McKenzie started writing these cute little notes to us and leaving them in random places for us to find. Yesterday, I was sitting in my chair, and she slipped one next to me while she was giving me a hug. It was folded up and put in a sweet homemade envelope she’d folded. It just said “I love you Mommy”. So sweet. This morning, I heard her sneak in and out of my bedroom. And I found this one tucked under my pillow:

Then I spotted this one (see it there in the front?) later this evening. This one is still there as it says “To Dad” and Daddy hasn’t yet spotted it so I left it for him to find (HINT HINT David!). These are cute and fun little surprises. McKenzie is so creative and I love it when she does stuff like this!

Last week, my grandma turned 90! I haven’t met a whole lot of 90 year olds in my life, but from what I see, she is amazingly healthy! She still lives on her own, in the same house my dad was born and raised in. It has a basement with rickety old wood stairs. She still keeps her canned foods down there and her washer and dryer. Amazing!

My grandma loves all of us so much, though she’s not always the easiest person to get along with. When I was little, I had a hard time staying there for visits, because I was an only child and stayed there alone. She was very prim and proper. Sit up straight, elbows off the table, brush your teeth with baking soda, etc. Not that I didn’t enjoy visiting with her, but it was a completely different environment from my own home! A little dose of that never hurt me, now that I look back on it. My grandma loves her great grandkids… she is much easier with them than she ever was with me. My oldest has Grandma eating out of the palm of her hand! My dad still checks in with my Grandma every day and visits her every weekend, sometimes more often. I hope that my kids take care me as well as he does for her, and I suppose a lesson to me on how I need to take care of my parents as they get older! Great Grandma still sends jars of pennies home with the kids, still pays the kids $5 per A on their report card. You would never see Grandma in anything but a dress, complete with “stockings” as she calls them. I think she even wears those to bed She has her hair done every Saturday at the same salon that I remember when I was little, same style too. Once in awhile she may change the style (and when I say once in a blue moon, that would be an understatement!), and we would be in shock. She prays before every meal, and that includes us all holding hands, even if we are dining in a nice restaurant. What other people think isn’t important to her, when it comes to praying before a meal. I admire that in her, because you certainly don’t see that very often. She is very honest, brutally so sometimes. I don’t think she intends to hurt people’s feelings but it happens, pretty often. Most of us are used to that. She has taught me alot about life in general. I wish she lived closer, so I could have learned more from her. I have a feeling she’ll be with us for years to come still. Happy Birthday Grandma!

Dad rented the Portland Sternwheeler Rose for her birthday gathering. We had a great 2 hour boat ride up the Willamette River. The rain stopped just for 2 hours that day. It literally started to rain as I was carrying the leftover food back up to my van. We were blessed!

Here are some pictures. I didn’t get any of me on my camera with Grandma, I hope that someone else did. I was busy taking tons of pictures of my own. Each picture can be clicked to enlarge.

Daddy and Bailey carrying supplies onto the boat.

Bailey and Austin (my nephew) with the captain!

Great Grandma and her great grandkids!

Grandma and Dad

Just one of Grandma by herself!

Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dork… they were writing codes I think? Goofy boys.

Ah and then there is goofy mom with Katy and Bailey

My mom with all of my kids

My mother-in-law with the kids

My sister and her “dating partner”…. not sure they are boyfriend/girlfriend yet, but they were last year. Confused yet? Me too.

Katy and Kenzie

Me and Katy

Bailey and Katy

The 3 oldest, aren’t they cute? Ashlyn, Tanner, and Katy

Grandma blowing out her candles! I wonder what 90 would have looked like

And, we all enjoyed pumpkin bars for dessert that I made last night. They were delicious!

Pumpkin Bars

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups white sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup chopped walnuts (I omit these)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups canned pumpkin
• 2 teaspoons baking soda

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 9×13
pans or one jelly roll/cookie sheet with sides.

Mix all ingredients in order above until well
blended. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Cool completely and frost with cream cheese
frosting (which I use 2 sticks butter, softened, 1 block cream cheese, softened,
2 cups sifted powder sugar, a tad of vanilla)

DELICIOUS - I am telling you!!

Do you ever just see something and find it adorable? Like you want to freeze that moment and take a “mental” picture beause you don’t want to forget it? I was watching Bailey put her shoes on this morning and had one of those weird “mommy moments”… where I’d likely be considered goofy if I told anyone something like putting shoes on would melt my heart. Kids grow up so dang fast. I have forgotten little facial expressions they’d make, cute things they said, moments that pass… and you just forget! So I took a picture… of my sweet Bailey… putting her shoes on. Share in my mommy moment with me, won’t you?

This next one is of my nephew Lane and Bailey. They are always so bashful when it comes to taking pictures, but yet they play so cute together and aren’t shy at all. They are sweet. And yes… Lane really IS 18 months YOUNGER than Bailey!!

Plain Grandma gave Bailey this giant stuffed Zoe. She loves her. We have to set an extra place at the table for Zoe, make sure she has crayons when they are coloring, and cover her with blankets at night so she doesn’t get cold. Goofy girl!

