The Robbins Family

Great Family, Terrible Bloggers

2011-09-07T09:50:00.000-07:00

No one questions our greatness as a family. But when it comes to blogging, mmm, not so much. It might just be that we're already on facebook (most of us), or that each family has their own blog. I don't know. Either way, I got tired of seeing "So I Guess I'm a Lawyer?" so I decided to do something about it.

Oksana and I visited Mom, Dad, Kelly and Kaysha over labor day weekend. It was a good time for all, especially Enchanted Forest and ESPECIALLY the boot slide! Awesome!

I hope everyone is happy and doing well.

So I Guess I'm a Lawyer?

2011-05-23T17:08:00.001-07:00

It has been a crazy month.

In April I travelled to Washington D.C. for a job fair put on by the Presidential Management Fellows program. I had been selected as a finalist, and was looking forward to starting a career with the federal government. Now, the stories circulating about this job fair were tales of fortune and glory--finalists being bombarded with on-the-spot offers and countless interviews. In essence, all I really needed to do was show up, look good, and sign on the dotted line.

Now, either these stories are gross exagerations, or the federal government has stopped hiring altogether, or both . . . probably both. I walked around at the job fair, met some nice people, and collected all kinds of cool pens, pads and bags from the different federal agencies that were there (the International Trade Administration had really cool pens). I dropped off resumes all over the place, but walked away totally empty handed. I really only had one interview, and it was for an agency that buys missile systems for the military, you know, exactly what I've always wanted to do.

Anyhow, I came home thoroughly discouraged. Then one night I applied for a job as an immigration attorney in WA on a whim. The guy called me back later that night, and long story short we are now in Yakima WA. So far I really enjoy the work. Oksana is working from home, and seems to like it ok.

We are both looking forward to Sunriver!!

Stephen and Oksana

Random Pictures.

2011-04-17T19:50:00.000-07:00

Thanks so much for the visit. We enjoyed your visit--all of you.

Jacob and Mahlia at Oregon Coast Aquarium

This is the first time I've had a shark swimming over my head.

The Dittos--checking out the fish under their feet.

Master lincoln log builders :)

Our house on Calapooia Street. Dawn was a baby when we lived here. Deyce and Deena were born when we lived at this house.

House we lived in on Front Street while we were building our house on 33rd in 1977.

Dad's set up for working on the cabinets. We're thinking of getting a patent. Maybe Stephen can help.

Christmas in Albany 2010

2011-02-27T17:43:00.000-08:00

This is our new kitchen ceiling complete with recessed lighting. 15 watt led bulbs. Also crown molding accented to match the kitchen cabinets. Labor was by Jon Jones and Dean & Rosalind Robbins.
Jon helped do some of the demo right after Christmas and Dean & Rosalind took over from there. Much of the painting was done by Rosalind.

Here is the floor around the bar looking east. You can see how we took it to the other side of the office door from where it used to be. You can also see that we used about a 3" tall piece of tile for the base all around the tiled areas. This was a suggestion by Vern of Albany Cabinet. They did the work. He was right. It looks very sharp.

Here is a shot of the floor around the bar. We widened it and no longer have a metal strip. The carpet and the tile are about the same height. We also did a 45 degree angle instead of the rounded look at the corner.

Here is our new tiled kitchen floor. We put the tile on a 45 degree angle to the room. Looks very nice.

This is our new tiled entry way. It is very cool. Both types of cool. ha ha These tiles are smaller than the ones in the kitchen. Vern also decided to use a little darker tile boarder. The tiles used for baseboard in the kitchen and laundry room are also the darker ones.

We will be putting down new counter tops next week. Woohoo!!

Little Cousins

2011-02-27T17:36:00.000-08:00

Logan and I had a nice little trip to CA this past week. Garrick made good progress on his dissertation while we were gone, and Logan loved having his cousins to play with. In fact, in the 20 or so hours since we've been home, Logan has asked to go to Evan's house at least 20 times. He just doesn't quite get that it is so far away.

That reminds me...Garrick's older brother and his family will be moving to UT this summer. We're excited to have them much closer and want to let you all know that we'd love to have even more family living in UT. Anyone? Anyone?

Well, I'm not much in the writing mood right now, but I did want to post these pictures. So, this is short, but hopefully sweet.

New house

2010-11-05T17:06:00.000-07:00

Well the latest news in our life is we are not building a house in tangent. Long story short the appraisal did not meet the amount we needed to cover building. It felt to us that it wasn't meant to be. So we decided to look at other options just incase. We fell across this place and both love it. We have an accepted offer on the house and if all goes smoothly will be new home owners in 30 days or so! kaysha

Newport Marathon and Our Garden

2010-06-06T19:57:00.000-07:00

Deena just before the halfway point.

Brent just after turning around at the halfway point.

Deena on her way back after the half way point. Look at that sky. VERY nice day.

The garden is looking great this year.

I added a new fence and six and one half new raised beds. What do ya think? We are excited.

Our New Front Yard Lake

2010-06-04T10:59:00.000-07:00

Did you know we were installing a lake at our place. Here is a close up. Be sure to bring your fishing poles next time you come.

Where are the ducks?

Might be some bass in there.

Here is the slough adjacent to our new lake. Look for the bullfrogs.

Our game warden watching out for fishermen without a license.

Just Playin' Around

2010-03-05T09:01:00.000-08:00

I've just been playing around with different blog backgrounds, and I wanted to make sure that no one cares. I'm happy to change it back if any of you prefer it the way it was. - Deyce

STEPHEN and OKSANA, updated

2010-03-03T15:34:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone,

Stephen here. Over the Christmas break I came across a few copies of The Robbins Reporter, the family news letter that was at one time sponsored by Dawn and Jon if I remember correctly. There were stories and interviews of family members, it was a real treat. It was also somewhat time consuming to produce, I'm sure. Phone calls, typing, printing, mailing, etc. I decided that I was going to take charge of the family blog and really DO something with it.

I had really good intentions, but obviously very little follow through. Here's to redemption and second chances though, right?

Dawn called me the other day, in part to find out if she could help me with the internship/job search (hint hint, other four siblings!), and also to see how I was doing. I realized that I had never really cleared up the situation with my marriage so, here goes! Oksana and I are doing really well. Our relationship was pretty fragile there for awhile, but we've decided to give things another shot and so far so good.

Speaking of Oksana, she has become somewhat of a passionate cook! She is still very busy with work, but she enjoys going through recipes, and trying new things. I selfishly think she has chosen her new pastime wisely.

Last week I went to Washington DC for an interview at the Embassy of Peru. I originally asked if the interview could be over the phone, or via skype, but they said that it needed to be in person.

The Embassy of Peru, on 17th and Massachusetts

So I showed up for my interview, and all it really consisted of was the guy saying, "this is the embassy, when do you want to come work here?" It was short and informal, no fingerprints or photographs, certainly not something that would normally warrant a cross country flight, but I digress. The internship is unpaid, but so far it's my only offer so I'm thinking about maybe doing it. I am not thrilled about spending another summer away, but since DC is considerably closer (and cheaper), I'm thinking I could come home for Sunriver, and

Oksana could visit for another week and we could break up the time this way. We'll see, I'm still looking at all my options.

In other news, I sprained my ankle pretty bad Monday morning in my law school basketball league. I came down on someone else's foot, and heard/felt my ankle "pop." It was pretty painful, but the x-rays were negative, just a sprain. I was on crutches the first two days, but today I'm just wearing one of these big goofy boots. The morning after the sprain, I was sliding down our stairs on my butt, feeling sorry for myself, when I remembered that Kelly spent basically an entire year like this, but WORSE because she had bone taken from her hip and drilled into her feet! Crazy! I immediately stopped pouting and hopped into the kitchen for breakfast.

Speaking of Kelly, one of her screws came loose (literally), and she had it worked on, so make sure you all call and see how she's doing! ;-)

I recently wrote an article for the U of O online law journal (which is a fancy way of saying "blog"). I spent quite a bit of time on it, so if you have a minute to read it that would be cool. You can find it by clicking here.

Last but not least, I went to a funeral this morning, my friend Ben Verhoven's mother Mary passed away. I was obviously not great friends with his mother, but I have great memories from the time I spent in the Verhoven home growing up. It was a special place, and that had a lot to do with his mother, no doubt. Anyways, the funeral was a reminder of just how rare and special great mothers are, and how those of us who are blessed enough to have one in our lives often take their presence for granted.

So, thank you Mom for being amazing in every way, and thank you also to mothers like Mary Verhoven who made growing up in our community a fun a wholesome experience! Moms are awesome.

