Duchess Darla...

...is hosting a High Tea on Sunday April 11th at 2pm. There are 16 girls (including Duchess', Countess', Lady, Viscountess, etc.,) that are attending. All the males of Twinberry will be in Estacada for the afternoon, leaving us ladies to partake in tea & delights. Debbie, Roxanne & I will be the Royal Servants. The distinguished guests even have a bell to summon us with. I am sewing unique aprons for us 3 servants. It should be a lot of fun. Between us 3 servants we have just enough tea sets. I will be making for the 1st time adorable petit fours.
Ive been busy assembling handmade little goody bags for the guests....they contain a cute wedding style thing of bubbles - a fluffy assorted colors mama chicken & baby, 3 bracelets, & a candy. Each goody bag cost no more than a dollar. Yep - Im thrrrrrrrifty! Each guest will be bringing her favorite finger food to share.
I am also making each royal guest a fancy cocktail ring made out of pipe cleaners (thank you Martha Stewart for the idea):

Rain drops drippin' down his nose....

doesnt even turn this boy away from his love of the game! Rain, snow, or shine he wants to play basketball. Click on the photo to see the actual rain drops all over my boy!

Taco Soup: It's What's For Dinner

3rd time Ive made this recipe, thanks to my friend Debbie.... no 2 times are the same though. This rendition had fresh zuccini sliced & put in. The whole family loves this soup....AND they get full with one helping! :-) Nice for the budget.

Too Busy To Blog Lately

Lots has been happening....
I recently applied to become a participant on The Biggest Loser, a weightloss show. It involved standing literally for 11 straight hours for a 36 second audition with a group of 14 other overweight hopefuls outside the Portland Convention Center pictured below: By the way it was pouring down rain & windy & cold. I was smart & brought an umbrella but dumb & forgot my coat.

Also consuming a lot of my time, besides the normal child rearing & housekeeping... is our Big 20th H.S. Reunion coming up this summer. I just finished stuffing the hundreds of envelopes.....they are all filled with the cute handmade invitations.
I can see an opportunity for a little bit of rest (pause between projects) in the near future. Yeah!
Darla has started her 2nd year of softball & Elijah is beginning baseball for the 1st time next week. We will basically be living at ball fields until mid June. Bring on the better weather. It was snowing today!

For My Cousin Josh

Josh is a year older than I yet has lived so many more years than I, especially when it comes to heartache. His dad passed away when he was a toddler, his mom when he was around 20, and shortly after that his brother tragically died. To be honest I cant tell ya where I would be if I were him. I love him. He is as perfect as you or I. Can use prayer like you and I. And I wish him every joy & happiness possible. I made this little video slide show with the very small collection of photos Josh owns of his family. It is my hope that my Aunts, Uncles, and other cousins might be able to scan copies of photos they may have & email them to me. I would like to add them to this video collection for Josh. Thank you & God Bless!

A Short Video I made...

My Lil' Monkey....

Darla was hanging off the side of her brothers bunk bed (the footboard area) with her feet all the way up by her hands on the ledge....the part of the bed she was hanging from broke & she came crashing to the floor. Banged up her back, ribs, & bruised/cut up her right arm. Praise God no broken bones! Scared the life out of me.

She had her 1st softball practice of the season tonight....she was wearing a sling so did very little but hopes to be able to fully participate come Thursday evening. She was feeling well enough to draw this picture tho (psst...I almost didnt notice the spelling error):

March Madness

2 days ago we had gorgeous sunshine...daffodils & tulips in bloom....totally Spring Weather! Now SUPRISE.... Winter did decide to show up in Welches. Basketball winding down this week & baseball/softball starting up soon....so of course now the snow is going to dump on the ball fields. Of course! :-)

Crombie's Country Kitchen

The kids enjoyed serving the adults, Alan, Payton, Aunt Linda, Uncle Dave & myself. Menu: Chicken -n- Dumplings, green grapes, tossed salad, Shirley Temples, & 7 Layer Bars.

