The Icycle Twist

There were plots within plots, hidden meanings behind every word, glances across rooms that conveyed ... suspicion. Mark and I hosted a murder party last night and we had a ton of fun. Meet the cast:

(Harley and Dawn) Michael and Laura Maitland. He is the Director of National Defense. Bright, handsome, smooth talker. He is a classy dresser and has money. She is a police surgeon and Michael's sister. Always prepared, she wears her surgical "scrubs" and stethoscope.

(Tom and Diana) Buzzy Reinhardt and Alicia Tomasini. He is a Ski Shop owner. Good looking but a bit flashy. Alicia is beautiful and mysterious. She is a bohemian dresser with an eclectic mix.

(Wade and Johanna) Roberto Martine and Tiffany Enderly. He is a bodyguard. Handsome and suave. His athletic body is irrestible to women and he often wears workout clothes that show off his muscular body. No matter what the outfit, he adds gold chains. Tiffany is an airline flight attendant. Very self-assured, confident and elegant.

(Mark and Myself) Mad and Samantha Westin. He is a private investigator with a typical undercover personality. Quiet and reserved he dotes on his daughter Samantha. Samantha is Mad's vivacious young daughter. She loves to party and helps her dad with his undercover work.

With those characters how could we not have a great time!? We laughed and plotted against each other and told the most outrageous lies. It was like being in a soap opera! We drank wine and ate cheese and just had FUN!

By the end of the night, we were sore from laughing so much, giddy from the wine, and full from the cheese. We did manage to solve the mystery (it only took us 3 hours!) and we all agreed we will have to do this again soon!

Forever 7

James and Adam (1995)

These are 2 of my baby brothers and today is the anniversary of when I lost them both. 11 years ago my brother Adam woke up and thought he heard an intruder. He went into my parent's room and got the gun. My brother James was asleep on the floor and when the gun accidentally went off, he was shot and killed.

The anniversary always catches me off guard but it slowly seeps into my subconscious as Feb. rolls around.

The last Valentine's Day as a family where James and my mom made cupcakes.

James carrying around my college books because he wanted to be just like me.

The phone call in the morning to let me know what had happened.


Those memories start to return to haunt me at night when I can't sleep. My chest will start to burn as I try not to sob but the tears will still silently slide down my face onto my pillow. I don't like to remember this day because even after all these years it still hurts so much. But is is good to remember because I also reflect on the many more happy memories:


Carrying James out of my bed when he had fallen asleep in it (he often did that), his sweaty body heavy in my arms.

Throwing rocks in the river, seeing who could make the biggest splash.

Just living life with the innocence of never having lost something precious.


Losing James changed a lot of things in my life. Life turned into befores and afters. Before, I didn't ever want to have children because I grew up always watching my brothers. After, all I wanted was a little boy of my own. Before, I took every day for granted. After, I make sure that those I love, know it.


It was through my brother's death that I found life. Heaven became a place that I had to get into. In my search for the way there, I met Mark and he led me.


God has a plan for all of us and while I miss my brother very, very much, I know that I will see him again and that his death is what has given me a chance to do so.

What a beautiful sunny day!

What a beautiful sunny day. A day for walks. A day for bike rides. A day for enjoying my family.

Caleb doing a drive by.

Owen following close behind.

I love the blue sky in this picture. (and the kid too!)

Owen was concentrating hard so he wouldn't fall off into the crocodiles. Those darn crocodiles...

Kids love slides. Getting ready to go down them...

however you can...
and then climbing back up them.


Dogs love slides too.

I love this picture! I felt like a secret agent spying on him. It's good practice for when he's a teenager.

I liked this shot also because of the yellows and blues and shadows and angles.

After a while, the boys wanted to go to the "big kid" side of the playground. They have a bridge that moves as you walk across it. Caleb didn't hesitate.

Neither did Owen.

Caleb loves the camera and poses himself. He will twist his body and hang upside down and say "Mom, take my picture, take my picture". I pretend to half the time because he poses so much but I did take some that he asked me to.

Getting a great shot of Owen is quite a bit trickier. He never looks at the camera and is such a little mover and shaker that my camera has a hard time capturing him. Here he is running as fast as he can.



Here is Mark and Kye doing the same.

What a beautiful sunny day. A day for walks. A day for bike rides. A day for enjoying my family.

Up and Down Days

Ups:
*Decorating cupcakes with the boys
*One of my students finally remembering to raise his hand before talking (yelling)
*Watching my secret show (American Idol - I really can't stop myself)
*...