Stephen

February 2010

2010-02-21T09:25:00.000-08:00

We had dinner at the top of the Tower of the Americas. It was awesome. I tried not to look on the way up. If you want to see great picture, check out Deyce's facebook. She's a better photographer than I am.

The dinning floor rotates slowly so we had a changing magnificent view

These next two are on the river walk. The first one was a boat tour. We went down several times, the last time at night. It was a beautiful experience. People were friendly and polite, great music at the market and riverwalk, and I got to spend it with a beautiful daughter, son in law, and grandson who were kind enough to invite me along. It was a trip of a lifetime for me-loved it and thank you Garrick and Deyce. Garrick drove, Deyce navigated and I -I'm not sure what I did. I would say babysat in the back seat but Logan was so good he didn't need me.

Christmas

2009-10-23T07:30:00.000-07:00

I would like to have some suggestions for Christmas this year. I have already purchased for Malia, Emma, Becca, Claire, Kate, Braden, Cody, Ashton. I could send some back at Thanksgiving. I'm going to have some out-patient surgery on the 21st so I would like to have everything done by then.

Love you all, Mom

Misc.

2009-10-23T07:11:00.001-07:00

Evan and Emma

Becca- in her cowboy garb

A real cowboy

It's a good thing I wasn't alone, I might still be there.

My first pig race

Evan feeding the goats

Grandpa Dean made this plane with help from Ashton and Braden

Braden riding Great Grandpa's horse all by himself

What I want for Christmas

2009-10-13T18:18:00.001-07:00

http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/plush/bb2e/

Christmas 2009

2009-09-30T13:15:00.001-07:00

I've just been thinking about Christmas gifts for this year and was wondering if anyone knows who's giving to whom. Anyone?

Sept 09

2009-09-20T08:38:00.001-07:00

Yikes, this isn't the picture I wanted to put in but I don't know how to delete it. Look at the ocean, not me. (I'm still a little vain)

We celebrated our 40th anniversary by finding a handicapped accessible trail at the beach. It was a beautiful trail. We followed it with a wonderful dinner.

In spite of a little rain and a tire blow out we had a great time with Dawn and the boys plus Kate. We appreciate their efforts to spend time with us.

Great Recipe

2009-08-27T08:48:00.000-07:00

This is so yummy and if it weren't for the butter--very nutritious! It was on the Early Show and by the asst. editor of Gourmet magazine.

Zucchini with Lemony Crumbs

Serves 4

2 lb. zucchini, coarsely grated
3/4 stick butter, divided
1 1/2 c. coarse breadcrumbs (from day old baguette)
1 1/2 tsp. grated lemon zest
1 tsp chopped thyme ( I used fresh)
2 garlic cloves, minced

Toss zucchini with 3/4 tsp salt in a colander set over a bowl and let drain 20 minutes. Squeeze handfuls of zucchini in a kitchen towel to remove excess moisture. Melt 3 Tbsp. butter in a 12 inch skillet over medium heat, then cook breadcrumbs, zest, thyme, and 1/8 tsp. salt, stirring until crumbs are golden, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and wipe out skillet, then cook garlic in remaining 3 Tbsp butter over medium -high heat, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add zucchini and saute until softened slightly, 2-4 minutes. Serve zucchini topped with breadcrumbs.

For Emma, Becca and Malia

2009-08-09T15:42:00.000-07:00

I just ran across this clip and thought of my lovely nieces who also seem to be obsessed with Taylor Swift's "Love Song." Hope you enjoy!

(Apparently I can't figure out how to add a Youtube video, so I'll just post the link. Stephen, you'll have to help me out with this skill.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0v3d6SFcDys

Mastering the Stairs

2009-08-04T17:30:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to show a little video of Logan going up the stairs. The funny thing is...while Garrick and I were sitting at the computer watching this video, we thought Logan was in front of the tv playing. I glanced over toward the stairs twice to make sure he wasn't on them, but I didn't see him. Not long after my second glance, Garrick got up and walked into the tv room to check on Logan. Guess where he found him....at the top of the stairs. That was the first time he's gone up the stairs on his own. Thank goodness there was no accident!

Pictures from Peru!

2009-07-27T19:58:00.000-07:00

Sand Eating Contest

2009-07-21T21:13:00.000-07:00

And the winner is...

Definitely Kate! You may not be able to tell from the pictures, but she wore a nice layer of sand most of the time that we were at the beach. Fortunately, the sand didn't seem to slow down either one of the "babies."

House Rock

2009-07-18T12:08:00.001-07:00

Descending is always easier. Thanks to the Burgesses who brought all the gear, food, and planned it all. They even drove. I appreciate it. Mom

Kelly, Kaysha, and Mom made it to the top of Sand Mt. Lookout. Dustin returned to the car with the boys. I am convinced I nearly lost my life getting up here (another story) but I'm proud I made it and the view was amazing. Kelly is sitting on the fence and I am standing because I'm to afraid to get that close to the edge. :)

Mt. Washington in the background.

One really big tree. This is the Old Santiam wagon road trail, a short little trail at House Rock. It is part of the old road that went from Sisters to Albany-4 days on a good horse.

You can't beat house rock and you can't beat Dustin and Kaysha's Camp cooking or Kelly's dutch oven peach cobbler.

SUNRIVER

2009-07-12T19:19:00.000-07:00

I've been doing a little looking around for next year. We could keep the house we had and rent the house across the street or maybe one next door. I was looking on WWW.vrbo.com and checked on #15171. Look at it and go to Links--Special Features--Play (I think). It has a 3 story fort in the backyard, basketball in the front, volley ball in the grass in the back, etc. It's pretty awesome but may not be more than getting 2. I still have more looking to do and haven't spent a lot of time yet. I am a little concerned about the closeness to the river. I will try to go look at it the next time I am in Bend and look at the back. It may not be bad if it is woodsey to the river. It is supposedly 200 FT to the river so if anyone has an issue with that I won't check any further. It's fun to look at anyway, especially the first bedroom's bathroom.

You're welcome to join in the search in your spare time. Hope you have your $20 for July put away.
We appreciate you all coming, especially the Joneses and Petersons who had to travel a long ways at a great deal of expense.
I saw a difference in the kids this year. As they get older, they tend to spend more time with their cousins. This may be really important in their lives as they look to their extended family as help and support as they go through their own trials before they turn into adults. Ashton asked me yesterday if the "guys" could have the game room this next year. I envisioned a scene a few years from now when all these teenagers will be wanting to hang out together--how fun--
Have a great week--Mom

The Dream/The Reality

2009-06-17T22:47:00.000-07:00

The Dream: Coming Home
You drive into the drive way at the end of your trip. The hours seemed to just fly by. The cats run out to the driveway as they hear the children's voices. You are blown away by the beautiful flowers, the newly mown and edged lawn, and the garden.
As you walk in the house, which is spotless, you smell wonderful odors wafting thru the air. It smells like homemade bread, cookies, and other delectable dishes. Mom and Dad are energetic and happy to see you. They have spent the day sitting in their chairs waiting for your arrival. They each took a nap so that they would be alert and refreshed when you arrived. They seem to look younger each time you see them.
The big shocker is that since you all have been here, Mom and Dad added on a new large family room and several new bedrooms so that the children will have room to frolic and play while the adults gather in a separate, quiet part of the house. They used the money they won from
turning in a lottery ticket that they found on the street. Oh, what a perfect homecoming

The Reality:
You pull into the driveway and park under the big cherry tree. The next morning your car is covered with cherries and bird poop. You are exhausted. It has been a long day. The children, or child are/is tired and grouchy. You notice the flower beds have weeds where flowers should be. The driveway needs to be blown off. The children run after the cats and the cats run the other way. The only one they like is Jon. The squirrels seem to be friendlier than the cats.
You open the door. You're hungry but there isn't really anything to eat. Dad shops now so mainly there is fruit, cat food, and peanuts for the squirels. Once in a while, Kaysha gets fed up with coming over and having to bring her own food, so she goes and gets some groceries for the house. Mom and Dad are sitting in their chairs. What happened to them since the last time we saw them?? We secretly plan to get all the siblings together and plan which nursing home to put them in. It looks eminate.
Did anyone change the sheets? Who slept in this room last? Has this house always been this small? How did we fit 6 kids in here? The adults get a bed. The kids get the floor.
You open the garage door. Holy Hannah!!! What happened out here? What has happened to Dad's great organizational skills? Has he no pride left? You grab a piece of toast for dinner, which you prepare yourself.
The next morning, Deyce has bites from some unknown bug. They seem to know when she is coming. Mom is up early. Dad gets up later. He is a little depressed because his fantasy baseball team is being beat by an 8 year old kid in the midwest. Jon is busy fixing Mom's excel program, Dad has Garrick cornered on the sofa, talking about baseball. Dawn and Deyce are cooking, since no one else has done any. Kelly finds a pair of Dad's earplugs and stuffs them in her ears. She is stuck in the office again, but at least Mom cleaned off her desk. Kaysha and Deena show up. The children frolic in the backyard until it starts to rain. They all come in and start running around the circle(fam room, front room, office, etc). All the adults put ear plugs in .The kids decide to play hide and seek, pulling covers off beds,etc. Deena goes for a short 15 mile run. She comes back, not even sweating. It has stopped raining and Kelly has the kids in the backyard doing boot camp. What an aunt!
Well, things aren't perfect, but we can't wait. We love you all and miss you when you aren't here
MOM

1st grade spelling

2009-06-14T15:54:00.000-07:00

So after school last week Braden was wearing his baseball shirt from last year. I noticed that he had written all over it in ball point pen. Dustin asked me if I had read the line on the back of the shirt. So I read it and it said " I love fag". I gasped and trying to keep calm and asked Braden what does this line say. He just said oh that says "I love the flag"!!! Dustin and I looked at eachother laughed. Thank goodness :), and he said he didn't wear it to school!! That shirt is going to disappear, but we both had a good laugh.

