Through the Years

I'll bet you thought I'd disappeared! Nope - it's just fall! And if you remember right, I tend to go into overdrive supermom mode for a couple of months in the fall! I'm back to working full time, attending soccer practices and games, chauffeuring kids to dance and piano lessons, organizing Girl Scout meetings and, this year, studying for graduate level classes! I'll be back to normal again in January.....

The kids got their school pictures today so I thought I'd share. I'm always amazed by the changes in both Dylan and Lyndsi.

Dylan and Lyndsi at age 2 ...

through the years....

And now!

Oh - and we still have Lucy. I guess she's officially part of our family now. Sigh.....

Have You Met Lucy?

Check out this cutie! She's up for adoption if you're interested - though we've had her so long that we may decide to keep her! At one of Dylan's first soccer practices, this cute little puppy was playing with all the kids and having a grand old time. When we all got ready to leave, we realized that 'Lucy' didn't belong to any of us. Dylan walked with friend Lynell to the neighboring soccer team to see if Lucy belonged there. Apparently the little puppy was at the field when they all arrived. So, I suckered and took her home. She's now been here for almost 3 weeks! Other than her sharp little teeth and her very active bladder, she's been a joy to have around. Poor Ruth must feel like we're getting ready to replace her!

We've had some pretty spectacular storms lately! The kids stole the camera and shot these fun pictures of a gorgeous rainbow after a hard hitting but short lived rain, thunder, lightening and wind storm. Fortunately, this act of nature came with moisture to douse all the little fires the lightening likes to start!

We took a little bike ride today out to an area called China Wall right outside Okanogan. This was a very active mining area some time ago and there's lots to see. We biked to an old mine and found a geocache and then discovered an old, collapsed cabin that was fun to explore. We couldn't let the beautiful holiday get away from us without doing something fun! I'd kind of forgotten how many muscles you discover after riding a bike!

Dylan outside an old cabin

Dylan's friend Max joined us for the outing. Max's family let us use this towing bicycle while Lyndsi is young. My daughter, unlike me, loves speed and had a ball!

Happy Labor Day everyone....

What Happened to My Babies????

Today was the first day of school in Okanogan. It was also the first day of school with no more daycare issues! Whoo hoo! If Amy was still my childcare provider, I'd still be sending my kids to her. But she's not....so daycare hasn't been easy. However, we all survived quite well and we are now entering a new chapter in our lives.

Lyndsi started first grade. Her classroom is right across the hall from me and we are on the same bell schedule, which means we have the same lunch and recess times. So Lyndsi and I are going to see a lot of each other this year!

We had a few scant tears this morning as I left Lyndsi in her room to sit at her big kid desk. No - not mine, though I wanted to shed some of my own! I'm blown away at how my little girl adjusts to changes in her life.

The hardest part of the day for me was when Dylan announced that he wasn't going to ride with me but rather with Steve so he could walk to school from the high school (5 blocks away) - sigh - he's becoming so independent! Needless to say, I saw very little of Dylan today (though I did go peek in his classroom window for a few minutes!) Fortunately, my "little" boy met me at my classroom after school with a big hug and smile. I was consoled.....

Part of Dylan's excitement for the year is the fact that his teacher is an artist and a history buff. He knows a lot about real life pirates and he can draw their ships - AND - he can teach his students how to draw them also! I'm glad these are the things that excite Dylan.

One of the best things about being a teacher is that Steve and I get to experience the excitement (twinged with a bit of stress) of the first day of school. We both had great days, though we are both very tired.

179 school days until summer vacation!

Parker Brown

This is an email I sent out today. I'm posting it here also because I feel strongly about the whole thing. If you got this twice today (3 times if you're on Facebook!), I'm sorry!




Hi all,

I'm forwarding this site to you because the person writing the journal and the person she's writing about need lots of thoughts, prayers or whatever you can give them. Sometimes we feel so deeply about something and yet so helpless to do any good or to help - that's how I'm feeling right now. This is my way of helping.

