Glorious...

Our family went on a camping trip.

A glorious camping trip.

A trip to Jubilee Lake, one of my all-time favorite places to go on a camping trip. 

There was fishing - it was glorious.

There was hiking - it was glorious.

There were lots of s'mores which were... glorious. (Aren't they always?)

Then there were some things that were a little less glorious. 

All that fresh mountain air did strange things to my body. 

The hair on my legs and armpits began to grow at an alarming rate. 

At the mention of "no showers" I started to break out into a nervous sweat (of course).

My body began to emit pheromones that attracted every blood-sucking insect within miles. (I was even bitten by a ladybug this time! A vampire ladybug!)

It all came to a head on our last night there. 

I woke up in the middle of the night pinned down to my deflated air mattress by Kye sleeping on my legs, Mercy flattening out my feet, Mark's elbow digging into my back, and Owen's head under my pillow! I was hot (and sweaty!) and when I pushed the dogs off me, Mercy horked up her dinner onto a sleeping bag, Mark tooted at me while I was encouraging him to roll over to his side, and Owen shuffled closer to me, snuggling even deeper into the recesses under my pillow.

Unglorious!

Once it was light enough to see by, I had us packed up and ready to go in record time. 

It was glorious! 

Then Owen vomited down the side of Mark's truck on the drive home because we couldn't pull over fast enough but we could roll down the window in time...that one was a tie between glorious and unglorious.

I quickly decided breakfast at Sherri's was a must and while we were sitting in our booth surrounded by our sweat and campfire smoke fumes, mowing down on our "Cinnamasation" french toast I realized that life was once again...glorious.

Swim, swim, and swim some more!

The word summer is synonymous with swim lessons in our household. 

Every year since the boys were 4 they have been taking swim lessons up at the aquatic center. 

They started out as "little fishies" and I think I heard the song "Motorboat" at least 107 times in one two-week span alone. 

"Motorboat, motorboat, go so slow.

Motorboat, motorboat, go so fast."

Once the word fast was said, the kids would put their faces in the water and blow bubbles (and spit all over) in the water. It was great fun...

The little fishies program was done in 2-week sessions and we would only do 1 or 2 sessions since summer is a busy time for us. This year we decided to change things up though and not do lessons through our Parks and Rec. program. Instead we went through the same program that Caleb did his spring swimming with - the Pendleton Swim Association. 

Their lessons begin in June and they will end in August. They are 4 times a week for close to an hour and my children have learned more about swimming this summer than all the other summers combined. Yes, it was more money up front because the lessons are longer but in my opinion, it was money well spent. 

The boys are in the same group (which is awesome for me) but Caleb is a lot more advanced than Owen. Caleb will not move up until he can swim the length of the pool on his own though. The kids stay at level 2 for quite a long time because of this but they really perfect their technique. 

Most days they have a swim instructor for each child (there are only 6 kids in the group but usually only 3-4 show up on any given day). They practice hard the whole time and then have 5 minutes of play at the end. The boys love their lessons and I am just so thrilled with their progress. At the rate they were going before, I wasn't thinking they were going to swim independently until they were close to 12! 

Since we have pool passes we often go to the Aquatic Center for a few hours whenever we can and all the boys want to do is swim, swim, and swim some more. They beg me to get in the pool with them and then they run, jump in and practice swimming to me. I am always ready to be done a lot sooner than they are!

I am hoping they continue to have this love for swimming. It is such a lifelong skill and one that I feel better them knowing, especially since our property is bordered on two sides with water! If they are strong swimmers I will worry a tiny bit less...(just a tiny bit though!)

Guess What We Did?

Being a classroom teacher has showed me in a million and 3 different ways that children learn at all different paces and in all different styles. But even my students who take the longest to grasp a new concept have got me beat when it comes to certain things. 

Animals. As in inviting them into my home and life. 