UH OH TOO

2009-06-08T20:32:00.000-07:00

On the night of our social a week and a half ago, the tablecloths were gone by the time we cleaned up. Kris helped clean up and I figured she took them home to wash since she keeps them at her house. Last night I started worrying because I had borrowed a few from the other ward. I called Kris today and she said she didn't have them. She gathered them up and put them in one of the big plastic garbage bags for someone to take home to wash. OK-fear strikes my heart. She said, "Oh I'm sure no one would put them in the garbage". But, I'm not so sure. I think that's exactly where they went. I called the Garbage company and they emptied it last Thursday. The bag would have been very heavy, not like one full of paper plates, etc. How awful is that???
Love MOM

Uh-Ohs

2009-06-08T13:15:00.000-07:00

Just thought I'd share a few uh-ohs with you. First off, Logan loves to roll around, and apparently, he's just starting to "get into" things. I know he's a bit big for this "jungle gym," but he still likes it, so we haven't put it away yet. Just the other night he discovered a new way to get to the toys at the top (exhibit A).

Logan isn't at all shy about letting us know when he doesn't like the food that we are feeding him. Usually he does the "Brrrr" thing with his lips and spits it everywhere. Sometimes we even notice the gag reflex kicking in (peas, beans). A couple of days ago he made a new noise (and to be quite honest, I am not even sure what it was) right as I gave him a spoonful. The result: our 2nd uh-oh.

Funny thing is, the food all over his face doesn't seem to bother him. He just goes on smiling.

The 3rd and final uh-oh occurred during our first week of YW softball. I am the coach, and we have a rather inexperienced bunch. I was a little worried about one of them getting hurt because they couldn't catch the ball. But, the joke was on me. I was kneeling down and bending over to pick up the balls when one of the girls (about 3 feet away) tossed one to me when I wasn't looking. It got me right in the mouth. Sorry the picture is a little scary. I took it myself, so it's really close up. I got a bit of a swollen lip. It looked much worse the next morning, but by Sunday night, it was almost back to normal. Whew.

laskjflskdfj

Social

2009-05-31T07:50:00.001-07:00

We had a great time at the ward social-although still not my favorite calling. We had a good turnout. Dinner-pot roast, pie baking contest, stick pulling, cowboy sing along, and a service auction. Thank you Deyce for making the fake money-saved me in my time of need. Here we have one of our elders and Paul Parmenter.

Derek Christensen in his old-time auctioneer garb. These girls helped take the winning coupons to the people with the highest bids.

Full cultural hall

Blog and travels

2009-05-28T06:08:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,

Mom wanted to know my blog address, it's www.stateofthestephen.blogspot.com

I will try to have updates on there a few times a week. Things here are going well. I have to keep it short because I'm headed to work here in a few minutes. Unfortunately I forgot to bring the cable that connects the camera to the computer, so I have pictures but just can't upload them yet to my laptop. When I get the cable I will have some interesting pictures for you all.

Much love,

Stephen

Pictures

2009-05-25T20:54:00.001-07:00

Coming back from Bend-The boys were (not) enjoying the scenery. Ashton is not dying from lack of oxygen, The blue tongue is blue gator aid.

Feather is injured so the boys had to settle for a tractor ride--but fun

Fun at the Ditto's

Toe Night

News

2009-05-25T20:08:00.000-07:00

I have some pictures but have kind of forgot how to get them on here. Hopefully they will follow shortly.
For those of you in the vicinity--Sarah and the twins, Aaron and Jani and kids will be here on the 11th and 12th. I think they will leave sometime on Friday. I would like to have a barbecue or some type of dinner here on Thursday Evening. Let me know what time works best. Can you be here by 6:30 ish.

Also,
Does anyone need directions to the Sunriver house. If you don't, your memory is better than mine. Let me know if anyone needs directions.

Kaysha and I went to Bend yesterday after church and came back this afternoon. We planted flowers for Lucille. I hope they do well.

Deena's big run is this weekend. Be thinking of her early Saturday morning and cheer her on. She will be the first Robbins to ever run more than a few miles.

Love you all--MOM

Stephen is far away

2009-05-25T05:39:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, it's me Stephen. I'm writing from Bogota, waiting for my flight to Lima. Turns out I'm about to leave, but my bags won't get to Chiclayo (my ultimate destination) until later tonight. Continental told me that I could pick up my bags in Lima, but apparently in Colombia Continental doesn't work that way. The lesson? Fly Delta.

Random Tidbits from the Petersons

2009-05-21T06:22:00.001-07:00

Some of Logan's 6-month pictures. It was so hard to pick just one...so we ended up getting this frame and picking out these pictures to fill it.

We had a fun evening last Saturday, watching a Salt Lake Bees game. We (meaning Logan) didn't last the whole game, but it sure was nice just chillin on a blanket in the outfield.

Logan - just hanging out on the recliner.

In his jumperoo. He loves this thing, and you would be amazed how this kid can jump!!!

This picture got rotated when I downloaded it, and I don't know how to fix that. So, you'll have to turn your head sideways to get the full picture. Logan managed to pick up this tub of random baby items and dump them out. I was surprised that he was strong enough to pick it up when it was full of stuff. Look out mommy and daddy!

Tweet Tweet

2009-05-21T06:07:00.000-07:00

A while back we noticed that a robin built a nest on top of one of the poles from our back patio covering, right next to the house. I often see the robin leaving the nest when open the sliding door to go into the back yard, but other than that, I really hadn't paid much attention to the nest until yesterday. I was quite excited yesterday when I looked up and saw little beaks sticking out of the nest. I thought that was pretty neat and wished that Logan was old enough to appreciate it. (Knowing that he wouldn't appreciate it, I called Dawn who could tell her kids (who saw the nest when they were here). Maybe they could share in my excitement.)

Well, come to find out, that was nothing compared to what I would see later in the afternoon. I happened to go out back right when momma robin was feeding her babies. I saw 3 or 4 baby birds with their long necks stretched out, their heads up and beaks open while the momma dropped food into their beaks. Wow! Too bad I didn't think of grabbing the camera.

I did snap a quick shot of a couple of the babies later that evening. How nice to have little friends out back.

I also wanted to throw in a picture of my favorite flowers out back. They are in full bloom right now. We only wish that the blooms would last longer!

Just a Little Tip

2009-05-14T11:46:00.000-07:00

When you smell something melting or burning, there's probably something wrong. The last few times that I ran my dishwasher, I smelled something similar to what we used to smell at home when some plastic item would fall down into the bottom of the dishwasher and melt. I opened the dishwasher, and surprisingly, it didn't smell all that bad inside, and I couldn't see any melting object, so I just ignored the smell. Oops!

So, I continued to run the dishwasher with its smell until a couple of days ago when it just quit - in the middle of a cycle. Turns out that my dishwasher was hooked up wrong and the wires and wire caps (Dad, is that what you call them?) were melting. Yikes! We were probably pretty lucky that we didn't start a fire. We got the thing re-installed, and we once again have clean dishes - this time with no smell!

Lesson learned. (I think.)

Ready or Not...Here I Come

2009-05-12T10:26:00.000-07:00

Just thought I'd share these pictures of Logan. I put him down on the middle of the blanket then went around the corner into the kitchen to make myself a sandwich. When I came back into the front room with my sandwich, this is what I saw...

I thought it was pretty cute, so I grabbed the camera. Logan was loving the leg of that table! As you can see, he is really getting around. No, he's not crawling yet. He just likes to roll and roll and roll. He throws a little scooting in there once in a while, too.