Downs:
*Learning what the term RIF'd means and that it could apply to me next year. It
means you get a pink slip and no longer have a job. WOW - I didn't see that one coming!
*Sending the boys to their rooms before dinner because they wouldn't stop fighting and I
didn't want to listen to it anymore.
*Not seeing Mark for the last two days. Gotta love those 12-hour shifts!
*My hair sucks

What a cruddy day! It started off badly with the news of possible job cuts in our school district for teachers hired in 2004 and after. I dwelled on that thought all through lit. block and then by recess I just decided to pray about it. Thank goodness for God, because I immediately felt calmer (should have prayed to begin with!) and remembered that He has a plan for me. It is now 8:15 and I am writing this in between commercial breaks of American Idol and I really feel at peace with whatever happens. The boys are in bed, Mark will be home soon, and tomorrow is a new day! Plus I get my hair cut soon, so that of course will make everything better :)

Winter - YUCK!

I don't know about you but I am not a winter person. Don't get me wrong - I love the snow at Christmas time and for sledding and snowball fights and it is rather nice to curl up in front of the fire with a good book and cup of Russian Tea or hot chocolate. However, once Christmas is over and the decorations are put away, I am ready for spring. Getting the garden ready (watching Mark get the garden ready), starting outside projects (watching Mark start the outside projects), and just enjoying being out in the sunshine (that I take full part in!) are things that I look forward to every year. Mark, being the mature one, always says "We wouldn't appreciate the other seasons as much if we didn't have to go through winter". My immature response is to usually mutter "whatever" and roll my eyes at the same time (he loves that). This weekend I had high hopes for some outside fun and what happens? the fog. Yep, the fog. Talk about a joy stealer. We were out at Mom and Dad G's today and I saw this water spout with the ice cycle forming it's way up. How stinking funny! That is definitely a sign it's too cold!Anyway, I just wanted to jot down my feelings on winter and see what others thought.

Winter is _____________________.

I would rather be ____________________.

Snow would be better used for _______________________.

Caleb-isms

Caleb thinks he is the smartest thing to hit this planet. He has an answer and explanation for everything. For example:

Car exhaust: While driving the boys to daycare, Owen asked what was that smoke behind the car. I answer that it's exhaust and Caleb chimes in "and if you smell it you'll become exhausted!"

Creation: When he learned at Awana's that God spoke and there was light, Caleb told everyone that it was because God had swallowed a flashlight and when he opened his mouth, the light shone out.

Marriage: Our friends Tyler and Brandy are dating but Caleb is convinced that he is going to grow up and marry Brandy. The other night at dinner he told Brandy that she needed to marry him and not Tyler because (and he whispered this part in her ear while pointing at Tyler) "he's crazy!".

My favorite this week: Caleb was playing with some flower wand looking thing (no idea where it came from) and he would point it at me and say "you're a frog" and then he'd point it at Owen and say "you're a fly". Then they would laugh as I chased Owen around pretending to eat him. Caleb changed our creatures several times and then (between pants of breath) I said I was done. He pointed the wand at me again and said "You can't say any words!" I responded with "Your wand isn't strong enough for that one". He looked down at his wand and said "Hmm... batteries must not be included."

Gotta love him!

P.S. for picture below: The flowers had been out for a few days and then something caught my eye as I walked by. I asked Caleb to come over to the table and talk with me for a minute. When he came over, I asked him if he noticed anything that looked funny. He noticed a dead leaf on my plant (not in picture), he noticed the lint in front of the basket and he noticed that "mommy, you need to dust" Thanks. Anyway I asked him to look again at the flowers. He said "Oh, I saw that, but the gorilla has to stay there because he loves the smell. It smells like you, mommy".

Well, I guess the gorilla stays.

I See Africa!

Dawn and I rounded up the children and headed over to the nature trails in Umatilla this weekend. They needed to get some energy out and we needed to get caught up on each other's week. Owen wouldn't leave my side at first because he was scared.
"What about the bears!?"

"I hear a yion (lion)!"

"I think a crocodile is going to eat me!"

Once we convinced him that he wasn't going to die from any wild animals he had a good time.

Caleb and Trent kept finding sticks which quickly turned into guns. We encountered a man out walking also and Caleb informed him that he was in charge of protecting the ladies. I hope that meant Dawn and I, but you never know.

Owen was the funniest. He kept saying "Look Mommy Look! This rock was dinasour poop (according to him). However, he got the most excited when we crossed over a bridge and saw the scene below. He shouted "Mommy, I see Africa!" I could kind of see it also so I praised him and told him what a smart boy he was. Then as we were driving into Pendleton, he shouted out that he could see Africa again. Hmmm...

Look! Boys using a map to figure out where they are!