When Mark said he wanted a puppy, I jumped and down thinking only of the big feet, loose skin, floppy ears and wiggly bottom of a puppy. That plus the puppy breath and I was a goner before we even went and picked up Mercy. Now, 6 weeks later, I am thinking of how she has peed on my brand new carpet, vomited all over my car when Mark left her in there and then tracked said vomit over each and every seat, and the time when she vomited fish guts and other nasty stuff right in front of our fireplace (again on my brand new carpet). Throw in the cost of her dog food and vet bills and I have a new gray hair out of all this. I wish I had the power of seeing the future when Mark said he wanted a puppy because I think I would have put my foot down and said "NO WAY!". 

That's if I wasn't a "slow-learner"! Because apparently I hadn't learned my lesson. Some friends of ours told us their cat was pregnant and they asked if we wanted a new kitten. 

Well, we couldn't get just one - nope- we had to get two. One for each of the boys of course! 

So let me explain how we ended up with three...

I was visiting with Mark's mom and telling her how we were going to have two new kittens that were going to grow up and be such terrific mousers and gopher hunters that when they had kittens, people would be begging us for them and willing to pay top dollar. She got excited about the thought of such terrific hunters and asked me if I could wrangle her a kitten also for her house. I said sure and called our friends and told them we would take another kitten please. They gladly told us yes and that they would bring the kittens to us when we got back from the beach. 

(Tiger)

Before we left for the beach we decided to stop by one day and check the kittens out. The boys were over the moon at the fact that we were allowing them to have their very own pet and they couldn't wait to see them and name them. As we looked over the kittens, Owen picked out a sweet little gray one with a stubby tail that he named Smokey, Caleb grabbed a friendly, striped-one which he promptly dubbed Tiger and that left one kitten left for Mark's mom. Perfect! This kitten was a little darker in color and it had an interesting feature - a tail that was crooked and only half the length of a regular tail. 

Once we got home, I called Mark's mom and told her all about her new kitty. 

She was excited until I got to the part concerning the tail.

Here's how the conversation went:

Me: ...and she is so cute! You are just going to love her! She has a little pink nose, four soft little paws, and a kinky half-tail -

Mom: What!? What do you mean a half-tail?

Me: Well, her tail is about half the length of a regular tail and it has a slight bend in it like it's been broken.

Mom: Umm... I don't think I want the kitten. Is that bad? I don't want an ugly cat. Don't tell anyone though.

Me: I won't tell anyone Mom (ha!). 

(Smokey)

Out of feelings of guilt and pity I explained to my husband that we would be taking on all three kitties. 

He was not amused but then I won him over by explaining that the third one would be our spare in case one of the boys' kitties died (life in the country is hard on cats). That made sense to him. 

Never having owned a cat in my life, I have had to quickly learn that they are a lot different from dogs. 

And I mean a lot. 

Mercy vs. The Kitties

Round 1: Potty Training

Mercy - Up all hours of the night, watching her like a hawk, walking her to the middle of our field so she can learn how to go poop in the pasture rather than our yard...

Score - 4

The Kitties - Take them one at a time to the litter box, scratch their paws in it and tell them to go potty there. Done.

Score - A perfect 10

Round 2: Loveability Factor

Mercy - So sweet and generous with her kisses, becoming more of a cuddler and her whole body lights up and wiggles is she hasn't seen you in all of 10 minutes. 

Score - 10

The Kitties - For the first week that we had them, they were skittish and I was a little concerned about our abilities to domesticate them. I've been bribing them with milk and trying to teach them to come when I call "Here Kitty Kitties". I didn't think it was working until yesterday. I think they had a conference and decided our family wasn't all bad because they now follow me around the garage and when I sat down yesterday they all climbed into my lap and revved up their motors for the first time. Purring kittens in your lap is wonderful! They were so sweet and I was won over in about 2.3 seconds. 

Score - 8 

(Minka or Half-Tail depending on if it's me or Mark calling her)

I will continue to watch carefully and see how Mercy stacks up compared to The Kitties but unless she gets her little bladder and vomiting episodes under control I'm afraid it's not much of a contest. 