The ups and downs of teaching

2009-04-17T21:10:00.000-07:00

My 6th grade class are great kids but seem to have trouble reading the directions. I just don't get it. What part of "Use two bowls, one for the dry ingredients and one for creaming the butter and sugar" do they not understand? It is right up there with the 8th graders who were mashing their potatoes in a a colander with the potatoes squishing through the holes all over the counter.

Yesterday for parent conferences I had a mother (big woman) come in with a tank top on and big tattoos on both arms. One was a naked woman--very anatomically correct--with wings. Now, why would she think that would be appropriate to show with a bunch of kids around. And we wonder why her son is a little squirrely. Actually, someone told me she just got out of prison.
Now, on a happier note. Yesterday my middle schoolers made Steamed broccoli and cheese sauce. They ate every bit. One mother told me her son wouldn't eat hers. She uses Campbells cheese soup.
Today, at the Alternative school, we ate the split pea soup that we made from leftover Easter Ham bones. We fixed it in the $4 crock pots I bought at Walmart. They made homemade biscuits and I brought some homemade jam, we set the table with placemats, etc. They loved the soup, took the leftovers home and ate all the biscuits. All our cost was about $1.00 worth of peas and an onion. A great meal for our "Dining on a Dime" class. They ate, we visited and it was great.
It's nice to have those great days to make up for the "What am I doing wrong days?"
Love you all, MOM

Where Are You?

2009-04-15T08:44:00.000-07:00

This is simply a reminder to those siblings whose names start with "K," that we haven't heard from you in quite a while. A short post would suffice. Pictures would be a bonus. Can't wait to hear what you've been up to.

Savvy Shopper

2009-03-31T12:35:00.001-07:00

Ok, so I think I'm a savvy shopper (at least once in a while). In reality, I'd love to be a savvy shopper, but it only happens occasionally. This was my most recent success:

Yes, we are cereal junkies at our house, and that is a picture of 17 boxes of cereal (which we will easily eat before their expiration dates). The total cost? $24

But wait, that's not all... In addition, I received coupons (also in the picture) for $5 off my next shopping trip and for one free gallon of milk. What a deal!

While I'm posting, I thought I'd also throw in a picture of what we woke up to yesterday morning. Yes, that was March 30, 2009.

And, I can't post without throwing in a picture of Logan. This was taken yesterday as well.

Back in Action

2009-03-23T07:28:00.000-07:00

We have been missing in action, but we're back! Actually, we've had computer issues, but that's a whole 'nother story that we won't get into. We have enjoyed some fun things recently. A few weeks ago, Logan and I spent a few days in CA with the Joneses while Garrick was in Chicago for work. We had a great time! Unfortunately, my camera spent 99% of the time there in my suitcase. The one thing that I did take a picture of was Logan's new favorite toy.

Thanks to Dawn, we now have this favorite toy in Utah. Seriously, it's perfect...Logan can hold it with both hands (which means it doesn't get dropped onto the floor quite as often as other toys), he can chew it, and to top it all off, it looks scary! We took it to church with us a few weeks ago, and boy did Logan ever get some fun looks. It really made some people laugh!

We spent the 11-14 of March down in St George, UT and Las Vegas. Garrick met with his professor and we watched BYU play in the Mountain West Conference tournament. We had a lot of fun, but we also learned that it's much harder to travel with a baby than it used to be. Logan no longer sleeps in any environment. He likes to be in his bed where it's quiet. We went to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner one night. Logan was super tired, and we thought he'd fall asleep on the way there. He did. So, we ordered, ate some bread, and by then, Logan was awake - and fussy. I'll spare you the details, but let's just say that Garrick and I each ate alone that night, swapping baby duties. : ) Once again, I took the camera on that trip and didn't take a single picture.

We've had a week of AWESOME weather. It's been in the 60's and 70's. A group of administrators from Canby school district visitied Garrick's school last week, and they commented how much they loved the weather. They wondered if it was always that beautiful here. Answer: Often, but not always. Exhibit A: Outside the window right now. Snow flurries?!? This week's forecast: Not nearly so pleasant.

Well, to wrap things up, I thought I'd post a few more Logan pictures. (Cause that's what a mom does : ))

Enjoying his Bumbo seat (wearing tie-dye, courtesy of Aunt Kaysha).

Just being a big boy. (He did roll over on Friday. He squirms around on the floor but has only once rolled all the way over.) I love how this last picture kinda looks like we gave him a buzz haircut. Ha ha. Maybe we would if he had hair. : )

A Tribute to Dad, by Stephen

2009-03-15T19:24:00.000-07:00

Last night I played in a Law School All-Star Basketball game. It was fun and I was pretty excited to be playing in it. Mom and Dad came down, along with Dawn and her girls. It was really just a bunch of out-of-shape law students running around, pretending/wishing they were in high school again.

Early on in the game I realized that it really wasn't a very entertaining game to watch. Yet there in the front row were Mom and Dad. Dad was struggling with the heat a little bit, but seemed happy anyways.

I thought about all the hundreds, make it thousands of games that Dad attended over the years, usually after a full 8-12 hour day at work. And let's face it people, most of these games were not pretty. 8 year olds playing baseball. 10 year olds "dribbling" around with their head down, traveling on every play, shooting from their chest with both hands, only to have the ball slam off the backboard without hitting the rim. Heck, that description doesn't just apply to our teams when we were 10, it applies to my high school varsity team as well.

But Dad was always there, as far as I can remember. I know he was tired, especially when I was playing basketball in high school. When we played in Salem he wouldn't even really have time to go home before the game, and even when we'd be losing to Sprague 37-6 at half time, he'd stick around to see how it finished. He would always tell me I played well, even when I didn't.

So after Saturday's All-Star game, I was most anxious to talk to Dad, to hear him tell me I played well just one more time. And he did.

Dad is a good guy. He's goofy and weird sometimes, but that's part of what makes him great. I hope we can all let Dad know how much he means to us, maybe tell him a story about a time when he did something meaningful for us individually, and maybe we could spend a little less time teasing him or making fun of him. Just a thought.

T-Shirts and Stuff

2009-02-22T21:55:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone, Stephen here! I thought it might be time for an update.

A few weeks ago I decided to sell some t-shirts I had made. You can check them out here, the second post down. It's a picture I did of a guy from the Trail Blazers, Rudy Fernandez. Anyhow, I got a few Blazer blogs to mention the t-shirt, and somehow I've managed to sell a few. Then a bunch of random Spanish sports blogs did little stories on the t-shirts, including Marca, which is the biggest sports newspaper in Spain. You can read (or just look at the Spanish words) their article about my t-shirt here. It was a little weird to see my art work on their website, especially considering the fact that overall as an artist I've pretty much always been a failure. Sure, I've managed to get a few things up at Mom and Dad's house, but considering some of the grandchildren chicken scratch on the fridge (no offense) I'd say it's not much of an accomplishment. If you google "rudy-lucion camiseta" you'll find a bunch of other Spanish blogs that mentioned the t-shirt, which is crazy.

I was also able to have someone hand deliver a t-shirt to Rudy himself, and I've got a picture of him with the shirt, but I've been told not to publish it. Oh well. Apparently he thought it was pretty cool, according to one of the journalists at Marca who later contacted me about the shirts. He told me Rudy had told him about getting it.

My buddy David from HS sent me a text the other day from the Blazer game to say that one of the fans participating in one of the half-time games was wearing one of my shirts. They're popping up everywhere!

One last thing, I am trying to raise money for an internship I got for this summer in Peru. You can read about it here at my special internship blog. Essentially it's a group that is working on changing the juvenile justice system in Peru, trying to get it to focus more on rehabilitation and teaching social responsibility to youth, rather than throwing them in jail for years at a time for committing minor crimes, which as you can imagine just makes the situation worse. I realize that everyone is on a budget, and these are hard times, but if you know any really rich people who'd like to help me out, tell them about my blog, it's really easy to make a contribution.

I love you all and hope you're doing well.

Stephen

Jacob rocks, Dad's blanket from Dawn and Jon

2009-02-18T18:56:00.000-08:00

Jacob has some talent. He followed the instructions and built this cool fort. Way to go Jacob.

Here I am modeling my cool birthday present from Dawn and Jon. Sort of an upscale newspaper blanket. The very cool duct tape shades behind the glasses, courtesy of Kaysha.

A close up of the cool duct tape shades. Being camoflage makes them cooler.

A better look at Dawn and Jon's handiwork. Pretty good job.

