Weekend in Sutherlin and Green

We went to Mandy and Jonah's in Green on Sat morning, Mandy made us a yummy breakfast and we played outside in the sprinkler and in the yard, we dug up the old garden spot and moved it to a new one, found a colony of snails, when I say we I mean Jonah, Josie, Maddox, Marley, Mandy, Josh, Elissa and me.... didn't take a single pic!!! Maybe it had something to do with my dirty, sweaty hands.. we had fun!


Sunshine + Soccer + Sprinkler = SMILES!!!!

This was on Friday at Misty's...







There is an ongoing project going on at the Griggs', in September before Hendrix was born, Misty and Lonnie's Tahoe transmission broke, the hunt was on for a used one in good shape at the right price, this took a while. After a dark, evening trip to the town of Rainier, WA. the part was secured. It has been quite a process and with the skilled hands of Reuel, Asa and Lonnie the transmission and transfer case and drive line are now back in or under the Tahoe...not totally hooked up but they are there, believe me no quick, easy, task. we are truly grateful for the men in our family who have the knowledge, patience and skill and yes MUSCLE, because it take muscle to lift, yank, pull and cajole these parts to where they need to be. Thank goodness for a day of sunny weather to cooperate with the job!! Good Job Guys!!!




I find it so sweet the way Marley leans her head on Uncle Asa'a shoulder when I take this picture, no prompting just love!!
With weather like the weather we had in Sutherlin this weekend it is easy to see why we lived there for so long....so green and so beautiful and ward and "fresh"! Asa was having his 22nd birthday so we took some time (he did not have much) and shared an ice cream cake and sang and took a couple of pics, that is about all we got but it was good!! Happy Birthday Son!!

Easter 2010

Kind of a different thing to have at an Eater Egg hunt but it sure was popular, face painting.. Marley loves her unicorn and Maddox is Flash Gordon!!! Jonah just did not want his face painted.
The kids go to see the Eater Bunny and have a photo op!!


The Stewart Park Eater Egg Hunt
It is funny how you can live in a place for over 20 years and never attend an annual event..........Then you move 3 hrs. away and come back to not only attend the event, which in this case is an Easter Egg Hunt but enjoy with the grankids. Despite the cool, wet weather we had a great time as the grankids "hoovered" up the brightly colored plastic eggs filled with candy. Here are some pics from that event .

We had an Easter Celebration at Misty and Lonnie's house on Sunday, we had alot of fun coloring eggs, hunting eggs and eating a wonderful dinner, the only thing that would have made it better is if we could have had everyone there!! We were missing Asa and Summer, Danielle, Michael Myla and Payton and Josie who was sick that weekend.

Wow we had a busy week last week!! We started out with a visit from Misty and Lonnie and family, Misty and Lonnie went to the casting call for The Biggest Loser her in Portland. After 11 hrs, standing in a line that barely moved they were sent into a room with 13 other people and given 30 seconds to tell about themselves and give their reasons and motivation for wanting to lose weight. They did not get a call back but were encouraged to send in a video of their everyday life. It would be a great opportunity for them but would be hard to leave their kids.

It was fun to have them here for the weekend, the kids stayed with me and we had a great time together.

Our oldest grandson Jonah, had his tonsils and adenoids out on March 23rd, he has had a rough time but is a little trooper.

A Visit from Misty and the kids

Just spending time with people is one of my favorite things to do and my grandchildren are no exception, they are entertaining and cute and just make me happy I am here!!!!
Brothers
Yes, they are watching the t.v.
Marley with a camera
After a bath in my sink.

I guess Hendrix prefers blondes!
Misty made a quick trip up to our place to do a little shopping, the kids got to stay with me! We had a great time just being together!

Myla and Payton's Visit

A day at OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry) with our granddaughters Myla and Payton. The girls love dinosaurs and with the T-Rex exhibit we though this was a perfect way to spend the day while Danielle and Michael were off celebrating their 5 years of wedded bliss!
The Giant Sandbox
This was fun, but they did get pretty wet.
Payton at the lego table, you can really see how wet her pants got for the water they played in, I didn't even notice until I got home and looked at the picture!
Another "hands on exhibit" with sand and water and rocks etc. Myla kept flipping her sandy wet hands.
Payton with a "giant acorn" inside the squirrel house, so cute!!
Myla in the "bear tunnel"
Checking to see if the fish are real, (they are in resin)

At Omsi there is an area set up like a grocery store, a kitchen and a puppet stage all in one area, the girls had fun shopping, cooking and playing with the puppets...so cute!
This activity was fun, the girls were examining the x-rays under a magnifying glass, I kept referring to one of the x-rays as a "crab", Myla kept saying "it's not a crab"! I would say , "I think it is a crab" and she would repeat herself, "it's not a crab"! I finally asked, "well what is it"? Myla told me emphatically, "It is a Yizard"!!! After closer examination I agreed, "it is a Lizard"! It was a funny moment. Moral of the story...if you think it is a crab, look a little closer, it just may be a lizard!
I wish that I could have been in front of the girls facing them with a camera when they walked into the T-Rex exhibit, they were beyond excited, a dinosaur a "real" dinosaur!! The excitement on the face of a child is unmatchable, what a day we had and it would have been longer but after 5 hours Poppa was tired, but he was a great sport!!!