On another note, once it got around that we are accepting animals we were offered a goat (which I thought would have been fun but Mark firmly said "I don't think so") and two chickens which I was excited about but the planets didn't line up on that deal either. 

So for now we are a strictly 2 dog and 3 kitty farm. 

For now...

Top 10 things about our beach trip

This year was the year to make our trip to the Oregon Coast to hook up with Mark's family for a reunion. In the past I have taken countless photos and then shared a limited few while the others ended up forever stored on my computer with no one to look at them but me. 

This year I went the simplistic route and I took my camera out once.

Once. 

Looking back, I think that I should have made more of an effort but then again I don't have gobs of pictures to wade through or the angst of deciding what to do with them - sixes and sevens. 

So, rather than inundating you with countless beach/family pictures, I'm going to bore you with my list of favorite things about this trip!

Yeah! I bet you can hardly wait!

In no particular order...

1. Staying up until almost midnight each night so that we could play hearts and talk about everything under the sun - from zombie books to teasing a certain someone about their choice of workout music. I look forward to those nights each and every reunion.

2. Watching our nephew feed Kye some dog treats and his excitement and delight in her. 

3. Visiting with family (of course!) and hearing the latest news in their lives. I love hearing how jobs are going, kids are doing in school, pets are getting along, and people's plans for the future. 

4. Seeing the dogs play in the water. I have always enjoyed Kye's love of the water but this year it was fun to watch Mercy see her first crab, chase her first waves, and dig for treasures in the sand. 

5. Reading. I did a lot of reading while we were at the beach. I began and finished 2 books and started a third. I loved the fact that I could text my friend Sarah about one of the books and we could both shout out at the same time "FICTION!!!!". You'll know what book I'm talking about when I do July's book reviews...

6. Visiting places that are filled with tradition for these beach trips: Lincoln City with the outlet mall and the used book store ( a must every single time!) and the Tillamook cheese factory so we can savor Grandma's cake batter ice cream. 

7. Kicking my shoes off and sitting in the sand while the kids build sandcastles around me. Burying Owen up to his neck, exploring tide pools, going for walks and even one really fun run. There is no doubt about it - I love going to the beach for the sand and water alone!

8. Having times when the whole family can get together whether it's to have a white elephant exchange or to simply enjoy time to talk about Jesus. There is lots of teasing, lots of patience and lots of love. 

9. Vacation Mark. I love the time that Mark and I have together on vacation. There is plenty of time to talk, plenty of time to dream together about future plans, time to laugh and time to just soak up each other again. Time for Mark to grow out his facial hair ...

10. I love the memories that I take away with me each and every trip. Then I love how we all revisit them together and laugh all over again. 

Good thing this list wasn't in any particular order! I would have had a hard time choosing the number one slot...

Blueberries and Raspberries Part 2

It seems that I have mislead some of you and I humbly apologize.

You see when I said that I would try to blog every day, I actually meant that I would try to blog everyday that I wasn't:

a) out of town

or

b) too busy to sit my hiney into the chair in front of the computer. 

Also, let me clarify that when I say "tomorrow", it is a relative term for me during the summer as in "the sun will come out tomorrow". My "tomorrow" means "sometime in the not-so-distant" future. Please do not hold your breath when I start promising to do something "tomorrow". 

Phew! Now that I have no more guilty feelings for not following through on my promises I can now continue to blog about events from the very beginning of the month (someday I will catch up. Maybe "tomorrow" ). 

Once the boys and I had slaved away picking our weight in blueberries and raspberries, I began the process of getting them ready to be frozen so we could enjoy them until next year at this time. 

First I gathered all the buckets into the kitchen. 

Then I began to wash and gently go through all the berries. They are full of leaves and sometimes bugs so I want to make sure they get really clean! I also carefully looked through the berries that the boys had picked since biting into an unripe blueberry is not a pleasant experience. 