Chick Magnet

2009-02-03T14:05:00.001-08:00

I can't post with at least including one picture of Logan. Here he is with an adorable sweater knit by the sister of a lady in our ward. Garrick is anti-the hat, saying that Logan will someday be embarrassed by the pictures we took of him wearing it, but I think it's adorable. I put it on him at the tail end of R.S. on Sunday, and 4 girls that live just a couple of houses down walked in to get their mom. They were all ooohhhs and ahhhhs over Logan and his outfit. I told Garrick, "That's it, you lose. That hat is a chick magnet!"

Recipe Share

2009-02-03T13:14:00.000-08:00

Lately I've really gotten tired of always eating the same (what seems like) 5 or 6 dishes. In fact, Garrick and I made a list of all of the things that we cook, mostly just to give me ideas. Anyway, I've tried a few different things from allrecipes.com. This one was a hit...http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Salsa-Chicken-Rice-Casserole/Detail.aspx. We had Costco's "Jack's Special Salsa" to use in it. I'm not sure if good salsa was the key or if it's just a good recipe. We especially enjoyed "dipping" tortilla chips in the casserole. (Who wouldn't?)

I thought I'd share a dessert recipe as well. I haven't made this, but I ate it at a Relief Society activity, and it was fabulous!

Apple Cake
4 c. diced fresh apples
1/2 c. oil
1 c. chopped nuts
2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking soda
2 c. sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon

Combine apples and sugar. Mix together with oil, eggs, nuts, and vanilla. Add dry ingredients and mix well. Pour into greased 9 x 13 pan. Bake at 350 for 1 hour. The recipe says to frost with cream cheese frosting, but we had the cake served with warm butterscotch sauce over the top. That's how I recommend it.

Butterscotch Sauce
1 1/2 c. brown sugar
1/3 c. butter
3/4 c. light corn syrup
1/8 t. salt
1 c. cream, half-and-half, or evaporated milk

Cook sugar, butter, corn syrup, and salt together, stirring until sugar is completely dissolved. Add cream slowly, stirring constantly. Cook until syrup thickens, or to 228 degrees on a candy thermometer. Serve hot on ice cream or steamed pudding (or apple cake). Makes about 2 cups.

More Christmas Photos

2009-01-28T10:12:00.001-08:00

Well, I took my camera to Oregon for Christmas (and left it there, might I add), and I only took a couple of pictures. Lame! But, I'll share what I have. : )

So sweet...

Playing Chinese Checkers...

"One more time, please..."

A family tradition. We finished it!...

Rain, Rain (Make the Snow) Go Away

2009-01-28T10:03:00.000-08:00

I know you Oregonians sing "Rain, Rain Go Away." Here in Utah, the song is something like, "Rain, Rain, Make the Snow Go Away." In fact, for its snow-melting qualities, we'll even sing things like, "Bring on the Rain." Here's a picture that I took about a week after we got home from Oregon. Our house has looked like this since before Christmas!

We got a couple of days of rain, and low and behold, the ice-encrusted driveway was finally ice and snow free! (Thanks to a little shoveling.)

This past weekend, Garrick and I headed down to St George, where he was speaking at a conference for principals. (Let me just throw in that it's supposed to be warm in St George, but it was only about 40 degrees while we were there. Bummer!) Anyway, while we were gone, it snowed here in Orem, and there was no one to shovel our walk and driveway. Our ice-free driveway is no longer. In fact, it's much worse than it ever was before. Now it's covered in old, crunchy snow that will be impossible to shovel. Once again I sing, "Bring on the Rain!"

Reviving the blog

2009-01-26T20:41:00.000-08:00

I have been checking the blog every few days hoping to get a glimpse of something new, but apparently we are in blog duldrums. (except for Deyce and sometimes us). I therefore have decided to enter a few photos and comments :)

Here is a photo of Chrismas morning in Albany.

Kelly and Ashton are braving the elements to rake the dreaded December leaves.

Logan is not overly excited about this Christmas morning thing. His world consists mainly of eating and sleeping (although not long hours of sleep)

Just a visual reminder that your inheritance will not be wasted on expensive caskets for our funerals. Pine boxes for us, more money for you! That is unless the economy doesn't improve, in which case we may be bringing ourselves and our pine boxes to live with you.

Great Grandpa and Claire

This was the day of our RS retreat in September. A beautiful day on the beach Peggy McIllmoil, Rosalind Robbins, Kris Farrar

edit

2009-01-04T17:39:00.000-08:00

For what it's worth, on the card the cowboy was carrying a calf, not a lamb. Also, Grandpa Couch's birthday is the 16th of this month.
Love MOM

Freebies

2009-01-04T17:07:00.000-08:00

I'm always up for a freebie or two. We were walking through the mall yesterday and were stopped and asked if we were interested in having photos taken; we'd get a free 5 x 7. Logan was asleep, but we said, "Maybe on our way out." Well, he'd woken up by then, so we went ahead with the photo shoot. Logan cooperated for the first two poses. Here they are:

Christmas vacation

2009-01-03T21:22:00.000-08:00

Sorry, no pictures. I did take a few before the camera got burried under a heap of "stuff" on my desk. That heap is partially demolished but not completely. It was wonderful having everyone here. If you are living in the land of sunshine, you will really appreciate it after being here this week. For the rest of us, I'm sure we will be in for more.

Grandpa sent a Christmas card with a poem that he wrote. He was very proud of it and I know he meant it to be for all of us. It also was burried in the heap. I wanted to put it here so you all could read it. He found a picture of a cowboy carrying a lamb in the snow. He took it to print shop and they printed the card with the poem in it

To our friends and
loved ones far and near

The ones we hold in
our hearts so dear

Merry Christmas and
A Happy New Year

Wishing you all the best
My Love,
Mahlon
Dad
Grandpa
Great Grandpa

Have a great new year, Love Mom

Capturing a Smile

2008-12-17T07:47:00.000-08:00

Sometimes it can be so hard to capture a smile on camera - especially if you're the only one home and you're holding the smiling child. That makes for a photo that's a little too close up!

We hope you're not too tired of pictures of Logan, but he's pretty much what consumes our time, thoughts, and energy. He's doing much better lately. We're thinking we need to change our monthly budget to include extra gas money (for trips to get him to sleep or just to stop crying) and Mylicon drops (gas relief that's safe for babies). Both seem to be helping! In addition, mommy has wondered if her diet is affecting the little guy. So, at least for now, she's off of chocolate and citrus fruits. Do you know how hard that is? I made Oreo truffles the other day (3 batches) without eating a single bite! Not to mention, it's orange season, and Costco oranges are awesome! I may try them out again before too long. We'll see...

Famous

2008-12-10T22:03:00.000-08:00

Dad and I went to the Blazer game the other day, and we managed to get on TV. Check it out.

My Best Night!!!

2008-12-02T17:36:00.000-08:00

I had my best night of sleeping on Sunday night. Guess where I slept...in my carseat! I slept for 3 hours, then got up to eat and slept 3 more hours. Mom was loving it! This is how I felt about it...
- Logan

Baby Blessing

2008-12-02T17:32:00.001-08:00

Garrick blessed Logan on Sunday. It was beautiful. We were grateful to have the Joneses, the Knoxes, and Garrick's parents and sister there.

Isn't he cute in his little outfit? Logan had some serious dry skin on his scalp last week. I bought a baby brush and brushed it and put lotion on it. The result: the dry skin is finally gone, but so is his hair. He aged about 40 years last week. :)

Almost Ready to Babysit

2008-12-02T17:29:00.001-08:00

Just thought I'd post these cute pictures of the Jones kids holding Logan. I think they're just about ready to be babysitters. : )

Babysitting Anyone?

2008-11-23T11:06:00.000-08:00

Kaysha, Are you still interested in babysitting while we're in Oregon? Any other takers?

Our "Little Man"

2008-11-21T10:28:00.000-08:00

Any Guesses?

2008-11-21T08:51:00.001-08:00

This isn't the greatest picture, but at least you get the idea...I had a nice cut above my eye and a little bruiser underneath. Does anyone want to guess the cause?

* Logan is quite a strong little boy, and yes, he can really get his arms going. (This is usually a sign that he's about to cry.) But, he is not responsible for my owie.

* I haven't been to work in nearly 4 weeks, so the jr high kids can't be blamed either.

* All right. You give up? It was a self-inflicted wound. Garrick came home from work for lunch on election day, and I was going to run out to vote. I went into the garage, walked up to the car, and opened the door right into my head. Lovely! I can't blame my stupidity on being pregnant, but can I at least use the lack of sleep excuse?

Greetings from Eugene

2008-11-09T18:45:00.001-08:00

Hey everyone, this is Stephen and I posted the funny clip below. I thought it was funny but also kind of profound in a way. To think that people used to just stop doing things when they ran out of money! That is kind of a strange concept in this day in age, when credit card companies are anxious to give you money for doing nothing. The temptation is always there to do more than you can afford, to live just a little bit outside of your means.