Mini Vacation

Kids Weekend Getaway : Grandparents in Estacada

Alan & I Traveled To : Alan's folks home near Seattle

One of the 1st items on our itinerary once we arrived, was to watch Alan's cousin Brian & his band "Just Dirt" perform Friday night. However Alan got off work way too late on Friday, which his Boss apologized for. We were dissapointed but plan to check them out next time we are up North. So Alan & I decide to set off on our getaway early Saturday morning.
Nice road trip up North with my man.
$4.25 for my 20 oz. quad hazelnut latte' with skim milk.
$4.50 for Alan's 20 oz. triple "real" caramel mocha with whip.
$75 to fill my Excursions empty gas tank & we're off.
3 hours later arrive to Alan's dads home.

1st thing we notice is the fine job Alan's dad did on adding a bay window to their cute lil' house. Dad & Elain are ready when we get there to go eat. . . . and introduce us to Muckleshoot Casino "up the hill" from their home. Now unless you count me walking into Chinook Winds Casino in Lincoln City & walking immediately out as a casino experience... I have never been. My only memory of Chinook Winds was overpowering cigarette smoke & feeling nauseated. I had been encouraged by friends who said "State of Washington is no smoking in public buildings"....BUT they were wrong....even Muckleshoot had a smoking section which we had to walk thru in order to get to the dining room or the the nonsmoking portion of the casino. Freshly washed hair = cigarette smoke saturation, yuck! Ahh well.

1st we eat, and boy did we! Roast Pig but I did not have any of it...just thought my kids would be tripped out by this photo. I did however partake in huge chunks of fresh pineapple, plump strawberries, salad greens, lots of tomatoes, smoked salmon, a crab cake, a couple bites of prime rib, and lots of crab legs.
After we stuffed our faces we went & gambled. Now I was only willing to blow $5. Alan planned to play with $20. Dad & Elain boogied off to their favorite machines. It was so obvious I didnt know what I was doing. I was the only one who kept hollaring "Where are the intstructions?" "How do I turn the volume down" "This machine wont take my ticket" etc. Well I finally learned if I increased my bet, instead of betting a penny at a time, it increased my odds of winning. I played for a good hour & cashed out at $25, netting a profit of $20. Alan was at $75 and his frugal penny pincher wife kept chanting "Cash out!" But he ignored my advice & said "I will cash out at $50" and continued to play. When he was done he netted a $25 profit. After an hour or so of gambling the 4 of us decided to head back to their house but I wanted to take a couple of photos of my casino experience. I was able to capture this single picture of the casino before security rushed over to me "MA'AM! MA'AM! STOP! You are not allowed to take pictures MA'AM!" Apparently, I could have been accused of casing the place out to perform some heist?! Ooops! Once we were back at their place....Alan enjoyed lots of father son time...watching bowling...talking...listening to music....lots of laughing. I enjoyed getting to know Alan's stepmom Elain better & was happy to meet 2 of her kids Corena & DJ. Sunday morning came...Alan & I decided to go venture out, have breakfast, & go see the sights.
We were on a mission to go see Lake Tapps, but had bad directions & finally gave up. Another: "Next time!" "Mt Rainier from Lake Tapps" Alan's maternal grandparents lived in a cabin on this lake & it has been passed down thru the family over the years. I had looked forward to seeing this all. We head back & visit with the folks some more & finally pack it up to return home to Oregon & our kiddos. It was a nice mini vacation! We plan to take the kids next time & visit Seattle's Space Needle. Thank you to Dad & Elain for being such gracious hosts!

Darla - Welches Student of The Month

The Sandy newspaper referring to her as Student of The Week but only because they are a weekly paper. Darla is very honored to have been selected & was so happy to read what her teacher had to say about her.

D is for Drama

A lot of people dont believe me but type the word "Darla" in a microsoft document, use spell check, and it suggests "Do you mean DRAMA?"

Well here is our Miss Drama, I mean, Darla at 4 years old. She was in preschool at the time and she was very upset & disgusted! The story goes like this:

Darla: "MOM! I cant believe it! This boy at school...MOM! This boy touched me..."
Mama: "What? A boy touched you at school?"
Darla: "Yes MOM! He touched me. (pause, upset swallow, roll of eyeballs) Yes he touched me!"
Mama: "Where did he touch you Darla?" Darla: "Mom he touched....he touched my ... (Im fearing the worst here)... he touched MY SHOE!" (She said with so much disgust like - the nerve!)
I laughed so hard and still dont know how I was being able to photograph this as she is telling the story.

