Dad's visit

We had a great time with Dad this last weekend.

We actually had so much fun that we hardly took any pictures! I am really sorry, Mom!

We went to church on Sunday and afterward Henry made us his famous grilled Turkey and Apple sandwiches fro lunch. Yummy! If you ever come to visit I'll have him make some for you.

On Sunday afternoon the boys taught Dad how to play Mario Kart. It was pretty awesome and they played for quite some time. They also introduced him to Phineas and Ferb, which I think we all found to be pretty funny.

Monday we attempted to experience some of Portland's culture and we checked out the Japanese Garden. It was very lovely and I think we managed to get all 4 kids through without disrupting the other visitors too much:)

We had to have some Burgerville. Thanks Dad- it was delish!

And we also checked out the Lake while the kids took their lessons. Dad hadn't been there before and it was fun to be able to show him where we spend a lot of our afternoons in the summer.

I did take Agnes and Sully out to Seaside to see the finish of the Hood-to-Coast relay, but between the crazy traffic and Agnes' emergency bathroom break once we finally got there we missed the big finish! Luckily, Nebeker was there to cheer him on. We spent Saturday afternoon enjoying the beach on a rare day where there was little wind and a clear sky. It was beautiful! We headed out to Nebeker's for dinner and had a great dinner with Nebeker's and Heder's. Of course, we had such a fine time that a camera never once made an appearance, but it did happen! And we managed to make it back home despite a little traffic and a very sleepy and sore Dad.

We can't wait until next year!

What's going on!!

There's not a lot to report - school started, Dad ran the Hood to Coast once again, I managed alone for several days, Dad got home - life goes on!!

We are looking forward to some detailed reports on the Hurricane Adventure, the Iceland Adventure, the London Adventure - anything else I need to hear about??

So I will tell you that school started once more - it always does. It's a bit chaotic at Clifton. We have a new principal - Tammy's little sister Jenny in fact!! But she doesn't start until September 12th. Meanwhile, our SPED rolls grew by leaps and bounds that no one had anticipated - and I ended up with class sizes of 18 and 24!! (RSP classes are usually maxed out at 15, mostly they are 8 to 10)

I could have been persuaded to take an early retirement on Monday.

Things looked better on Tuesday.

This too will pass!

The Weekend in Review

Harry and Dawn brought the summer to a fitting close with an Ice Cream Social!! There was just about everything you could ask for - malts, floats, cookies, ice cream sandwiches, cones, sundaes, and a really amazing lemonade!


There was a bouncer for the all the kids that were there.

Miss Isla, like many others, was serious about her consumption!!

Eve made the welcome sign!

In true Dawn-style, everything was very nicely done!! It was hard to resist!! Fortunately, I had planned and just ate fruits and veggies all day so I had some points to spare for a small sundae!

On Saturday, Porter, Harry, and I went to GH to visit Grandma Mary and Aunt Donna.

The old homestead is still attracting the kiddos!

Some of whom still like to make faces when you try to take a picture!

Now it's back to school in our neck of the woods.

Sigh!

The New Face of MHS

Our opening meeting was at MHS yesterday - and I guess I haven't been on campus in awhile, because it was all new to me. Thought some of you "oldtimers" might enjoy trying to guess where you are now!!

This is part of the new Science building - there is a clock tower too.

This is the old "kitten coop" I believe.

This is where there used to be parking/basketball hoops.

And this is the new and improved Friendship Circle.

All the shots I took inside the auditorium were too dark - this is one of the side wall - Francie Cash wasn't impressed, "Looks like Arcadia" she said!!

Not sure what this looks like inside - to the east of it is the cafeteria with the standard cafeteria fare I assume.

More Friendship Circle views with the Science building in the background.

I will try to remember to take shots of the front. It has been re-landscaped and looks quite nice - a new digital marquee and walkways - also a "turf" area that will sometimes be used as overflow parking. But the facade of the school has not changed.

And the "little sister" of Bonny's school chum Tammy is the new principal at Clifton - Jen Gates. It's like the year I had surgery and the doctor was young enough to be my son - it takes some getting used to!!

You can't tell the house without a score card!!

The place keeps getting smaller and smaller. The hazmat folks are visquining up a storm around here. Can you tell where this is? I'll give you a hint - the stove usually sits here!

This is the corner of the dining room.

The light gives this one away.

Here's the dining room into the kitchen.

And this is the only habitable spot in the living room!

