June 30 - A Brief Update

Hannah graduated from Lane Community College in Eugene on Saturday, June 16th with an Associates degree in Exercise & Movement Science.  She is living with her boyfriend of 2.5 year Dillon.

Parker is attending Job Corps in Astoria.  He is working on becoming a Certified Clinical Medical Assistant.  He is working at his externship at Water's Edge here in The Dalles.  He has work at the Sleep Center and is currently at Internal Medicine.  Next week he will work in Cardiology and then back to Astoria to finish up his training.

Eli graduated from The Dalles High School on Saturday, June 9th.  He is still working on  his future plans.  But for now, he is working at our local Staples in the Copy Center.

Brian finished his Bachelors degree from Chico State.  But he decided to go to work for Google instead of teach.  It was a rough start as a temp with no benefits.  But he has continued to work his way up one ladder and switch over to another one.  We appreciate him being a full time Googler and the benefits it brings to our family.

I was recruited to return to Orchard View Farms.  I am working under their new Controller as the Accountant.  I still get to be around my first love, Payroll.  But it's been fun doing something different.

2011 Lassen District Pinewood Derby

Yip! I said yes again and helped with the local District Pinewood Derby. As much as I dread it and complain about it in the days leading up to it, I secretly love it! The kids are so much fun and their enthusiasm is absolutely contagious. And that is what it is about after all is the kids! I set up the computer and the projector and make sure the track electronics are talking to the computer. I also coordinate the movement of cars from pit row to the track. Things went really well this year. We had a pre-registration on Friday night and that made Saturday morning go much smoother. This is Eli with his car. He placed 10th out of 27. He also won an award for the "Sportiest Looking" car. He was very excited about that. This year he was one of my helpers moving cars from the end of track back to the staging area. He did a great job and was very helpful. This picture was taken while it was snowing. Even with the yucky weather we had about 115 racers! Along with the Derby we do a Scout Expo. Cub Scout Packs, Boy Scout Troops and Girl Scout Troops set up booths and do activities to help garner more interest in scouting. It was a really fun day! I'm always worn out at the end, but so glad I did it. Thank you boys and girls for another great derby. =)

February 2011

I know I say this every time, but really . . . where does all the time go? It really is almost the end of March already and my commitment to write at least once a month is already waning. For us February was pretty much "more of the same". However we added Boys JR High basketball to our list of activities. Parker total exceeded our expectations and played really well. The team started out with 12 players and by the end of the first week was down to 7. Parker saw quite a bit of playing time and we were really happy with his coaches.

On the 19th we sold our truck and purchased a 2005 VW New Beetle. It is a manual transmission and a diesel. So far it is averaging 37.5 miles to the gallon. More than double the truck. We will miss the truck, but it just wasn't working for our situation anymore.

The kids missed A LOT of school in February due to snow and power outages.

Hannah went to her first High School experience. They toured the campus, did team building games and met some of the teachers. She also took what they call the MAP test to see what classes she qualifies for in Math and English. She tested into Advanced English and Plus Algebra. However we know that Math is not Hannah's strong point, so we are going to start with Basic Algebra. At the end of March she goes to take a computer and typing test to hopefully opt out of a computer basics class. I think she will do fine. She already types 70 words per minute.

We finished off the month wishing Jeff a Happy Birthday! He is 33 years old this year. =)

January 2011

ALREADY! January is over. We are still a busy family. Brian was hired by Johnstonville School District as an Instructional Aide. We found out Monday that he was approved for 6 credits on work study for this job! Yeah! On top of that he is taking 16 regular class credits this semester! Ugh! We had hoped he would graduate with his Bachelors Degree in May, but that is not going to happen. So he is enrolled with Chico to graduate at the end of the summer semester in August of 2011. Then he needs to quickly get enrolled in a credentialing program. He is looking at ones from Fresno State, Sacramento State and Chico.
Hannah recovered from her tonsillectomy extremely well. She is one of the point guards on her city league basketball team. Her team only has 7 players, so she plays the whole game most of the time. The coach has the girls running A LOT. I say good. Hannah hates it. ;). Hannah participated in a recital with her new teach Liudmilla. Hannah is doing really well. She loves Lidumilla and I think is finding the joy in playing piano again.
Parker begged and begged to play JR Basketball. He is doing so well. Way beyond our expectations. Some games he plays more than others. He has scored several baskets and is learning to control his emotions. Maybe this was a good thing after all. I expressed my appreciation to his coach and how he handles Parker.
Eli is participating in the new Music Academy created by the Susanville Symphony. He is doing percussion and loves it. Of the three, I think Eli is the one with the most natural talent. He is too smart for his own good sometimes. He is just a super neat kid (when he is not arguing that is)!

September 2010

Another month has gone by and October is almost half over. Soccer, school and work are keeping us all busy. Brian is taking 21 credits this semester. We had hoped he would graduate next May. But now it looks like it will be after the Summer semester. All three kids are going every which way with soccer games and practices. The only days we don't see a soccer ball are Friday and Sunday. All of the kids are back in Piano lessons. We switched Hannah to a new teacher. So far so good. She says shes having fun again. I hope it lasts. =) Sierra-Cascade started digging strawberry plants on September 19th. And it has been non-stop ever since. I am already tired and we haven't even it the peak yet.

First Day of School 2010

So this isn't quite the first day, but the fourth. We kept forgetting! =)

August 2010

My how time flies! I can't believe it is the end of August already. For the most part this was a quiet month.