Animal Crackers In My Soup!

Today was Bailey’s dance recital. The girls were all so cute, we had the J— the duck, R— the bear, and Bailey the mouse. It was so hot today, 101 degrees and humid… the girls looked so cute, but they were tired and hot before they even got their turn on stage. It took them a few seconds to get into (Bailey did anyway)… This day makes that 1 hour every Friday, worth it. Here are a few pictures. I didn’t put the girls’ full names in because I didn’t ask their parents

Our friends Rick and Michele brought home their second baby girl from China last weekend. We just wanted to give you guys a shout out of congratulations! Rick and Michele - you guys are truly amazing for doing something so wonderful for your babies! They are blessed to have you, as you are blessed to have them. Simone, you are going to be the bestest big sister ever, I just know it! Sophie Wei - you are beautiful and you have no idea just yet how many people love you and welcome you home. Your family is beautiful!

This is my favorite picture (taken from their blog). Sophie (left) and Simone (right) look like they shared an instant bond. They look so happy and so healthy and just perfect!!

Here is a link to a segment on CNN, Rick and Michele shared their journey to get Sophie from China with a CNN reporter. It is very touching (CHECK IT OUT) CNN Breaking News Stories

The Houstons Blog

Their Journey To Sophie
(amazing pictures and journalling about their experiences)

Do you ever get the blahs? You just don’t feel like blogging, you don’t feel like picking up the laptop and doing anything? I’ve been having those blahs the last few days. I’m ready to kiss them goodbye though. We have a busy weekend planned and I need to kiss them goodbye.

Ashlyn started summer school this week. She’s liking it much better than regular school, she says. Hopefully it does what it’s supposed to do and give her a little jump start on 7th grade. I would think it would be hard to figure out a class room full of kids’ unmet needs from the previous school year, and meet them, in just 1 month of classes. Certainly can’t hurt, though! I have instituted my own summer school program here at home, simply focused reading time. The kids can read to earn prizes from the library and book store, so I’m pretty much forcing it along. So, we ventured out to the library this week and checked out several books. What the kids couldn’t find at our relatively small town library, we ordered online from the regional library system website. This is so handy! I ordered a couple of books for myself even… so I’m excited.

Bailey’s Dance Recital is on Saturday, she is so excited. I am excited. I will post video and pictures later. She is also going to her very first sleepover, for her friend, Riley’s birthday. I am nervous. She’s only stayed with relatives, and lately she’s woke up in the early morning to climb into bed with me (us)… and I hope all goes well!

Sunday we have our annual 4th of July party out at my dad’s. It’s supposed to be near 100 all weekend, and I’m usually pretty useless in that kind of heat. I am making a promise to myself, I will try not to be cranky!

What else… my sister went to the Tim McGraw concert the other day… totally rotten of her. She tells me “Guess where I will be tonight” fully knowing how much I love his concerts. I was already bummed out that I wasn’t going to be going. This sucked. LOL. Blahhhh. She called me at some point during the concert, she was having a great time and her pictures show that as well, so I’m glad she was able to go. I will get over the fact that I was not invited.

David made chili dogs for dinner tonight. Bailey doesn’t like chili, so she asked me to scrape the chili off a hot dog for her (she was having a second dog… the kid barely eats, so I have to get it in her when I can). I told her I would do my best. She says “Mommy, just focus on the job and you will get it all off”. Focus?? Job?? Who is this child? She was also giggling as usual… about the fact that she was eating hot dogs “Mommy… we are having Libby for dinner”. That’s our dumb dog. She says “Tanner, guess what! You are eating Libby” and the laughter that follows is funnier than her statement… she gets a total kick out of it. Nothing is better than making yourself laugh.

Another highlight of my week. Bailey cut her hair. This is the second time she’s done this TO ME. Really, she doesn’t care so much that her hair has to be short. But, *I* care. She hadn’t asked me recently to get her hair cut, so I’m a little peeved that I couldn’t have head that off by taking her in for a trim. This was a full on CUT. Several inches. GONE. As my friend Tammy said… “she just wanted a change”. So today I asked her if she was happy with her hair. She says, “yes mommy, I wanted to be Sissy’s twin”. So for her, I will get over it. But.. she should probably know that if she ever cuts her own hair again, I will ground her til she’s 30!

That’s it for today!! I have something else to add, but it deserves it’s very own post, so I will put that up in a minute.

If you were living paycheck to paycheck before this economy slump, you are probably really feeling the pinch now (I know we are!). Gas prices are rising, the cost of food is going up, everything is taking a hit. If you find yourself in a pinch and needing some extra cash to cover bills, Payday Loans can be an option!

paydayloanmania.com offers Faxless Payday Loan where you can apply for a loan and have an answer quickly. They approved for almost everyone who meets the minimum requirements. These are proof of a steady income, proof of residency, proof of identity and open bank account. It’s just that easy!