I know Sarah and her family. Parker is an amazing little boy (read his journal back to the beginning to hear his story) and he has the most courageous family. Many of you already follow Parker's journey through his blog. Maybe you can forward this on to all your friends. I strongly believe in the power of prayer and positive thinking when it comes to medical miracles. If everyone who reads this gives just one happy or hopefilled thought to Parker........you never know.

My advice to those of you dealing with your own pain and fear - don't read Sarah's blog. She wouldn't want to add to anyone's turmoils. Instead, just send out a prayer for a little boy you don't know.

And some of you recieving this may not even know who I am! I have your email address for one reason or another or my email has been forwarded to you. Rather than pick and choose who in my address book should know about Parker, I'm letting you decide.

I've said this before, I don't care what godly being you pray to or whether you choose to use meditation or whatever. Prayers and positive thinking are the same in any religion or belief system.

So here it is - Parker's Blog: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/parkerbrown

Thank you,

Jill

The Olympic Peninsula

We've been home for a week and I haven't posted any pictures! Bad me! I have all sorts of great excuses if you'll accept them.....

Anyway, we finally took a short vacation with the WHOLE family! We've had lots of shorter vacations with one or more of us missing but this one was for us all!

For several years we've been talking about heading back to Washington's Olympic National Park and the peninsula area. So this year we did it!

Our trip started with us driving and then taking the ferry to Port Townsend and camping in the Old Fort Townsend campground - in the rain! No rain for 29 days in one of the rainiest parts of the state, and it rains the day we get there! Camping in the rain isn't much fun but we made ourselves cozy by eating cookies and playing Yahtzee in our tent. The kids didn't mind the rain as it brought out the banana slugs that are so popular on the peninsula!

Slug kissing!

Our rainy campsite

We got up early the next morning (in the rain), broke camp and took off towards Sequim, WA and the Dungeness Spit. The Spit is 5 miles long and has a lighthouse at the very tip. We didn't walk all 5 miles but we did spend most of the day out on the beach doing some wave jumping and beachcombing. The day was perfect (not rain) and sunny.

Dylan built us a rock sculpture that we took our picture by. The rock towers were everywhere on this beach. It was fun to watch Dylan in action!

See our Streeter sculpture right in front?

We played Yahtzee again this night but this time it was in front of the fire and with roasted marshmallows!

The next day we started out at the Olympic Game Farm. This is a drive through zoo. The animals are mostly rescued animals, though some have been in tv shows, ads and movies. Many of them are so time they come right up to your car to eat bread out of your hands! Fun but a bit eerie! Elk are really big!

These big guys were doing tricks for the bread we were feeding them. They'd sit up and wave!

The zebra was my favorite!

That afternoon we went up to Hurricane Ridge. We hiked and sat in on a ranger talk.

We spent the night in Forks at the Forks Motel. It felt so good to shower!!!I did miss the camping, though. Forks, WA is the setting for the book and movie series Twilight, by Stephanie Meier. The whole town (which is very small!) has a Twilight theme. I couldn't believe how much had changed since the last time I'd been there.

We gave in to peer pressure and had our picture taken in front of the high school where Bella and Edward (the main characters in Twilight) went to school. I refused to have my picture taken in Bella's vest at the hardware store where she worked!

We spent the next day at the beaches in and around Forks and La Push. Rialto Beach was our favorite. Again, we spent several hours on the beach. Dylan loved jumping the waves and getting really wet! Lyndsi wasn't quite as thrilled about it. She walked beyond the high tide line the whole time!

Rialto Beach is a beautiful undeveloped and natural beach. Lots of driftwood, shells and rocks. One section of the rock is called hole in the wall. Once you go through the hole, you're in a new world full of tide pools.

Hole in the wall and a green sea anenome

This move scared me a bit!

The Hoh Rianforest was our final big stop before heading home. The morning started out grey and rainy but the day transformed itself into a beautiful sunny day!

Hoh Rainforest

The kids being sworn in as Junior Rangers

We drove through Seattle to see Robyn and Kim before we headed home. It's always so comfy and homey when we vistit.

