Look who's 50!!!

Jim just turned 50!!! Happy birthday, Jim. We had a great time at Jim & Suzie's Saturday night. Jim and Suzie were gracious enough to open their home to Marc while our family was in transition moving from Corbett to Bend. It was a long 4 months for us and they made it just that much easier on Marc. Especially since he was away from the family so much during that rough time. Thanks, guys!!

Appropriately Jim received a cane for his 50th birthday, and I was lucky enough to capture the moment on camera!!

Another busy weekend under our belts. "K" and the all of us settled in to watch a movie on Friday night, she actually ate elk! And liked it! Saturday I covered at Michaels again. Then it was off to "K"'s soccer game, they won 4-2.
We were able to finish our water feature out front. Actually, Marc finished it. It turned out great!! The birds really love it, too. I have seen doves, quail, Flickers and sparrow in it so far.
Then we were off to Jim & Suzie's for the afore mentioned party.

Sunday morning I was at Michaels again, then "K" and Marc went testing and the boys and I went to the skate park. Some of those kids are amazing on their boards and bikes. There was one guy who was doing flips on his bike, into one bowl, out and back into another. It was incredible.

This morning were are back to the grind stone. Marc is out testing and I am trying to get some crafts done for Mary's vendor faire in November. I am finally all caught up for Scrap classes in October. I am anxious to get back into the routine of classes and be able to socialize with some of those ladies again.

Have a great week!!

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Hi ya'll

Today is day #12 out of 178
School has been going well. Beau is doing a little better, although this morning was kind of rough. Marc has been gone for the last 5 days, he came back yesterday and has today off to take care of things around the house. Beau wanted to stay home with Daddy today, so I had to give him "luvins" and send him out the door to the bus stop. He didn't like it but, it's the only way I can get him to go. The end of last week he did awesome, no problems at all and he even rode the bus to and from school. Hopefully, now that the family is back into it's old routine he will start feeling better.

I have been very busy, classes start at scrap a doodle soon and I have been going in to the store early to get some samples done and get prepared for my classes. Saturday and Sunday I worked at Michaels in the cash office because our office lady is out for surgery. That is so boring. I sit in this little room with no windows and count money for 3 hours!

Friday night "K" and I went to the movies and dinner at Red Robin, it was a nice little get away for her. Saturday night I spent with Donna, the sisters and Mary, I had a blast. We played games drank wine and gabbed all night. They gave me a hard time for wanting to hang out with the "old" ladies. I don't care, I had fun.

So, I mentioned Marc went hunting, he finally got his elk on Sunday, he got his deer and antelope a week or so ago, so he is done now until bird season. Thank goodness!!

Nothing exciting is really going on right now but, I will keep you posted.

When I started this blog it was my goal to keep friends and family up to date and to stay connected. There is one friend in particular that I would like to reach out to, so, I have a little question for that person. They will know who they are when they read this:

Who is Mickey without Minnie?
Who is Donald without Daisy?
Who is Butch Cassidy without the Sundance kid and...
Who is Pancho without Lefty?

I'm outta here, have a great week!


PS ya gotta see this....

What is in the barn?
Imagine you're going to live in Portugal. You find a lovely farm house set on a decent plot of land. The place has been empty for 15 years...
While exploring your new property you find a large barn. The door is padlocked and welded shut and it's all rusted solid. So you grind the padlock and the welds off and.........
http://www.intuh.net/barnfinds/afa70.htm

Monday, September 10, 2007 School is in session!!!

Well, one week down, how many more to go? 174 more days. Beau is having a rough time with school this year. He didn't want to go the first day, crying and saying he was sad. Today, cried and said he had a stomach ache. I know its just nerves, his teacher is awesome, she is being very helpful as is the Principal. I just don't know what to do. I would have expected it from Tucker but, not Beau, he's our little tough guy. I am sure this phase will pass along with all of the other ones we have gone through.

So, some big news. Mom won a scrapbook contest through Craft Warehouse!! She won a gift basket full of $300.00 worth of scrap supplies.Way to go, mom!!!

"K" had her 12th birthday yesterday, she spent most of it here with us. The boys and I took her to Freddy's to pick out her own volleyball and soccer ball. She was so excited.