Once they are pretty well rinsed, I spread them out and look them over one more time while I dry them with a paper towel. 

Then I spread them out on a cookie sheet...

and place the cookie sheet into the freezer. 

We ended up with plenty to last us through the year! I eat the blueberries almost daily in my cereal or oatmeal. I also use them in pancakes, muffins and desserts. I haven't used them in smoothies yet but I am thinking I will try it out this year. We also just grab a handful from the freezer and suck on them during a movie instead of eating popcorn or candy. They are delicious no matter what you do with them. 

But my very favorite thing to do with them? Making them into a pie and then sharing it with family and friends while it's warm and covered with vanilla ice cream. 

Seriously - it doesn't get much better than that!

Blueberries and Raspberries - Part 1

Vacation at the beach was awesome but I must admit I am so very glad to be home. 

A couple of summers ago my cousin Johanna asked me if I would like to go blueberry picking with her. I wasn't even sure if I liked blueberries but I went ahead and said "sure, why not?"

We had an absolute blast and I found out that I do like blueberries - very much!

This year I went for a few hours on my own the morning of the 4th but then I invited Mark's mom to go again with the boys and I a few days later. We go to a u-pick place in Milton-Freewater and the berries are perfect. Easy to pick and loads of flavor. They are also only 1.50 a pound which is a great buy for blueberries!

We set out early, 5:30, in the morning and the boys were great. Caleb was really wanting to show Mark what a hard worker he can be.

Within minutes of arriving, we were given our section to pick from and we got to work. It was a little chilly that early in the morning but not bad at all. 

We spent about an hour or so picking the blueberries and then I moved onto the raspberries. The farm had just started growing these last summer and this year's crop was looking good. Big berries on thorn-less vines - that's my kind of raspberries! You do have to do a lot more hunting for the raspberries but it is still a lot of fun. 

It only took us a few hours to fill our buckets (former ice cream buckets!)

Caleb picked that whole gallon himself and he was very, very proud of his hard work! So was I. It was much quicker to have little helping hands!

Tomorrow I'll show you what we did with all those blueberries!

Puppy Pals

Meet Mercy (who I think we should have named Trouble). She is mischievous, always hungry, a pest, and a chewer of all things that are stationary. She is also very sweet, which is lucky for her or she would be dead by now since she peed on my brand new carpet! Mark caught her in the act and all I could hear was her yipping for several minutes afterwards. Trust me, you do not want Mark catching you peeing on the carpet.

I don't think we will have that little problem again.

Here is our Kye dog. The best and smartest dog ever. She is so well behaved and such a people pleaser that you just have to point and she will leave a room. She loves walks, playing fetch and listening to me call her "my best and most favoritest dog in the whole wide world" in my special voice that I only use with babies and her. 

That is until we got another puppy. 

She caught me in the act of telling Mercy how much I loved her too. 

I felt guilty and had to shower Kye with several dog treats to assuage my guilt. 

Poor Kye. Mercy loves her to the moon and back and was fascinated with her from the beginning.

 Kye tried to be aloof and "above" the whole puppy thing.

She would ignore Mercy no matter what Mercy did.

If Kye went to get a drink of water, so would Mercy.

If Kye laid in the grass, Mercy would lay down right in front of her. 

"See me! See me!"

Mercy would try her cutest puppy impersonations hoping that Kye would relent and be her friend. 

And eventually Kye did give in. I mean, who can resist cute puppy impersonations anyway?

The two of them now wrestle, chase each other around and sleep curled up next to one another as well. 

They even hug while they are wrestling so that no one's feeling get hurt. (That's what I told the boys anyway).

Mercy is the prankster and often sneaks up on Kye... she will lift her butt in the air, get as close as she can and then bark, bark, bark. 

If that doesn't work to get her attention, Mercy will belly crawl until she is closer and closer until Kye just has to see her. 