It's a good thing school is starting so I will have somewhere to sit down!!

"If you give a mouse a cookie . . ."

Things just get more and more dismantled around here!! I'm starting to feel like we live in a one bedroom apartment - with a somewhat deficient kitchen!!

Dad, the Demo Demon, wanted to take out the cabinets himself, since he doesn't trust the average construction company!! The wall is wet, has mold, and needs to be exposed to get dry and mold-free.

This is the old water heater cupboard - the demolition goes to this wall.

We had to empty all the lower cabinets by the stove - which I probably won't have access to again until October - so we put the stuff in the cupboard in the hall. And the stuff from the cupboard in the hall is spread hither and yon throughout the house!

The fridge is by the windows and we have our cozy little eating nook. I think we'll be eating frozen dinners or something for the next while - Dad may decide to bring the propane stove home and put it in the carport - we can pretend we are camping!!

Oh, the fun never ends around here!!

Maybe the Titanic was worse!! But this is bad enough!!

We came home from Virginia Monday afternoon to the water damage Noah had alerted us to on the Saturday before!! The culprit is the water purifier there on the sink - it sprang a leak - and "the rains came tumbling down!"

Noah pulled up carpet and padding to minimize the damage to the hardwood underneath - and he and Arcelia moved all the furniture over to the unaffected area of the living room.

Once the insurance got involved, the testing began!

That is a giant zipper!!

This would make a great spook alley don't you think??

These guys are thorough - I think the law requires it.


I don't have photos of the giant heaters that blew out hot air for 3 days - what a treat in the summertime!! And we had Bonny's girls here - but they were good sports about all of it. There is lead in the paint, and mold seems to be pervasive also. We have some decisions to make, obviously. We'll keep you posted.

Meanwhile, Annika had her Grandma's Birthday Sleepover.

And there was lots of swimming thanks to the Seely's generosity.

And it was fun to Skype with Ara and Bonny.

The girls have gone home with Bruce to await the travelers' return - it's quiet around here - and the living room echoes!!

What's new with you?? (For other news, see my blog.)

Happy Day to Hannah!!

I love my Hannah - she was the 4th daughter and the 5th child - and that could mean "getting lost in the shuffle!" But our Hannah made sure we knew she was special - a big smile, a happy laugh, a genuine interest in many things, my only "climber," and a real "team player!!"

Who remembers Carmen San Diego?? Hannah was indeed an explorer and an innovator!

A love of softball!! And some good skills too!

Always a happy child! And easy to please too. (In spite of a birthday dinner that featured a potato bar!)

A "better half" who makes her complete!!

Have a great day and a great year ahead!! We will be thinking of you and remembering you too, with love and smiles!

A day of many celebrations!!

Today is the 73rd wedding anniversary of Grandma and Grandpa Terrill - Great-Grandma and Great-Great Grandpa to some of you. This is the only photo from their wedding!

And it's also a Happy Birthday day for Lyn and David - who were born on the same day - 19 years apart!

Best wishes to all of you!!

71 years!!

Here are Mom and Dad about 30+ years ago. A fave photo of mine!!

Here are Mom and Dad on their wedding day - August 17, 1940.

That would be 71 years ago!


And here's an anniversary shot from at least 15 years ago - Hannah looks about 10 in this photo - for perspective!

A great pair - thanks for the memories!!

East Coast visit

Our East Coast visit was not without incident!! We got in on Tuesday evening, and thought we'd settle in for Dad doing some household repairs, me playing with the kids, some sightseeing in DC with Hannah and Robbie, and just visiting and enjoying one another's company.

Thursday a.m. changed all that!! I went downstairs, wondering why I was hearing what sounded like the washer filling - when no one was doing any wash?

Turns out the water heater had burst a pipe - and the rushing water was filling up the floor in the basement - and it's mostly a finished basement!!

Hannah and Robbie joined us - and we all "made do" together!!

The kids were good sports - and we enjoyed playing at the playground.

It was not as hot as it was when I came in July, so that was a blessing!

And it was lots of fun to be together and see "daily life" at the Selanders.

The kids got in on extra video time, since we needed to keep them in one spot sometimes.

Dad and Matt - who came home early - did lots of the clean up work, but the insurance adjuster still found even more damage.

We had to make adjustments, but overall, we still had a great time together.

I guess that's how it is with a great family like ours - we just roll with the punches!!

Stay tuned for the "water problem" we came home to!