Tony and Katy came to visit yesterday. Tony treated us all to lunch at Greg's Grill, it is a very nice restaurant here in Bend down in the Old Mill. We had drinks and just sat and gabbed for a while. She is very nice and they were very cute together. She works for a Real Estate Office and lives in WA. "K" stayed and watched the boys for us so we weren't really pressed for time. It was very nice for Marc and I to get out of the house together.

School this year is going to be a little different for me. I am scheduled to work form 12:00 to 3:30 so, I have a little time to myself in the morning after the boys head to the bus (although it hasn't worked out that way yet with Beau's issues right now, but it will). I am responsible for kids in Tucker's class, Mr. Knapp, and Mrs Barrett's class ( "K" & "D"s teacher from last year) Its great because she and I get along so well. I do have to do Lunch recess duty outside which is great right now but, I am a little concerned about when the weather changes. I guess I will have to bundle up!

I will post 1st day of school pics when Marc gets home with the camera. Have a great day!!

Thursday, August 30, 2007 Long time no see!!!

Ok, so back in July Jenne Redfern scolded me because I hadn't posted in so long but, this summer has been crazy busy!!!! So, here is an update on this past summer and I am hoping to get back on a normal schedule now that school is starting back up.

JUNE:
As you all know I work at the elementary school that the boys attend. Well, last year I took a 5th grade boy and girl under my wing. They both have a very different home life than I was and am used to. It started that they needed some after school help with homework and staying out of trouble while home alone. So, they started riding the bus to our house after school so that I could keep them on track. Marc and I agreed that I would keep it up as long as it didn't affect our family and the boys.

"K" our "girl" as we call her, is a true blessing. She went hiking with us, out to dinner, to the local swimming pool and she went with us to mom and dad's imfamous Father's Day BBQ in Troutdale for the weekend, she just really fit in well and we enjoyed having a girl in the house. "D" on the other hand, our other boy, has a lot of past and present family issues, not to mention he is mostly unsupervised every day after school and most of the summer. He and I had some issues and we had to ask him not to come back. It is heart wrenching because I see him running around the neighborhood with kids he probably shouldn't be socializing with. But, what do you do? His teacher is awesome and has really supported me throughout the whole ordeal.

Then, in June, we started with Archery night at church. The Archery Outreach was every Thursday night for 12 weeks where men and women were invited for a BBQ and archery competition as a fellowship night. It was all based on donations and I was in charge of the BBQ portion. So, every week I cooked hamburgers, hot dogs and all of the accesories that go with that. Plus, I liked to add a few extra surprises every once in a while to mix things up. It was a huge commitment on my part but, I really enjoyed seeing everyone and knowing that they appreciated what their church family provided for them.

Mom and Dad came for the Sisters rodeo that month also, we did dinner and the usual just hanging out stuff, it was a lot of fun.

Beau had his birthday party on the 23rd. It was a pool party, so we had the new pool up and running and kept the hot tub open too. I bought a bunch of water balloons and squirt guns and everyone ran around on a cake and soda high!! They had so much fun!

June 28th marked the 2nd anniversary of Jeff Lucas' death. We still miss him very much and are getting closer and closer to reaching the goal for his memorial stadium at our high school.

JULY:
Mom and Dad went to round butte for the 4th of July. We met up with them for a couple of days and then Marc and I headed to Corbett on the eve of the 4th, leaving the boys with grandma and grandpa. I really wanted to be in Corbett for the 4th of July this year. We haven't been back on the 4th for almost 3 years. We had so much fun, of course we hit the beer garden on the 3rd. That is where everyone is on the eve of the 4th in Corbett. Then we hit the parade and fun festival on the 4th. And, who could miss the Corbett fireworks?? They get better and better every year. Thanks to Susan and Big Bear for all of the work they do. I know how much work it is because mom and dad were in charge for several years when I was younger.

Gene Hubbard and Sarah Wilson were married on the 7th. The wedding was beautiful and her dress was just gorgeous!!!

Then we started 2 weeks of swimming lessons and gymnastics camp. Those were the craziest weeks of the summer by far. I felt like I was living in the truck, running the boys all around town. But, they had fun and Beau got to get his cartwheel fix!!!

Then, the week after that they went to Vacation Bible School for 3 days. That was a nice break for me, I dropped them off at 9 and picked them up at 12:30. So, I was able to get some scrappin done.
The next week I helped cover at scrapadoodle so Debie could go on vacation and the boys hung out with Donna and/or Kathi.

