The first day of school

It is another year of school and Addyson is a first grader! She was so excited , for weeks she kept asking me how many days until school started. Well, the big day finally came and she couldn't be happier.Addyson was very particular about what kind of backpack she wanted and what kind of lunch box. She has been asking for a rolling backpack since the beginning of last year and she had to have a lunch box that she could wear over her shoulder. She looks to me like she is going on a trip, but she wanted it and is very happy.

Her first grade teacher is Mrs. Pocock. She is the one teacher that I heard I didn't want and she got her, but I am trying to be positive and hope that she is a good fit for Addyson.

I thought this picture was so cute that Addy drew, and I love the rolling backpack.

I made a 1st day of 1st grade carrot cake for Addyson and she wanted to put a candle in it and blow it out. I can't believe that Ethan is going to starting kindergarten next year- which he can't wait for BTW.

8 Happy years!

Dave and I were married on August 19th, 2000 in Las Vegas, NV. Dave likes to joke that were married in Vegas, which we were, but it was the temple and not on the strip. We have had a great 8 years together full of change, challenge, joy, and fun. I wanted one of those pictures where the groomsmen are all holding the bride and this is how it went...... they dropped me. Look very closely to right of this photo and you will see my new husband laughing about his bride being dropped!

BUSTED!!!!

Happy Anniversary! I love you tons and can't wait to see where 8 more years takes us.

Top 10 reasons Portland rocks!

1. Super cute neice and nephew live there

Since we moved from Portland in 2004 we have seen very little of Tanner and Renee. I really didn't know them and their personalities all that well. They are ADorable! Tanner is so animated and a great hip hop dancer- I don't know where he goes his soul from. Renee is such a princess, so sweet, and I love her great big smile.

2. Leslie lives there

When we lived in Portland Leslie and I were not the best of friends. In fact, we didn't really get a long at all. I think over the years we have changed and now we get a long just fine, pretty great actually. It was so nice hanging out and talking. I am so glad that I got the chance to build a friendship. She took fantastic care of us, and was very patient when we were lying around sick for 2 days. Thanks Leslie!
3. Jeramie lives there No picture of Jerm, but I have to give a shout out to him for staying up late into the night or early in the morning talking with us and playing games- even if you did get your butt kicked:) I'm sure it wasn't easy getting up every morning for work but I loved spending that time with you.

4. Cousins
The kids played so well together. It was fun to see the dynamic of who hit it off with who. Addy and Tanner were quite the pair, as was Ethan and Renee. It is amazing how long they can play together and not get bored. Paige loved Tanner, she would climb all over him and taunt him into chasing her. When we were at the airport and Addyson realized that we were leaving she sobbed and sobbed because she was going to miss her cousins.


5. The great outdoors
During the summer in Texas you just don't go outside unless you are swimming because it is so hot! In Oregon we were able to go to the park several times and the kids were able to go play outside without coming back in 2 minutes later from heat exhaustion. Addyson actually complained about being cold most of the time- she has certainly acclimated to Texas.

6. Friends

Although most of our friends have moved on to other places we still have some good friends that still reside in Oregon and even some who have recently moved to the area. I was able to meet up with my friend Roy and his wife for dinner one night in Vancouver. Roy was a good friend from my single days, so it was a bit wierd seeing him after 8 years and 3 kids later but he is still the same great guy I remember with a rad wife and kids. Thanks again for having us. I was also able to meet up with my Sarah. We went through some pretty significant times together and I love her to death. Addyson and her son Gavin used to be the best of friends, too bad they don't remember that.

We went to the zoo and the kids got a long superb

Then my camera battery ran out, so I didn't get to take pictures of the Portland zoo- rats!

Elizabeth, we were bummed that we got sick and weren't able to get together- it would have been great to see you.

7. Beauty all around

Oregon is beautiful, we don't have trees and landscape like that in Texas.

We took the kids to the Rose Gardens and although the kids were more interested in the fountain, it is always nice to look across the rows and rows of roses and enjoy.

Paige smelling the roses

8. The Beach(even if it is friggin cold)

We drove out to Canon Beach on Saturday and once we got close, I knew that it wasn't going to be a great day to go- but oh well we made the drive. We had lunch at the park and it was a little chilly but still comfortable, then once we hit the beach it was freezing and of course so windy. The kids had fun for like 8 minutes and then they were done!

Paige eating sand

Renee, Addyson, and Tanner(Ethan likes to do his own thing)

Notice how happy they look...............

Having fun, enjoying the water..................

Still having fun.............................
now look down and notice how miserable she is.

Suddenly she got cold and was not very happy!

