Update for Myers Family Visit

5-Day Forecast for Forest Grove, Oregon!

5-Day Forecast for Tillamook, Oregon!

I checked at the Farmer's Market last night, Crawford's Nursery will have u-pick blueberries and blackberries next week but not peaches. Blueberry cobbler sounds just as yummy!

Pay Up Tooth Fairy!

Henry had four baby teeth pulled on Monday to prepare for his braces in January. Although, this was my fourth time taking one of my boys in for pulling (Chandler has had 12 teeth pulled), it was still hard on me. Henry did great. He actually did it with only novocaine, no laughing gas. Although at one point the dentist did make him laugh, then snort, which made him laugh more.

Midnight Premier at Toys R Us

Friday night, and into Saturday morning we attended the midnight release of the new Star Wars line of toys. We drove 45 mintues to the Toys R Us and waited in line 30 minutes for the doors to open at midnight. Although, they offered all sorts of toys in the Star Wars series, the Lego kits are the toy of choice in this house.

I believe it was the nerdiest I have every felt!

Prayers and thoughts for our friends

Although it's difficult today to see beyond the sorrow,
May looking back in memory help comfort you tomorrow.
~Author Unknown.

Kuhina Visits Honey Girl's Memorial

Sea Turtle "Mourns" After Friend Killed (follow link to watch touching video)


Oahu, HI -- An outpouring of love from one turtle to another tore at the heartstrings of beach goers at Laniakea Beach on Oahu's north shore.
News of the slaughtering of a turtle named "Honey Girl" brought tourists and visitors to the beach to watch the survivors. "Look at how much joy people get out of this and then something like this somebody does something horrible like that it's terrible," one visitor said.
But what happened Monday afternoon tugs at your heart even more. A large male, known as "Kuhina" appeared on the shore and quietly made his way to a memorial volunteers set up for "Honey Girl."
"They had to move the ropes aside so he could come straight up through and just came up and put his head right near the memorial right near the picture and just stayed."
Kuhina stayed for hours. Volunteers say it appeared as if he never took his eyes off her picture.
"Heart breaking to see those images but it was also so touching just to see him come up and be so close to the memorial it was almost like he was coming up to say good-bye."
"Look at that -- quite unbelievable -- oh my -- nature is unreal isn't it -- just so fantastic. That's unbelievable very sad."
"To me this is heart-breaking -- it's just so sad -- it's like he's grieving -- sad -- very sad."
Science often discourages attribution of human motivation or behavior in animals. But the volunteers on this beach say its hard not to believe that applies in this case.
The way we've given names to the individuals here that is kind of borderline to me but now I feel its good to have those connections with the individuals." CNN


My mother and Ted gave me a turtle charm, they purchased during one of their visit to Sedona. It came with the above description, which was significant to us with my heart condition. The February after my mother's passing, Suzanne, Ted and I found a "collection" of turtles, which I now have. Since that time, turtles, especially sea turtles seem to speak or appear to us in symbolic ways.
The above story about Honey Girl and Kuhina is really touching even without the connection.

Camp Sprueill

Over the weekend, Wade set up camp in the backyard for the boys (including himself). They had new sleeping bags to sleep in, since their others are in Eagar. Wade slept in the next tent, while I enjoyed having our bed to myself.

They had no problem falling asleep but the early rising was a problem for me. I could hear them discussing going inside to the bathroom at about 6:00 a.m. I did fall back asleep for a little while but it was nothing to compare with my usual 9:00 a.m. wake-up. Anyway, I took advantage of the early rise to make them blueberry pancakes. I'm a product of the Bisquick generation; I believe this was the first time I had made pancakes from scratch. They were pretty good considering I used whole wheat and soy flour.

The three of them shared their camping adventure during breakfast. Stories included-- if they could go inside to pee (or outside!), an owl hooting into the night, and a screeching 'bird' very close to the tent. At least it wasn't Bigfoot!

Fill 'er up!