I think they are going to be BFF's now and plot canine conspiracies together. They will go chase skunks, dig up gophers and play in the creek as pals. 

Everybody needs a friend, a boon companion, and a playmate. 

I think Kye has just found hers.

Owen's 7th birthday!

I do not know how some people can post on their blogs every single day! 

I am trying my hardest for this month but sheesh, it is difficult!

Yesterday was an up at 5am berry picking, 10am parade watching, 11:30-8:30 company entertaining/cooking extravaganza, late night fireworks event. No single minute for sitting down at a computer...

I must call the Pioneer Woman and ask how she does it!

I'm positive she would have all the answers.

On Tuesday we went up into the hills and took Owen fishing at his request. He was allowed to invite 3 people with us since it was the year of his "small" birthday party. 

He invited his Grandma and Poppa Golter, his Uncle Zach and his friend from school, Kasyn.

We fished, visited, froze for the first little bit, but then at lunch time we settled around a   

fire for some lunch and presents. 

Caleb did his big-brother thing and read all the cards (with great expression on all the punch lines I might add). 

While he was reading and Owen was opening, Mark was working on the hot dogs.

I normally loathe hot dogs but I am sometimes tempted to eat one that is cooked over a fire. These turned out perfect! 

Owen is very hard to buy presents for surprisingly. He pretty much wants to do whatever you are doing and he isn't a child that plays by himself very much. At times that is great and at times not so much. This year I think we did good though. He has really been into music this last year and at school he was allowed to play the violin for a few weeks (his whole class was taught). He has been begging for a guitar and I finally spotted one at a yard sale for 4 dollars a month or so ago. It was missing a few strings but it had a case and was in great shape so I snagged it. I took it into the local music store and they fixed it up for next to nothing. 

Owen was over the moon!

Mark showed him how to hold it and strum the strings a little bit and then Owen was playing and singing songs for us.

We included the gift of lessons with the guitar and he will begin when we come back from the beach in a couple of weeks. 

Mom and Dad got him an awesome gift also but I forgot to take some pictures of it so I will show you it when I post about Owen's bedroom. (if you have questions about Mom's hat please direct them to her!)

When it was time to go, the boys all helped put out the fire...

and then they promptly passed out within 10 minutes of the truck moving.

Later that evening we told the boys that we were going to be having one more surprise for Owen's birthday. They had overheard me on the phone earlier that day telling someone that we weren't going to be home because we were going to PBR and so they, of course, started asking what that was. 

Over dinner we explained what it was and then we got ready to go. 

This was the first year that Pendleton hosted PBR in July and Mark and I thought it would be a lot of fun. 

It didn't disappoint!

They boys were so excited! I loved seeing their excitement and answering their questions about stuff. They danced to the music, chatted with their neighbors in the stands, and promptly declared that they were going to be bull riders (all within the first 5 minutes). 

To start things they introduced the cowboys...

They also introduced the Round-Up and Happy Canyon court as well as a few board members and sponsors but they just weren't as cute as the cowboys so I didn't snap any shots.

Then it was time to get started. I have never been to a PBR event in the daytime. Normally during Round-Up it is at night but I think I liked it just as well during the day. 

You could see things a wee bit easier and I swear the bulls looked bigger. 

I really don't know what possesses someone to think that hopping on one of those things would be a good idea. No thanks! 

I snapped a few shots of the actual riding but nothing turned out super. 

This one I thought wasn't too bad. 

My favorite picture though was all blurry with no focus that I could find but I still like it.

Future bull riders...

riding some pretty tough sheep. We saw one buck and kick just as much as the bulls did and it even pawed the ground once the poor little kid was laying in the dirt!

The rodeo bull fighters kept the boys entertained. 

This one even did a dance to the song "I'm sexy and I know it". 

The boys, I am not proud to say, sang all the words and even stood up and danced with their own rival dance moves. 

The event ended a little after 10 and we were all pretty tuckered out by the time we got home. It had been a busy day but let me tell you - it was a fun one!