Things in Eugene are going ok. I really like school. I probably wouldn't mind just staying in school forever, except it really doesn't pay very well. This probably means that I'll end up being a professor someday, since professors get to study whatever they want, when they want. They get paid to take time off to study. Awesome!

The rain has official struck, which is kind of crappy, but I keep reminding myself that at least it's not snow! One thing I don't really miss about Utah is the constant struggle to stay warm. Gloves, hats, sweaters on top of sweaters, big poofy jackets, etc. and yet you still feel cold.

Oksana is still working part time at Bath and Body Works (which we are having a hard time not calling "Bed Bath Body Works and Beyond," for some reason) while looking for something more permanent and full time. Job searches are never fun, and she is learning all about what a frustrating experience it really is.

I hope everyone is doing well, and let's see some updates a little bit more often!

Stephen

Be grateful

2008-11-08T11:06:00.001-08:00

2008-10-19T19:42:00.000-07:00

I have had a few requests for an updated picture (just what everyone wants to have taken in their last little bit of pregnancy). I have been fortunate to still feel pretty good in spite of feeling BIG and less mobile. It is getting harder to get a good night's sleep, but I really can't complain. We are starting to count down by days now (12 to go). We do realize that little Logan could come at any time, though. We hope we're ready. : )

Now for an update on the Petersons... We have been able to do some fun things lately, in spite of my current state. Just over a week ago we took a Friday off and used a gift certificate that we had to a bed and breakfast in Midway. We had a nice, relaxing time.

After that nice break, we only had 3 days of school before fall break. Every week should be a 3-day week!

On Wednesday night we enjoyed a free dinner & lecture on fire safety at Carraba's Restaurant.

Garrick spent Thursday working on his dissertation while I painted the bathroom. (Thank you, Kaysha, for your suggestion of the $5 paint samples from Sherwin Williams. It only took us 2 tries to get a color that we liked. Hooray!) We were excited for BYU's big football game on Thursday night, but it turned out to be quite a disappointment. Garrick had a softball game, and we were sad that we were going to miss the 2nd half of the football game, but it turned out that missing the 2nd half wasn't a big deal.

On Friday Garrick did more work on his dissertation while I worked on random projects. I did decide that I needed to make some sort of blanket for my baby since I tend to make them for other people's babies. Anyway, a worker at the fabric store told me about a receiving blanket that she made, and I copied her idea. I think it turned out pretty cute. I stitched along all of the squiggly lines with white thread, so you can see it on the plaid back.

Friday night we went to the musical "Aida" at the Hale Center Theater. They did a great job.

Yesterday I coached the YW volleyball team while Garrick worked even more on his dissertation. We also did some shopping, cleaning, working in the yard, etc. It was nice to get so much done this "weekend" while also doing some fun things. Tomorrow we're back to work...

So, there you have our little update. I also thought I'd send along a few pictures of our nursery. The pictures will be much cuter once there's a little guy in them, but at least you can see what it looks like. Thanks to Stephen for the cute dinosaur pictures and to Kaysha for letting us use them and to mom for getting to the post office and sending them!

Away with the big Car Seats

2008-10-13T10:37:00.001-07:00

We have finally all moved on to booster seats!! Now we look forward someday to no car seats at all!!

Fluffy 'Salads'

2008-10-12T08:28:00.000-07:00

So, I thought I'd pass along a couple of yummy fluffy 'salad' recipes. Sharon brought both of these to my baby shower, and I had to get the recipes. We made the first one a week or two ago and loved it. I will warn you - they really qualify more as desserts than salads. But, hey, if you want to feel better about eating them, by all means, call them salads.

Fluffy Jello Salad (needs a new name in my opinion)

1 lg. box vanilla cook & serve pudding
3 1/4 c. water
6-oz pkg raspberry Jell-0
12 oz. container Cool Whip
1 bag frozen raspberries

In saucepan, mix water and pudding. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in Jello-o powder. Cool overnight or until set. Beat pudding with a mixer. Fold in Cool Whip and fruit. Refrigerate.
Note: I used Oregon boysenberries, and this was fabulous. I think it'd be fun to experiment with different flavors and fruits, too.

Mello-Jello
bottom layer: 1 lg. orange Jell-o. Cook as directed.
1 lg. lemon cook & serve pudding. Cook as directed.

Mix these two together while hot. They won't blend completely. That's ok. Put in a 9x13" pan. Refrigerate 3-4 hours or overnight.

top layer: 1 sm. lemon instant pudding
1 c. milk
2 c. Cool Whip
1 can mandarin oranges

Mix lemon pudding with 1 c. milk. Blend in Cool Whip. Spread on top of refrigerated bottom layer. Top with mandarins.

Bend

2008-10-09T21:41:00.000-07:00

Grandpa had a cist taken off his spine yesterday. He is back home and doing fine. He has changed a lot-had quite a spiritual experience with some prayer a while back. He doesn't think he can ride again, well he could probably ride but would have trouble with getting the saddle on. It was sweet tonight because he wondered what he could do to take the g grandkids for a ride when they come if he doesn't have a horse. He thinks he knows where he can "borrow one for a day or so. He is anxious to build memories again with the great grand kids. I told him the Brent and Dustin could saddle a horse (hope that's right). Anyway, I wanted you all to know that they are welcoming family (as long as you help cook and clean). They are a lot of fun. Lucille has filled a spot in Twyla and My hearts since mom died--and also supplied us with much needed information. I hope you all learn to love her as we have. Grandpa is very happy and very much at peace with life. I'm sure they would love notes, calls and or visits. Love you all, MOM

Falling off the face of the earth

2008-10-06T20:21:00.000-07:00

It seems like forever since I have done this... oh wait it has been. Our shutter on our camera broke so instead of paying the money to fix it (which was about half of a new one). We decided to upgrade of course it took me many months looking for the right deal and deciding what I really wanted to do. So in August I finally bought a camera, but still have not put any pictures up so here I go. Dustin and I took the task of hand painting the house this september. Two coats!! I will post pictures soon. It's grizzle grey!! Anyways we finished that about a week ago. I am officially sick of painting, but it looks great. I am busy running kids what seems like a hundred different directions. I have the three boys going to 4 schools. Braden is enjoying 1st grade. Ashton is at Santiam christian this year 3 days a week. Cody is attending Crescent Valley preschool this year again 3 days a week. I figure the more social interaction for him the better, and also going to Dixie school 3 days a week. So we are busy but doing great!!!

Family trip to Bend

2008-10-06T20:08:00.000-07:00

Ok so I have to laugh at this picture for the only fact that dawn your family pictures always look so perfect all the kids looking at the camera and smiling so this is what I usually get!! And you just deal with it :)

To think this stallion needs a wheelchair who would ever know!!!

Here is a picture of Mom and Braden in bend. I thought it was a cute picture.

We went to Bend in september and stayed a night with Grandpa, Mom and Dad, and Aunt Twyla and Uncle Bob. We had lots of fun. Here is grandpa giving the boys a tractor ride. They thought this was the coolest!!

Pictures from the homestead

2008-09-26T15:02:00.000-07:00

Some Pictures of the new pavers by the woodpile. It is awesome!

George checks things out

Here comes George

one of the SMALLER potatoes from our garden this year (just kidding) this thing is HUGE.

I threw in the bowl and glass for perspective.

Almost There

2008-09-24T19:56:00.000-07:00

No, I'm not referring to the birth of our baby boy. I'm talking about our kitchen. We are still waiting for the installation of the drawer fronts and handles, but our cupboards have doors for the first time in months! It's quite exciting. Steve is supposed to come tomorrow to finish the job. Hooray!

Of course, we still have to finish the touch up on the red paint and on some of the cupboards. Someday we'll be all the way done!

Embarazada!

2008-09-13T07:44:00.001-07:00

Lower Salmon River

2008-08-24T01:06:00.000-07:00

So today Melissa and I ventured to the Lower Salmon River for a little hiking/swimming. My hiking book said the the river is "suitable for a chilly summer swim." Um...I think chilly is an understatement. I'm pretty sure the water was snow melt off from today - it was SO cold. Anyway upon arriving at the swimming hole Melissa saw a pop can in the depths of the river and dared me to put my goggles on and fish it out. You know me...can't pass up a good dare - so I went for it. Good news is I was able to retrieve the pop bottle, bad new is that I'm pretty sure I froze some serious brain cells in the process!!

Preparing for the big dive.

Going for the gold.

We've got a winner - mission accomplished.

updates

2008-08-18T08:10:00.000-07:00

My new kitchen at school (not a very good picture)

Great food supplied by ward members and Valentina

The Worthens from Albany

Valentina made this beautiful cake. A friend added the flowers

Stephen and Oksana's Utah open house

sunriver & etc.