Vacation is over and school starts this week. I'll miss my lazy mornings but I do enjoy my job. Lyndsi will be in soccer and dance this year and Dylan will be doing soccer. Both kids are signed up for their first year of piano lessons. Another busy year!

August News

Whew! Time's flying by! We go back to school in a mere 3 short weeks and I'm not ready! It's so nice to have a large chunk of time off in the summer and no matter how long that chunk is, I always feel panicked in August. I still have so much to do!


The month of August is always special to Steve and I because it's our anniversary month. We got married 13 years ago on August 3rd. We always try to plan something special for the two of us to do, even if it's just dinner out or a movie. This year we went to dinner with 2 other lovely couples, some of our best friends. Amy and Jeff were celebrating their 14th anniversary, also on the 3rd, and Dennis and Julia both have birthdays in August. We had a great time together, as always!

Dylan began horseback riding lessons last summer and we were able to squeeze in 3 lessons this summer. His final lesson was Wednesday morning. He had a great lesson as he was given the chance to ride solo and to try his hand at the barrels. We may have a cowboy on our hands as tonight he wanted to ride the mechanical bull at the rodeo! He assures me that he does not want to ride the real thing, he just wants to play around on the fake ones!

Dylan on Camilla

Trying out the barrels - none in the picture - sorry!

Future bullrider?????

The Omak Stampede and World Famous Suicide Race is an annual event in Omak (which is our neighboring town). Thursday night is always family night - which means it's cheap night! - so we usually try to take the kids to the rodeo on Thursday night. Tonight was no exception. The Cheeseman family also had tickets so we teamed up with them for a night at the Stampede Grounds. We started by paying for the kids to ride 2 rides and then had some dinner before the rodeo started.

This rodeo is an NRCA rodeo but has always felt more small townish because of the rickety arena we used to sit in. Tonight was a bit different. The arena of days past was torn down and rebuilt into a much larger and more comfortable arena! I missed the wooden benches and the quaintness of our old seats but sure liked the comfort of these new ones! Jeff and Steve tried out the new beer garden and gave it two thumbs up so all in all, the rebuild is a hit!

The kids got all cowboyed up for the evening. Lyndsi is wearing one of my shirts from my grade school days! Max (Dylan's friend) and Dylan are goofy more often than they are serious!

We'll be attending 2 parades over the weekend in honor of the Stampede and Robyn, Kim and Erin will be here Saturday for the rodeo.

Max and Dylan contemplating which ride to go on first.

I haven't shared anything about our trip to Albuquerque and Grandma Cleland's memorial service. My lack of sharing isn't due to lack of sentimentality but rather the opposite. I've been trying to come up with just the right words to use when I described my grandma. Nothing seems perfect! I've come to the conclusion that my grandmother was everything you'd want a grandma to be. She was loving, attentive, doting, sincere, fun and, in my mom's words, "a little bit naughty". What more can a person want! The service was simple and lovely, complete with a swift but wicked wind and thunderstorm - just want Grandma would have wanted! It was held at the grave site. My grandma will be buried between the two most special people in the world to her, my grandpa and my cousin, Dustin. Grandma is in her heaven. I am happy for her but missing her all the same.

As funerals seem to be, our few days in Albuquerque felt a bit like a family reunion. All my aunts, uncles and cousins were there. I met several cousins I'd never seen before and the kids met more than that! Steve and my dad were missing from the celebration, as well as my cousin's wife, but every family was represented.

Because we didn't leave Albuquerque until later on Thursday, my mom and I were able to get the kids off to Old Town, one of my favorite little areas of the city.

Nana and the kids at Old Town - San Felipe Church

The kids hamming it up in their jean jackets while waiting in the Albuquerque airport.

Busy weekend ahead and a busy few weeks and then a busy few months. Before we know it, Halloween will have passed and Thanksgiving will be in the near future. Then Christmas and New Year's and 2010 will be upon us! But, I jump ahead (I told you I start to panic this time of year!).....

13 Years

Happy Anniversary, Steve! I am constantly reminded of how lucky I am to have found you. You and I have created a life together that I could only dream of before I met you. I love you!