2 months late posting. . . . .

This is partially due in part to the younger photos of my first born being scanned & stored on Darla's MP3 player which was missing for a while.



Part of Payton James 16th Bday Celebration, back in January, was a nostalgic trip thru our old stomping grounds. . . just my boy & I.


The apartment Rob & I lived in in Oregon City when Payton was born 16 yrs ago, our 2nd & 3rd home . . . then Payton's favorite home of all-time was our lil' brown house in the middle of a berry field in Boring, Oregon:
Below is a pic of the private paved drive we had which is where Payton learned to ride his bike with no training wheels. My nephew Lennon also learned to ride a bike with no training wheels on this same driveway.

The outing would not have been complete without he and I also visiting our old favorite mexican restaurant in Gresham.

2009:

1998 or 1999:

2009:
1998 or 99:2009:

#1 Song When You Were Born Was . . .

http://www.joshhosler.biz/NumberOneInHistory/SelectMonth.htm

Mine was:
1972 "American Pie" by Don McLean

A Short Movie About "Home"

http://www.mthoodterritory.com/impactmovie/

Crombie Cookies Were Sold For $88

Alan & I attended the school's annual fundraising auction for the 1st time this past weekend. Was a blast - the auctioneer is also a natural comedian and unbeknownst to us we were seating front center & were the butt of more than 1 joke.

I was very pleased that during the dessert auction my 4 packages of Crombie Cookies sold for $22 each.

Springing thru the front yard with camera in hand . . .

Here lies the last remnants of our winter snow:

I still sense we will receive another white blanket before Spring arrives, but I wont cry if we dont.


Here one of our Rhody's whisper . . . . "I'm hearty! I bud & bloom even in snow!"

As it's more petite neighbor Azalea responds . . . "I am fairing quite well myself, thank you!"

Men In The Making

Mr. Elijah & Mr. Nolan running around the Mtn paying bills & running errands.

Nolan loves to be the one to return the movie to the rental store:

Well the hardest part was a success. . . . pulling open the super heavy door!

Big boy Nolan!
Now Elijah's turn to deliver the good ol' water bill payment!

After triple checking the envelope successfully went thru the drop box slot he returns to the car quite pleased.

Observation: Blog Lacks Payton.

Well . . . . he is a busy TEENAGER. But I am going to make a more conscious effort to photograph him in his day to day life more often. Here is the great action shot of him in his room, which I captured on film last night after dinner:

And with the special athletic hi-speed function of the camera:

Valentine Exchange Between Spouses

We always exchange handmade cards and this year Alan made a huge deal about the one he received & asked me to put on the blog. I told him if I take a photo of mine & post - I am going to show off the one he made me as well.

The card I made the love of my life is show above on the left. It includes a mini card on the front cover. . . which the written contents I will share below.

Alan's adorable card to me is above on the right & you can read his sweet sentiments inside below.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

So what is your tradition? Hallmark? Handmade? Chocolate or date night?

LOVE
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English lufu; akin to Old High German luba love, Old English lēof dear, Latin lubēre, libēre to please
Date: before 12th century
1 a (1): strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties (2): attraction based on sexual desire : affection and tenderness felt by lovers (3): affection based on admiration, benevolence, or common interests b: an assurance of love 2: warm attachment, enthusiasm, or devotion 3 a: the object of attachment, devotion, or admiration b (1): a beloved person : darling —often used as a term of endearment (2)British —used as an informal term of address4 a: unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another: as (1): the fatherly concern of God for humankind (2): brotherly concern for others b: a person's adoration of God5: a god or personification of love6: an amorous episode : love affair7: the sexual embrace : copulation8: a score of zero (as in tennis)9capitalized Christian Science : god
— at love : holding one's opponent scoreless in tennis
— in love : inspired by affection

Warning re: Your Visa/Debit Card

Ok folks this has been a total nightmare waiting & waiting for our new bank cards to arrive. Alan & I's cards were both affected in different episodes of a "potential breach of security", so they cancelled our cards before any fraud could be committed. Well....you'd be amazed at how cashless of a society we have become until you dont have access to your debit card. Soooo frustrating. Finally we have 1 of our cards. They will call when the other card arrives for pickup.

But I wanted to share that this is a nationwide problem & apparently all financial institutions are susceptible to it. They said computer hackers are getting more & more genius. It has us rethinking how we access our monies in the future to be honest. But it took soooo many phone calls & different versions of the same story to get down to the truth. The "visa processing center" in question (w/ the potential breach) our bank reports was all over the news a while back and its called Heartland. Now Harland where many order checks but Heartland. FYI

Pulling my hair out!

Aren't the 2 youngest children the ones you'd expect to pull "should've known better" stunts? Nope - not here, not lately. The two oldest, Payton & Darla, have been most challenging.