2008-08-03T14:12:00.000-07:00

We are booked next year June 15-20. --same house for one more year.

Also, we didn't do any family name drawings for Christmas. Do you want to do that again this Christmas. Since we may not all be together for Christmas, I don't know what your feelings are on it. If you will each e-mail me, then I can kind of compile everyone's thoughts. Sorry, I should have taken care of this at Sunriver.

You are all welcome to come for Christmas, or anytime, but I won't count on you unless I hear from you---Love you all, Mom

Albany

2008-08-01T21:12:00.001-07:00

I will title this one: "Deena's Legacy". Stephen and Oksana moved today. After we came back from Eugene, we took the stereo cabinet out of the closet in Stephen's Room (Yeah!). In order to do that we had to take the closet door off. Other than the 31 years of dust on the inside ledges, which never occured to me to dust, there was this interesting ribbon tied to the inside with several knots. Those of you old enough, may remember when Deena went through the knot tying stage. She tied ribbon, string, thread, whatever, to doors, etc. Obviously this is one that we never saw. It has been there for a lot of years. Who else would have done it?

Look alikes. I think Ashton looks a lot like Jeremy, Jason and Talana's son. We had a great time when they visited for a night this week. I took a family picture of them but somehow it got lost in the camera or ???

Kelly, Audryanne, Stephen and Oksana went for a hike at Silver Creek Falls. I sat by the creek and read National Geographic.

Dad and I took a stroll--I strolled, he rolled. It was a beautiful day.

Trekkers

2008-07-13T20:13:00.001-07:00

So I guess you can't get the full effect of our pioneer outfits when my bonnet is down, but you can probably use your imagination. I think this picture was taken at about 5 am in the church parking lot. We are both showered and clean at this point. These clothes had only been worn for a few minutes, which was nothing compared to the 3 days that we would spend in them. : )

Other than the stinky clothes and the lack of a shower, we had a great experience on trek. We felt like we learned a lot about the pioneers, we were able to experience the winds of Wyoming (and could only imagine how it would feel if they were blowing cold air and snow), we appreciated the efforts of the rescuers from Salt Lake, and we felt the Spirit as we worked with the youth of our ward.

Even though we weren't hard core trekkers (apparently the Lebanon stake was), we are grateful that we had this opportunity.

- Deyce & Garrick

To Watch or Not to Watch

2008-07-13T20:05:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to pass along a neat website that I ran across yesterday. We were looking for a movie to watch, and I was interested in why a few movies were rated the way they were rated. This website www.kids-in-mind.com gives very detailed descriptions of occurences of sex & nudity, violence & gore, and profanity in movies. It rates the movie in each of these three areas on a scale of 1-10, with a 10 meaning that it is very prevalent. Anyway, I spent a few minutes looking up some movies, and then I discovered that you can also search for movies based on your criteria for cleanliness. For example, you can say that you are looking for a movie that is a 3 or less in sex & nudity, a 4 or less in violence & gore, and a 2 or less in profanity. It will then pull up all of the movies (in their database) with those numbers. Pretty cool! I thought it would be especially helpful with kids. So, check it out!

Sunriver II

2008-06-08T20:07:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the grammar error in there

Just wanted to give you the directions:
Take the Cottonwood exit

At Circle 10 take the Circle 9 exit

At Circle 9 go on Gray Birch to Circle 6

At Circle 6 Take the Kinglet exit and turn on Red Wing

It is 2nd or 3rd house on right--#9

Redwing #9

Sunriver

2008-06-08T19:49:00.000-07:00

I was in Bend this weekend so I called the real estate people and since the house was empty I drove down and took a tour. There are some pros and cons.
The kitchen is very nice but maybe not quite as awesome as the last two years. There is a fridge and an extra one near the garage. The seating for meals is fantastic. There are two tables and a bar. The total seating is 21 + a highchair. The garage has 6 cruiser bikes, all in good condition with what looked to me like new tires. There are two children's bikes and a tandem bike. The garage is HUGE.
The house seems a little less private than some. I'm not sure if the houses are closer together or if there are just a few less trees around. On the main floor is three bedrooms and three upstairs. Dad and I need the first bedroom to the left as you walk in. It is handicapped equipped. There is a very nice master suite downstairs for someone with many children. The problem with the bedrooms is there is not as much floor space as we've had in the past. I wrote down who I thought would go in each room, but you are welcome to do as you wish. If the Joneses take the downstairs master, either the Dittos or the Burgesses will be a little crowded or some kids may have to come sleep with Grandma and Grandpa.
The bunk room would work well for the Burgesses or Dittos. There is a double bunk for parents and then the three beds, one down and two up. The Petersons get a room, the Stephen Robbins Family gets a room, Kelly gets the loft, which I think we can make a little private by moving some furniture and Valentina has a hideabed in the game room--I hope this is OK. There is a game room upstairs with a foosball table and a pool table, TV and Valentina's bed. I know this isn't perfect, but I think we will do fine. They have a 5000 sq ft, 8 bedroom house we could get next year but we would need some contributions. We could also go back to the Conifer Lane house, the one by the park, which has 7 bedrooms. The beds look great, it is just the floor space that is skimpy, and those big log beds look a little heavy to move. Hope you are all anxious to come--sorry about the gas prices--We love you all.
MOM

QUACK QUACK!

2008-06-01T08:26:00.001-07:00

For those of you who haven't heard, I was accepted into the University of Oregon school of law! It was hard to pass on Santa Clara. It would have been fun to go some place completely new, and I think the Bay Area would have provided a lot of good opportunities for us both. But U of O is close to home, and a heck of a lot cheaper! Oksana and I are both excited to move to Eugene and start our new life together.

My biggest dilemma is wondering what to do with my Duck/Beaver loyalties. Do I embrace Duck-hood, and cut ties to my Beaver past? Or do I continue as closeted Beaver fan? Suggestions?

Saturday Morning

2008-05-24T10:24:00.000-07:00

Possible reasons for Dad's early morning Saturday attire:
a. He is becoming a Seventh Day Adventist
b. Time flies by when you're over 60 (I wouldn't know)
c. He loves meetings so much he wants to go every day.
d. He likes getting up really early every day.

News from Albany

2008-05-22T19:15:00.000-07:00

Deyce, Garrick and Mom went to Silver Creek Falls when they were here in April. It wasn't the warmest of days but we didn't have to fight the crowds.

Dad, Kelly, and I went to Tryton Creek State Park for the Trillian Festival. It was a very eco friendly and socially friendly bunch of people. This park is right up the road from Lewis and Clark College. I think it is about 800 acres.

Our new Bathroom. We began on April 21st and finished today, May 22nd.

I have a new calling. I am the ward Activities Chairman and I am pretty much scared to death. It was on my list of "I never want to do that things". If I do well it will be because of divine intervention, not from any social skills on my part. The only thing that is keeping me from "going over the edge" is the knowledge that I have been called to do many things that I didn't think I could do-primary chorister- for example. I have learned that Heavenly Father helps us accomplish things that we may not feel adequate to do. We stretch a little and grow a lot. For this I guess I should feel thankful--and I'm sure I will feel thankful, but not quite yet :)

More Projects...

2008-05-18T20:15:00.000-07:00

Apparently I am going to get the "Blogger of the Month" award. You guys didn't know it existed? If you post 3 times in a row, you're automatically in the final runnings. : )

Anyway, I just thought I'd share the results of our most recent update to the house. We had plantation shutters put in the front room last week, and we really like them! We also took down the wooden blinds that were on the sliding door and put up a decorative curtain rod.

New Due Date

2008-05-12T12:23:00.000-07:00

I had my second doctor's appointment on Friday. The doctor was looking over the paperwork and said, "Sometimes the nurses forget that it is a leap year." Apparently, he recalculated my due date as Oct 31. Not that it really matters exactly when the due date is, but how much more exciting to say we're due in October rather than November! Anyway, we have an ultrasound scheduled for June 13. We're very excited to find out what we're having, and we'll keep you posted. : )

Excitement Over A Sweet Deal

2008-04-23T11:08:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I'm a total shopping nerd, but I get really excited over great deals. When we were at Kelly's last week (thanks for the great dinner), I noticed she had quite a few boxes of cereal. I laughed because Garrick and I have a whole cupboard full. We often go for the deals like "10 for $20 then $5 off." (Not like 2 people need 10 or more boxes of cereal.) But, we do like to mix our cereal, and it's nice to have a variety on hand. Anyway, Kelly mentioned that she had gotten the cereal on a steal of a deal. I can't remember what it was, but it seems like it was less than a dollar. Truth was, I was a little jealous. I don't know that I've found cereal for less than a dollar. That is, until this morning. : )

Smith's had an 8 for $8 deal, so I bought Strawberry Chex, Honey Nut Cheerios, Roasted Nut Granola Bars and a box of Sunkist fruit snacks. In addition, I had several coupons. The total for the 8 items: $4.50. What a steal! Yep, it made my day. I did have to laugh inside when the checkout lady totaled up my purchases and then commented, "Wow! Makes me wish I still had a family at home so I could take advantage of this great deal." She probably thought I was buying for a family of 3 or 4 kids. Nope. Just me and my hubby. : ) Luckily, we'll have Stephen there before too long. Hopefully he'll have to help us eat all of this cereal.

