. And, we get to spend some time with great grandpa on the Metolius, which is always a very special thing.
For now, time to get ready to head to Dan and Holly's this evening for a bbq slider burger cook-off!!! :-)
We just returned from Moses Lake, WA.....where we spent a week for Evan's 10U state baseball championship series. What a bunch of fun we had over there!!! Great times, great baseball, and great fun!!! No, we didn't win the championship....but, our boys did great, and played really well. Evan played absolutely fantastic baseball, made some really great plays, and hit a stellar in the park home run!!! :-)
Bad news.... our Suburban lost the new transmission that we had put in not very long ago!!! :-( Worse yet, it will take a week before it can be repaired, and we leave tomorrow for our next big trip, which we needed the rig for!!! Long story short there, we have a friends truck to use for our trip :-)
Tomorrow we head to Seattle, for the 2011 Seattle to Portland Bicycle Classic. Very excited to ride with Scott and Stu once again. Should be a fun weekend of cycling, story telling, eating good food, and drinking good beer...... Hopefully I will have some photos and stories to share later!
After we finish up in Portland on Sunday, we will head over to the Metolius River on Monday for a week of camping. It has been a while since we last were there, so we are all quite excited about it. And, we get to spend some time with great grandpa on the Metolius, which is always a very special thing.
For now, time to get ready to head to Dan and Holly's this evening for a bbq slider burger cook-off!!! :-)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)