AUGUST:
Marc's Uncle's step daughter-to-be was married on the 4th in Sandy. The wedding was beautiful, she had sunflowers everywhere, planted and in vases on the table. We got to see Marc's sister and brother in law and several other family friends we hadn't seen in a while. It was nice to get caught up on the family gossip.

Then, Donna's daughter and granddaughter came to visit from Cali for a few days. Beau was looking so forward to Emily coming he could barely contain himself!! They had so much fun and were basically inseperable for 3 days. Our family went to Suttle Lake for several days and Donna and the girls came to visit for a few hours. It was so nice to be able to see them again.

Amos & Lanell got married (finally) on the 18th! This was the best wedding we went to all summer! Not only because we were happy that they were finally getting married but, because Amos was actually smiling most of the night! Amos doesn't smile much! He is so serious!! We love him though and his brother Blair was able to come visit from the military.
This also marks the first night of meeting Tony's girlfriend!! She is very nice and I look forward to getting to know her better.

Then the week of the 20th, I finally finished the second Japanese album!! I actually got the OK on it and now I just have to reassemble it. Then it is on to the next one!!

Marc and I celebrated our 11 year anniversary on the 24th. He celebrated it out in the middle of nowhere hunting for deer and elk and I celebrated it out with the girls and a couple glasses of wine!! But, if you know the story of our wedding then you know why. If you don't know the story ask us, we love to tell it!!!

That puts us at this week:
I started work at the school this week. Just a little bit, orientation and welcome breakfast for district employees at the HS. This weekend we actually get to stay home although, I think I will be working at Michael's on Sat.

So, I am all caught up now, I am hoping to post at least once a week. If I don't hold up my end of the bargain then I give you permission to give me a hard time about it!!!

I'm outta here,
Nicki

Monday, May 21, 2007 Busy Life!!!

What a crazy and hectic life I live lately!! We had a great time in Hood River, but after unpacking Marc headed to California for three days for work. It is hard to believe that our little "redneck" boy from Corbett went to California on a BUSINESS TRIP!!!! I think the whole trip was worth it for him when they bought him a $50.00 T-bone at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse in Portland! A meat and Potato guy my man is!!!

This past weekend we went on a much needed vacation to the beach. It was so much fun, we hadn't been to the beach in about 4 years. It is a little farther for us to get there from here than it used to be from Corbett. We headed through Salem to Lincoln City and stayed the night there. Of course the hotel had to have a pool! The boys (including Marc) had a blast in the pool alone. Marc said that we could have just rented a room in a Bend hotel that has a pool and the boys would have been just as happy! It's true but, they had so much fun clamming!!! Marc and Beau got a huge Big Blue clam. Beau was so proud of it he was showing it to all of the other clammers there. Pretty soon there was a whole group of people digging in the same area as us.
Of course we had to go to the taffy shop that we went to as I was growing up. they have the best taffy in town! We shopped, a lot! The boys were looking for the "perfect" gift for their Girl Friends ( notice it's not GIRLFRIEND, I was informed that they are "just girls that are friends"!!!
We visited the wax museum, Ripley's believe it or not and the Undersea gardens. I have to say that I was disappointed in all three of them. I think the only update that any of them have had in the 30 something years I have been going there is that they added a Lord of the Rings display at the wax museum. Other than that they all had just about the same thing they have always had. I wish we would have spent our money on the Oregon Coast Aquarium instead.
We went to a cool glass blowing place. we wanted to have the boys blow their own glass floats nut, it was $65.00 each person! So, we just sat and watched them make all kinds of beautiful floats.
Scrapbook news
I finally finished one of the Japanese albums, it was shipped last week! Pam also asked me to do some invitations for her so, I printed the invitations and envelopes an mailed them Friday before we left.
I am taking a break from Scrap-A-Doodle for the Summer. Debie and I agreed that people (myself included) will be too busy during the summer break to do classes. So, I will spend some time this summer coming up with some new designs.
Marc is on call all Memorial Day weekend, so we can't go out of town so, I think I will join some friends at a scrapbook weekend retreat. It is kind of an impromptu get together, but it is with some friends I haven't been able to scrap with before. It should be a lot of fun.I probably should get myself organized.
Anyhow, talk at ya soon!!
Don't forget, you can leave comments after my posts, just click on the link at the bottom of the post.
Nicole