Payton : school responsibilities - periodic bad choices add up to monster sized probs.
Darla : struggling a bit w/ honesty re: responsibilities at home.

Maybe I have just had it to easy prior to this - awesome, well behaved kids . . . . now I am entering a challenging season?!? I pray it is short lived. Please?

Yup, I'm Not Young Anymore

Where does the time go?

Mama & Daughter

1974 (probably)

Has your bank been affected?

1st it was Alan's visa debit card affected: our bank cancelled his card - we're waiting for notice on when his new card has arrived at the bank ready to be picked up. Why? Well our bank, which we have never had any issues with, explained that there was a potential breach of security at a visa processing center. No fraud was committed but Visa automatically cancelled some various 1000+ cards as a precaution. Supposably not just our bank was affected but it was nationwide.

Now yesterday I am notified that my card has also been cancelled . . . same drill but different "potential breach of security". ? ? ? These incidents were several weeks apart.

Anyone else experiencing similar stuff? This really stinks because I am used to be able to pay bills over the web & phone . . . . not to mention a purchase I was going to be making today online. My only options until my card arrives to the bank for pickup are mailing/delivering a check which costs me time, late fees, and/or gas money.

Note: Just got off of the phone with our credit union . . . and they report some of their clients were also affected by these same security breaches - but luckily not our account there at least.

10 Steps.....Darla & Her Papa are Off . . . .

TO THEIR ANNUAL "DADDY DAUGHTER DANCE"

1. Manicure

2. Dry nails thoroughly
3. Receive stylish up-do at Salon Mama

4. Get excited . . . hair almost done, next teeth, dress & a tad bit of makeup (blush & lipgloss)
5. Darla Dazzles & Papa Shines With Pride . . . a small gift for his date for the evening:
6. Tickets in hand. . . . car keys and we are off

7. Well not yet, Mama wants ANOTHER picture. . . this one outside (by the way was gorgeous & sunny today)

8. Darla so excited for their annual Daddy Daughter Dance

9. Bye bye Mama!

10. Bye annoying photographer, , , errr I mean wife!

Basketball ends...Softball around the corner for Darla

Elijah being photographed while a female classmate taunts him.

Elijah taunting me!
Darla working hard.
Darla making pretty look easy.

Sunshine = Happy men on the court!

Note: Nolan was being Darth Vador's Master . . . whatever that means

Above: My Alan in all his glory! Such form!

Elijah refused to admit to Papa that he was posing for Mama.
.

What's New Around Here . . .

1. Survived biggest parenting challenge with oldest recently.

2. Have been nauseated for a couple days and super busy for a lotta days, so blog has fell a bit behind.

3. Darla is signed up for softball.

4. We have to find a league for Elijah to play basketball in - while in kindergarden. This kid is serious about wanting to play for the NBA.

5. Nolan continues to crack me up daily. Still up in the air on whether he will be ready for kindergarden or preschool in the Fall. . . . will wait till summer to decide.

6. Alan had a scary work meeting a week ago . . . . layoffs are highly likely . . . . Alan has a lot of additional certifications though, so his Boss explained that he would be one of the very last choices to lay off . . . . because he can do a lot of work the other guys cant. Still unpredictable & a tiny scary.

7. Tuesday all the kids are having a social afternoon - having friends over after school.

8. I have learned that I am sticking with my monthly menu calendar but this month I wrote in pencil because at the last minute I do a lot of swapping. Like tonight was supposed to be chicken fettucini alfredo, salad, & green beans. Well because I felt so crummy it got swapped for a lazy night meal - grilled ham & cheese, pineapple, and salad.

9. Alan & I have both been enjoying www.facebook.com and reconnecting with so many old friends. A real blast from the past!

10. And lastly, I really really miss my family who lives in CA. Especially my newest nephew Drevin. The poor boy isnt even going to know us. Ive seen him once and he will probably be one or older until I get to see him again. Any suggestions?

Wild Weather Continues....what's next Volcanic Eruption?

People fall in love . . . . kids fall down and need a bandaid . . . London bridge is falling down . . .and so were a lot of trees in our area during last week's wind storms. I heard these trees fall but I thought it was our basketball hoop maybe crashing down or ? ? ? I looked all around & couldnt find the damage. Well 5 minutes later Alan returned from the local grocery store to report the entrance to our neighborhood was blocked by this mess (above).

Happy Birthday Gwampa Wicky!

Nolan Ricky is very proud to be named after his Grandpa Ricky:No doubt Alan loves his Pa-n-Law . . . . . uhhh....maybe too much?!? LOL The hat my pa is wearing was part of his bday gift

handmade by his daughter Amy. I love you Pa!