This is a helpful little link I got in my email today from my friend Joanne. I think I remember looking gas prices up not too long ago when they were around the $2.50 mark. Insane. For my area, the cheapest gas station is 11 miles away from me. The one 2 miles up the street is $4.45/gallon. I take advantage of our Costco membership when I can, they offer low end gas prices. We also take advantage of a .20 cent per gallon off discount we often get for buying groceries at Safeway. That is a helpful discount, even though their regular prices on gas are mid to high range. Neither of these stores were listed at this link… so I just wanted to remind everyone to be checking gas prices and discounts with rewards/shopping cards!

Find the cheapest gas station in your area.

We have been trying to be more active, as a family. David has been hiking alot, camping, etc. We live in a bird watching mecca of sorts, Ridgefield. It’s what we are known for. The other day we went to the Wildlife Refuge and saw a lot of birds and wildlife that we really couldn’t “see” because we didn’t have the right equipment. I’ve been researching things like binos, telescopes, etc. I found a website called OpticsPlanet.com. It appears like a good destination for many different hobby related items. They have a huge selection of riflescopes, binoculars, spotting scopes, night vision, telescopes, rangefinders, laser sights, flashlights, tripods, radar guns, digital camera binoculars and much more! We also carry the industry’s best brands such as: Leupold Riflescope, Nikon, EOTech, Burris, Bushnell, Celestron, Tasco, ATN, Bolle, Serengeti and Pelican. They have a low price guarantee and offer coupons via email if you sign up for their newsletter. It’s also an educational resource, with forums and customer reviews. Check it out if you are in the market!

Ok I pretty much lived for Thursday nights, just for Beverly Hills, 90210… and watched it faithfully until the end. I have seen every single episode, most of them multiple times. I can quote lines from that show like David can quote Die Hard. Guilty pleasure? Maybe. They are calling the new 90210 a spinoff. Melrose Place was a spinoff, this is a copycat.

I guess the next generation of teenagers probably deserve to have a 90210. For me, it was the pioneer of teen soap operas. I watched Dawson’s Creek in my 20’s. I loved The OC. And I’m not afraid to admit One Tree Hill doesn’t sit on my DVR for very long. So… I will tune into this copycat 90210, even though it won’t begin to compare. I enjoy most CW shows, so I’m sure it will be entertaining enough to DVR.

OLD

NEW Throwing in Lori Loughlin, better known as “Aunt Becky”

While I’m on the subject, here is where the former cast members are now. Some well known, others not so much. I do have to admit that I voted for Jennie Garth on Dancing With The Stars, just because… she is and always will be Kelly Taylor LOL.

Our kids have been doing “Talent Shows” for us for as long as I can remember… I remember Katelyn, at about 7 years old, getting Tanner and Ashlyn together and trying to teach them a “routine” to perform in front of us. “Oops I Did It Again” ring a bell for anyone? LOL David and I would turn to each other to try to keep from giggling, because we knew if they saw us laughing, they’d think we were laughing at them… making fun of them. But they were too adorable not to smile. Not to giggle.

Fast Forward 9 years and now our youngest chitlin is doing these performances for us day in and day out. McKenzie and Bailey hunt through their dress up chest and dig out their dressy dresses. Their routine tonight went something like this….

We are sitting in the living room. They are coming down the stairs and when they get to the hallway downstairs (we can’t see them from where we were sitting), they announce themselves: “LADIES AND GENTLEMEN… PLEASE WELCOME…. MCKENZIE AND BAILEY MADISON” (It’s always Bailey Madison, that’s her stage name LOL). Then, they crawl down the hallway and RUN passed us in the living room into the kitchen where they hide and decide that the show won’t start for 5 more minutes LOL.

So we wait… and finally they are ready and request some music. David pulls up some Latin American tune on Satellite. I pull up my playlist on our old blog and put on their favorite. “Ready Set, Don’t Go”. They brought us two roses from our vase of flowers, they instruct us to throw them at them when their show is over.

McKenzie had gotten her bangs wet and slicked them over to the side. She was wearing a nightgown LOL. Bailey had on one of her fancy dresses and a headband that was 10 times too big and kept falling down onto her nose LOL, and a big white bangle bracelet.

They start dancing together, then McKenzie takes a seat and lets Bailey dance. Bailey is a crackup. She FEELS the song. Her whole body moves to the beat of the music, exactly as it is playing. I decided to switch songs on my playlist. She’d change the tempo of her “dance” immediately. It was so funny and cute. The other nice thing about the playlist was.. I could stop it at any time and that was the end of the song LOL.

McKenzie’s turn… she wanted the Ready Set Don’t Go song also. She is doing her dance a little different. She’s listening to the words of the song, you can tell by watching her face. She is singing and dancing, and she is making her body move to the words of the song. When they sang, Ready Set… she put one foot forward like she was ready to run a race…. then “Don’t Go” and she stepped way back. It was just funny!

My camera was not ready for video, so I missed out but I really need to get more of these on tape. I have a heck of a time uploading videos from my camera for some reason, but here are a few from awhile back, if you remember

These moments are ones to be cherished, because I know soon enough, they will not be interested in entertaining us like this anymore!