• Hannah went to her first overnight basketball camp at UNR in Reno. She had a great time, learned a lot about basketball and made some new friends.
• Midge (our dog) celebrated her 8th birthday on Friday the 13th.
• Soccer practices started on the 16th. Hannah and Parker are both on traveling teams this year. Hannah is one of the goalies for her team. Parker is a defender. Eli's team plays other teams in Susanville. There are only three boys teams this year so they are going to be playing the girls teams too. =)
• D. Todd Christopherson, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve came to our Stake Conference on the 22nd. Everyone expected major changes, but he just reminded us to set a good example and live a righteous life.
• We waited until the last minute to go school shopping in the 20th. I took Hannah and Brian did the boys. It was a long day, but much better that doing everyone together.
• School started on the 23rd. Hannah is in 8th grade, Parker in 7th and Eli in 5th.

Piano Recital 2010

The kids are still taking piano lessons. Hannah hates it, but we have a saying "piano is non-negotiable". Two of our three piano teachers and one friend (all women) told me that they wanted to quit at one point when they were teenagers, but their mother wouldn't let them. I hope some day Hannah will appreciate the talent and skills she has. =)

All spiffed up and ready to go!

We always have to have a goofy picture. ;o)

I took video of them playing their pieces, but can't figure out how to post it. I will keep working on it!

4 Generations

Grandma Jo and her children, Ray, Nina and Bill

Grandma Jo and her grandchildren, Chet, Wendy, Trudy and Bill

Grandma Jo and her great-grandchildren Logan, Rae Anne, Randy, Parker,
Garrett, Hannah, Eli, Ian and Billy

Catching up!

I can't believe it has been almost two months since I posted anything. So the following posts are a few things we've been doing.

Hannah played community basketball in the Lassen Hoops league. Her team took 2nd place at the season end tournament. She LOVES basketball. The last couple of weeks though were rough as they overlapped with middle school volleyball. Hannah is not as crazy about volleyball, but they didn't have enough girls for a team at her school if she didn't play.

Brian got talked into being the ref for home games at our school. He went to a little mini training and is doing pretty good at it.

The boys start spring soccer when we get back for Easter and Spring break. They are ready! They are on the same team this year which will make the practice schedule easier.

Brian is doing well in school. He loves his Biology class this semester and the teacher recommended him to be a tutor. So now he gets paid $8 hour two times a week to help a couple of people.

My mom was in the hospital again with a bacteria. This time not in the blood stream, just in the open wound on her foot. They are doing ultra-sound therapy on it and it is healing pretty well. It helps that she is confined to our house and mostly her room, so she is staying off of it. But she is going a big stir-crazy I'm sure!

Bathroom Decor

I think most of you know that I am NOT a home decorator. We lived in Dufur almost 6 years and I did not put one picture on the walls. OK, that's not totally true. I did put pictures up in the kids' rooms.

Anyway, I wanted a clock for our bathroom. And not just any clock, I wanted a really BIG clock to fill up a wall. AND it needed to fit in with the lime green paint Brian put up to cover the baby poop yellow that was in there when we first moved in. I was scopeing out ebay one day and found this do-it-yourself clock. I bought it hoping the colors would be close enough to the green and the flowers in the shower curtain. Brian was SHOCKED when I actually put it up. :o) I think it turned out pretty good if I do say so myself.

Our bathroom is one of those that is divided into two rooms. The tub and toilet are separated from the area where the long counter and double sinks are. This clock came from Brian's mom Margaret. I have always admired it and wanted to have it. FINALLY she gave it to me along with some picture that matched it.

SNOW in Susanville on March 31, 2010

Isn't is supposed to be SPRING??

Yesterday we woke up to pouring rain. By mid morning it was snowing, but it was that wet heavy snow and it didn't stick much. By afternoon it was gone. But around mid-night last night it starting snowing good. It must have took a break at some point, but as we head out this morning it is snowing again. :o)

Busy, Busy, Busy

I can't believe January 2010 is gone already. It's been a busy month for me at work. I took 2 trips to our processing plant in Ballico, CA. Ballico is south of Modesto, near Turlock for those of your who wish to know. We are trialing a new data collection software for payroll. I was gone for 3 days, 2 weeks in a row. My poor family. Brian does a good job of holding everything together! He's getting pretty good at being the stay at home parent. :o)

After that I was home for a week and then off to Salt Lake City for a 2 day MS Access class. Two other co-workers and I flew to SLC on Monday evening and returned Thursday morning. After class we drove downtown SLC both nights. First we went to "The Gateway" which is a very quaint outdoor mall. We ate at The Happy Sumo which is a sushi place. OK, I had a salad but Laura and Bonnie ate sushi. It was a first for Bonnie. We had a good time. The next night we went to temple square, went in the visitor center and the Joseph Smith building. They took a lot of pictures by the temple at the reflecting pool. We ate dinner at The Melting Pot which is a fondue restaurant. It was so much fun. Laura wasn't feeling good, but she was a trooper and it was a great meal. If you've never eaten there find one near you and go on a date night!!

Hannah is busy with city league basketball and the boys are just hanging out. They have early morning band now instead of after school. I like it much better! Eli is dying to get his pinewood derby car painted. If we don't get it done today I think he might find a way to get sweet revenge on us. Brian is doing good in school. His challenging class this semester is Economics. Plus he is taking biology and two history classes. He has A LOT of reading to do.

Oregon Cherries!!

THE DALLES cherries to be exact.

I went to the IGA here in Susanville a couple of weeks ago and the first thing I saw in the fruit and veggies section was cherries. As I got closer I saw that they were ORCHARD VIEW FARMS cherries. I bought 2 pounds. :o)

When I got home you would have thought it was Christmas. Who cares what else I bought, give us CHERRIES! When I first started working at OVF the kids hoped I would get paid in cherries.

Today I discovered they still had them. I don't know if they were a new shipment or just more of the old one pulled out of storage. But they were in good shape so I bought 2 more pounds! Same reaction when I got home . . . give us CHERRIES! Thanks OVF!!