Our Wannabe-Brandon Roy

Fast as the team name "Lightening"...

Elijah on right preparing for tip-off.

And here they are the undefeated 2nd grade team....our 1st Grader Elijah bottom right.

Alan & I grew up with Elijah's coach, Kenny Barden! He is a terrific coach!

Nolan's Acting Class

Nolan enjoys all sports like his siblings, but because of his recently diagnosed heart murmur we have opted to keep him on the more mellow side of activities until more tests are completed. With that said, his older siblings are all active in an extra curriculur so we offered Nolan the Sandy Community Recreation Guide. Together we broused the options. At first he was convinced he wanted to take dance, which has always been an interest of his. Everything from break dancing to ballet (despite Alan's dissaproval). He has insane balance & I know would soar in a gymnastics type lesson. Once I read the class description for Acting though, he very enthusiastically changed his mind. Acting became his 1st choice! He has only been to one class so far, and absolutely loved it! There are only 6 kids in the class. Unfortunately one of the boys was horribly behaved. Nonstop tantrums if he wasnt 1st or got his way. His mother did nothing until close to the end of the class. It was very irritating, but the teacher promised all the other parents if that student has issues this next class she will promptly ask the mom to remove him until he is able to participate.

Family Hike #1 - 2010

And we're off! Cute shot of the family hiking the flat part of the trail. Slight break to take in the sights! Teensy weensy melt down .... he likes Wildwood Park a lot more because it has a basketball court! Oldest & youngest son!
Nolan Ricky & Papa Beautiful Mt Hood The forest for the trees. Darla & I "cross country skiing" with our walking sticks. Follow the leader.

1st Time For Everything

Friday evening we were treated to an evening of bowling by my mama who was up from CA. It was Darla, Elijah & Nolan's 1st time bowling.

Elijah was stubborn & insisted on learning his own way. Just like all sports & new interests he was very serious about the matter.

Nolan was excited & happy. He ended up being quite good. All the kids loved bowling!

Oldest son Payton was hilarious . . . . complete 50/50 split. Either he would get a strike or full on gutter ball. No in between. Alan & his pointy toe professional bowling posture led to a decent score...and was hilarious to watch.

Darla brought along her best friend Tierra & the two had just as much fun bowling as they did giggling & chatting I think.

Cousin Josh also joined us & had a blast as well. Made my heart super happy to watch it all.

1st experience with bowling alley food & its pretty funny.... less expensive than say a movie theatre but not by much!

Also got to enjoy being gabby & talking my mom's cousin Shelly's ear off. Wonderful evening - thank you Ma!!!

5 Year Olds & Their Money

Nolan & his friend friend Kiana at church yesterday:

Kiana: I like to spend my quarters at Sean's store.
Nolan: I like to spend my quarters at ANY store.

Eli #6

Elijah #6 pale green shirt, black shorts w/ red stripe down sides. Our 1st grader easily holding his own with these older 2nd graders. For his relentless love of the game we drive him from Welches to Troutdale every Saturday so he can pursue his gift & passion. Coach Barden describes Elijah as having "natural talent".

Dancing the Night Away....2010

Click on the photo to view larger size.

Team Lightning!!!

Games are every Saturday.....he would love to have you come support him!

Annual Darla ~ Grandma Vickie Weekend

1. Overnight bag packed
2. Darla's puppy Holiday packed
3. Got to meet lots of people at Grandma's Work
4. Enjoyed good conversation with Grandma
5. Was treated to her FAV restaurant Olive Garden
6. Loved playing with Grandma & Grandpa's dog Kacey
7. Enjoyed watching Holiday & Kacey interact, or lack thereof
8. Took Kacey to vet for trim & shots 9. Yummy cherry milkshake
10.Did more fun sewing with Grandma
11.Another amazing homemade breakfast by Grandpa
12.Lots of hugs & laughing
13.Annoying cough, but Grandma babied her
14.The annual manicure at the spa with Grandma "pretty red with petite white flowers adorned with diamonds"
(matches her daddy daughter dance dress for next weekend)
15.Darla didnt have to sit on Grandma's lap while driving the golf cart this time. She was quite proud of this & how she managed corners even!
16.Blessed big time with lots of loving Grandparents!