Picture with my bro Jeramie

One with Leslie

9. Culture

It is always interesting walking down the street in Portland because there are some pretty interesting people. I was so bummed because my camera battery died right before I saw this ginormous group of punk/emo kids, I'm talking like 50 of them all crowding around. You could see security covering all corners and just hovering. One mom said to her little kids "hey check out the freaks!" the funny thing is those kids had 2 moms, if you know what I mean.(Disclaimer: I am not calling homosexuals freaks, I am only emphasizing the "culture" of Portland- no where else, other than San Fransisco have I seen such a large population of them.)
10. Jewelry

My sister-in-law is the bomb at making jewelry and she is oh so generous too. She taught me some of her skillz and I got to take home some pretty sweet jewelry. Addyson even got in on some of the fun, she was proud of her necklace and bracelet. Thanks again Leslie.

It wasn't the easiest place to get to or leave but I am so glad that I went. We really had the best time and enjoyed every minute of it. Thanks again Jeramie and Leslie for taking care of us welcoming us into your home.

I made it....by the skin of my teeth, I made it!

I made it to Portland- woo hoo! I decided to head down to the airport earlier last week to try to increase my chances of getting on a flight and we had a fun filled day at the DFW airport. I got to the gate for the 4:45 flight and can you guess how many people were trying to fly standby to Portland? THIRTY-FIVE PEOPLE!!! I was not too hopeful, buy hey I was there I may as well try. The kids played in the play area and then we were off to the next gate to try for the6:30 flight. We had to hop on the train to get there, but my kids didn't want to get off and since we had some extra time we decided to stay on and ride it allllllll the way around. At one point we were the only people in the train except for a small Asian family and my kids are getting pretty crazy as they often do. A lady gets on the train talking on her cell phone and starts talking to the person on the other end saying "Where are these children's parents, does anyone watch their kids anymore, we are not outside- I can't believe this!" Obviously, I am "these children's" mother since they are not of asian decent, so I smile at her and say "Addyson and Ethan, someone is having a bad day could you please calm down." And, of course they didn't but at least I didn't look like I don't watch my kids right, I tried:)
We didn't get on the 6:30 flight but were bumped up to #3,4, & 5 so I was stoked. Dave picked us up before the 9:30 flight and we went to dinner at Olive Garden- thanks Dave for picking up the tab on that one. We headed back to the airport and I sat and waited and waited for them to call my name and then the I noticed that the cleared list had a whole bunch of names on it and mine was not. I was worried, what happened? A couple of minutes later I heard a page for Wendy Lee to get her tickets at the gate and I head over rather quickly and the lady looks at me like, what? I say "Wendy Lee, you just called my name?" She said, "I called your name a long time ago, several times and you never responded so I passed you up and gave the seats away." I was almost in tears, I was there the whole time and I never heard my name called. Then she proceeds to say that I was lucky, she was giving me the last 3 seats on the plane but we would not be sitting together. Whew, I about had a heart attack! Addy was a little freaked that she wouldn't be sitting close to me and I was afraid she might have a breakdown, but was relieved when I looked at who she would be sitting by, this super sweet lady that was sitting by us while we waited at the gate. When Addyson saw her she instantly calmed down and sat in her seat. Her name was Kelly and she was a 2nd grade teacher- she was wonderful with Addyson, she even gave her a stuffed animal of hers that some friends had given her for her birthday 2 days earlier. Ethan and I ended up being able to sit together and we had a great a flight, the kids were very sleepy! I had a fantastic time in Oregon and am so glad that I was able to go. Hopefully this weekend I will post pictures and details.

I am still here

This is just how I feel here in Texas!

The worst part is that I am supposed to be in Portland, OR right now enjoying their not so hot summer weather, when instead I am sitting at home on my computer blogging about how I SHOULD be there(sniff, sniff). You may remember last year when I tried to take this same exact trip, you can read about it HERE, we were so bummed!  The flight last night was supposed to be the one, there were like 15 open seats and there were even a couple of earlier flights that had a lot of open seats so I thought it was gonna be just fine.  But Noooooooo, people start coming out of the woodworks, how does that happen?  Who just randomly decides, hey, lets go to Portland- wouldn't that be fun to pay like $700 for a last minute flight?  Anyway, I am just hanging out watching the flights, waiting for the right time to drive out there and give it a try.  Think good thoughts people, think good thoughts!

Ahhhh, downtown Portland and the waterfront.........

Ahhhh, Canon Beach- Goonies(BTW one of the best movies ever)!!!!

Ahhhh, waterfalls.........

Hopefully I will be seeing this from an airplane soon!