Josie' s Visit

Josie got to come and spend the day with me while her mom, Katie was having surgery here in Portland. I picked Josie up on Tues. morning at their motel, we were pretty excited to see each other, she had fun stories to tell me of swimming at the motel with her mom and Aunt, "her swimming lesson"! We came back to the apartment had a little lunch and played some Disney Princess games on the computer, counted up her pennies and just talked. We went to Target and did a little shopping and also went to the Red White and Blue thrift store, she is all about business when shopping for what she wants. She is getting so grown up at 6, it was like shopping with a friend. I took her to our Cub Scout meeting where she was PERFECTLY well behaved, I was so proud of her, she liked helping my friend Edria put glitter on the projects. When we got home Poppa was there...Yay!! Josie made some drawings while I made dinner, she and Poppa had some fun playing with the Wii, a little bowling, some golf and some "Just Dance". She was so excited about "the most wonderful dinner ever", (hamburger helper)she just knows how to give the compliments! We had a fun day that zoomed by before I had to take her back to the hospital to see mommy and to end our "Fun Day"! I love you Josie!!!

Valentines Day 2010

This is how Reuel "celebrated" Valentines' Day

Happy Valentine's Day



Today is Valentines Day!!! I must say that I feel like everyday is a day of love for me.......I know that sounds corny but Reuel makes me feel like everyday is Valentine's Day. Yesterday we went to Woodland Washington to meet my parents for dinner, we met had a yummy dinner and good conversation and then we split up and headed opposite ways home on I-5. I like to take my camera to document these times so I will post some pics!

Reuels Birthday

Even though it was not Reuels' birthday yet the kids and grand-kids wanted to celebrate so the kids had a little celebration, Mandy made a crazy good cake and Misty had us all make "designer" pizzas on our own "Boboli" shells....so yummy!! After our incredible arrangement of "Happy Birthday to Dad, Reuel, Poppa... the kids gave him a wii and the just dance game, we are excited to have our own "gaming system" . Reuel will celebrate his "real" birthday on Feb 11th, in case you are wondering he will be 49, I know he does not look it (at least with his hat on)!!

We had a little dancing fun with the Wii and the "Just Dance" game that Mandy has, Josh was the Bomb at this game but the kids were the most fun to watch. I hope that you all have as much fun watching this as we have.

Feb 7th was Danielle's birthday, she is now 24!! I was pregnant with Danielle when we moved to Oregon, so we have been here for over 24 years.....WOW! Danielle was an awesome addition to our newly formed family, the kids accepted and loved her right away and were such great helpers to me in taking care of the new baby. Danielle was then and always has been a girl who knows what she wants and stands strong in her desires, it has been a help to her in keeping her standards high. She has always had a love for animals, we always had some sort of a pet for Danielle, kitties, chickens, bunnies, guinea pigs, goats, dogs and even a horse. She now has children of her own and it is a joy to see them grow and to bring joy to their parents as Danielle has to us. Happy Birthday "Rellie Bird"!!

Josh

Wow, I feel that I should write a little about my son Josh since today is his 28th birthday. Josh came into the world on a snowy February morning, a day usually reserved for the Groundhog but after Feb. 2, 1982 the day is reserved for Josh!

Well, guess I had better do some catching up on this blog, a good activity for one when one cannot sleep! Reuel has to arise early on workdays, 4:00 a.m. to be to work by 5 but Diane who has no job can sleep in until whenever she wants! When one must get up early one must also have an early bed time but when sleeping in that is another story. My husband having my best interest at heart thinks I should go to be at 7:30 (about the time I fall asleep on the couch) I try to assure him that I am not sleepy, really, and will just wake up in the "middle of the night" if I go to bed early. Last night I gave in was in bed asleep by 8, hence the 3 a.m. ramblings of one who could not sleep! I love my husband.................

Christmas 2009

This is our fake little tree here in the apartment in Oregon city, not bad it does give us the feeling of Christmas, the presents are all for Marji!!

Visits with Mom, Dad and Marji

Marji came up to see us and do a little Christmas shopping, mom and dad just happened to be going to a Costco near us so we met up with them. After shopping and a nice lunch we decided to document the "moment". I am so grateful to still have my parents here and I am able to visit with them frequently.