Speaking of cereal, let me give you some tips on cereal mixing. Try it out sometime. You just might become a cereal mixer, too.

The best way to mix: One flaky cereal with one non-flaky cereal (like Cheerios, Life, Chex). Some of the best combinations: Honey Bunches of Oats (any flavor) with Honey Nut Cheerios or Golden Grahams, and Cinnamon Honey Bunches with Cinnamon Life. I can also picture something like Special K with strawberries with Strawberry Chex. Yum.

The Lessons Learned from MacGyver

2008-04-20T22:20:00.000-07:00

Photoshop is fun!

2008-04-13T12:05:00.000-07:00

So I've been trying to teach myself some more photoshop lately. Here are a few pictures, you should be able to click on them for the larger version:

I'm So Proud of Me!

2008-04-10T13:07:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, this is Stephen here.

I recently designed a new logo for one of my favorite blogs, Basketbawful, and they actually decided to use it! Check it out.

Also, I don't know if everyone knows this or not, but I'm officially getting married (again, but for real this time). We decided on June 21st, but if any of you can't make it, let us know. We could also do it the weekend before the family vacation that way no one has to be in Oregon so early. Please let us know!

Happy Monday

2008-03-31T16:41:00.000-07:00

I thought you might enjoy a good laugh:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHg5SJYRHA0

One more . . .

2008-03-26T07:51:00.000-07:00

Most of the pictures I took at Deyce's game turned out kind of crappy because the lighting was so bad, but here's one that turned out well. This is Deyce's perfect FT:
Let me just say, it has been an awesome 4 years living here, due in large part to my big sister. It has not always been easy, There have been some tough times, but she has always been there for me. Wherever I end up going to school next year, one thing is for sure: I will miss her a lot.

Deyce's City League Game

2008-03-25T23:56:00.000-07:00

Tonight Garrick and I (this being Stephen) went to Deyce's City League Basketball game. It was fun. They came back from a 14 point 2nd half deficit, but ended up losing by 2. I decided to recreate the experience for you using this cool program on my computer called "Comic Life." Check it out, click on the picture to zoom in:

Sleepy time for all critters

2008-03-25T14:46:00.000-07:00

Braden and Ashton were staying with me when Ashton fell asleep on the sofa. Braden, wanting to make cookies, and I'm pretty sure, not wanting any competition for Grandma's time, found the ear muffs and put them on Ashton so that he wouldn't wake up while the mixer was going. It worked; we finished before he woke up.

Life's not so bad being a stray. Give me a box and I'm OK

It's been a looong winter in western Oregon and today the sun is out!

North side of the driveway, under weigelia bush, my spot, don't bother me!

Translator in Action!

2008-03-17T12:37:00.001-07:00

Check it out y'all!! Using my skills to serve the Trail Blazer community!!

Missing Tooth

2008-03-06T08:12:00.000-08:00

Braden has lost his Big front tooth!! Lucky for him he slept in his bed and placed the tooth in the proper place :) and the tooth fairy came.

This is not Porn

2008-03-06T08:07:00.001-08:00

So the boys are coloring in the hall.... so on and so forth. Ashton stands up and there is a huge blue marker spot on his pants. Oh no so I get his pants off to wash and then notice it's on his underwear too. So we take the underwear off and this is what remained! When it started to fade after a few washings it good like he had been beat on the butt really bad!!! WARNING::: Do not sit on markers

Neglect

2008-02-18T18:15:00.001-08:00

I will admit to having neglected my duties to the family blog. I don't even remember the last time I posted here! My personal blog has also gone to crap, so I'll try to do better on all counts when it comes to blogging.

Well for starters, I got accepted to the Lewis and Clark law school! It was kind of my first choice since it's relatively close to home and is supposed to be a pretty good school. It's real name is actually Northwestern School of Law of Lewis & Clark College, but you don't have to call it that. It has the 2nd best Environmental Law program in the country (according to Wikipedia, which is never ever wrong). I'm not sure that I'll go into Environmental Law (although I did just watch An Inconvenient Truth and it has me rethinking my future).

I'm going to wait to hear from some of the other schools, but for now I'm thinking I'll go to NSLLCC (Northwestern School of Law of Lewis & Clark College).

News from Albany

2008-02-16T08:06:00.000-08:00

This is my "Home Arts" class at the Alternative School. They don't know I am taking a picture so this in not staged. We bought these little wooden looms and the kids are so intent and focused that I can hardly get them to quit at the end of the period. One kid the other day told someone that he wasn't going to go to school that day but he wanted to be the first one done with his square.

One of my little 6th graders making the apple sliced in butter and cinnamon

Sunday afternoon at Grandma and Grandpa's after church. He's a pretty good cookie baker.

The sun is shinning today and we aren't quite sure how to take it. It is the false February spring that we get every year. It is supposed to be in the 60's tomorrow. It has been a bad financial week. I got a $206 speeding ticket 36 in a 20 school zone. I thought we were going to get a tax refund and we owe. Other than that, we are healthy and things are going great. We wish you were all closer so we could see you a little more often. Brent and Jacob were down last weekend. Our piano now has a new home so I hope is well used. Grandma Couch would have wanted it to be loved and used.

I posted a notice on the district e-mail for fabric for my class. I got one back from a Charlotte Burns. To make a medium sized story, short, she is the the Charlotte Burns that used to live across the street from Grandma and Grandpa. She came to Calapooia yesterday and brought some fabric and we visited some. It was fun.

Would anyone like to volunteer for the following duties for Sunriver:

Food: assignning nights, making list, and buying

Outside entertainment: Researching some things in the area, getting some costs, hours, etc

Inside activities: Maybe some evening games, fireside, or daytime sports, etc that we could do together.

Anything else you can think of. If you would like to take on any of this just let me know. Love MOM

The Rebuilt TV Cabinet

2008-02-08T17:14:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures of the rebuild job I did on our corner tv cabinet to accomodate the new tv. I was trying to figure out how to do this job at Christmas time when Stephen said, "Why don't you just cut it here and here." I considered his idea and it was a good one. So here are the pictures of how it turned out.

Above is a picture of the cabinet with the doors closed. It basically looks the same except for the trim I added to hide the cuts. I used some of the leftover walnut wood from Stephens coffee table. It is a little darker.

Above is a picture of the other side with the doors closed.

Above is as it looked before with the doors open.

Above we open the second set of hinges to achieve the "NEW" look with the cut portion opened up as well.

Above is a close up of the right side. If you look closely you will notice an angle bracket just above the TV. I had to add these to help stiffen things up. Cutting it made things pretty flimsy.

Above is the left side.

So there you have it. We sure do like the new TV. Kaysha's boys like it too. They enjoyed a Tom and Jerry cartoon this morning.

Dad

A little more snow

2008-01-27T12:04:00.000-08:00

Of course all of these pictures are taken from "inside" the house where it is warm.
Probably two to three inches so far.

The Oak Tree

The Back Yard

The Front Yard

More Front Yard

A Cold Hungry Little Squirrel.

Snow in Albany for Deyce's Birthday

2008-01-27T09:58:00.000-08:00

The snow looks beautiful. Mom is sooooo excited. I think she brought in about 400 loads of wood for the fire this morning. Ok, so it was only 4, but she is all dug in for day. Go Mom.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEYCE!!

It doesn't look as pretty as Utah but we will take it. ha ha.

Dad

Ward Christmas party

2008-01-26T09:10:00.001-08:00

This is a picture we took before our wards Christmas party. Brent and I were playing Mary and Joseph. I think Mary was much younger and much thinner (okay except for the full term belly part) but they had to take what they could get. :) I just think the kids look so adorable. They were so excited to dress up. Our chapel was decorated with buildings they constructed out of wood and fabric. At each building was a type of food you could buy with some money they gave you when you entered. They had hummus, figs, nuts, cookies, etc. It was really well put together. I do kind of wish they had had Santa (maybe in another room) but I realize that would have taken away from the whole spirit of the evening. So all in all it was a success.