After Tina make a comment, on an earlier post, about gas prices when we met almost 10 years ago, I decided to investigate how much our gas purchases have changed over the last 10 years. I have used Quicken for our personal bookkeeping needs since 1997, so the research was easy.
First, I started in 1997, I couldn't find a "auto fuel" purchase over $20. The average purchase price was $15 a trip.
But, in 1997, I had a Dodge Neon, I can't remember the size of the tank. So, I moved to 2000 after we purchased the Honda Odyssey. The most I spent on a fill up, was $23. In 2001 it went up a little, but in 2002 it went back down to match 2000. Then starting in 2004 and after, the price does nothing but noticeably increase.
Last Thursday I filled up the tank (which was the first time since 6/13, I'm trying to not drive), ready for the total to fill the same tank, that cost $23 to fill in 2000...$75!!!!!
At least in Oregon the attendant pumps that $75 for me!

Our Blueberry Cup Runith Over!

Another fun outing to Crawford's Farm to u-pick blueberries. The boys must have enjoyed picking raspberries because they didn't argue when I said we were going for blueberries. They were even happier when they learned how easy it is to pick blueberries. Plus, the morning was overcast, which made for cool picking conditions.

This time we were comfortable with the animated birds sounds around us. Instead, we had to hear the po'chuckers calling to their children over the rows. I'm not sure why cursing is necessary at a fruit farm. At first Chandler and Henry thought is was funny, in a stocking kind of way. Then they commented, "Isn't this activity suppose to be tranquil?"

We picked 15 pints of blueberries, for the low cost of $11! The yield gave us muffins, jam, pie filling preserve, pancakes, a pie, plus a number of toppings for cereal and yogurt.

First Trip to the Mall!

Yes, we haven't stepped foot into a mall since we left Arizona. Mall walking was a past-time in hot Arizona. From our Chandler house, we had four malls within 15 miles, two of them much less. I spent many days walking around each mall with a stroller when both boys were little. When they were older, our weekly bargain movie outing, almost always ended with lunch and stroll around the mall. I'm not knocking it, it makes sense to be inside with the AC, maybe find a few bargains, and visit with girlfriends.

Oregon...not so much. It's really not that hot here, though there have been days. We really don't have extra money to spend. Lastly, the mall is 45 minutes away! When Chandler and Henry found out there is a Lego store at the Washington Square Mall, they asked the visit it for their weekly outing. Since the Chandler Fashion Square Lego store opened after we moved from there, I couldn't say no. We haven't visited a Lego store since our last trip to CO, in 2004.

Anyway, it was a nice trip. I took the back roads through farm land instead of the freeway. We visited the Lego Shop (of course), Bath and Body (need those hand soaps) and Made In Oregon (love supporting the locals). Of course, no mall trip would be complete without a fill-up from the food court. Imagine all those choices for the boys. Remember, we don't eat out much at all. I can't recall the last time we had fast food besides Subway. What did they choose...Subway! I couldn't believe it, I'm happy they went healthy, but it was a surprise.

How often do you visit the mall?

Guitar Hero Contest

Wednesday, we attended our first Guitar Hero contest in Forest Grove. It is sponsored by the local tanning salon, on the third and fourth Wednesday of the month. A large screen is set outside the salon on Main Street. The timing coincides with the weekly Farmer's Market, which is a plus for me, I love shopping the market.

Chandler and Henry really didn't want to go. Not because they don't love Guitar Hero but the socializing factor bothered them. I had to pull the, 'try just this time, if you don't like it, we won't do it again' lure. It worked!

And as with most things they are unsure about, it was great fun and they can't wait to go again. Chandler came in 4th and Henry 5th plus he won the cash raffle. The possibility of winning a raffle each week excited them both. Henry came home and practiced, practiced, practiced. I must admit I'm wanting to tune-up myself, as the other kids asked me to play

Afterwards, we did shop the Farmer's Market. I really enjoy attending each week and supporting local growers. It is so tempting and convenient to purchase produce from the grocery store but I am committed to being a locavore. This week I bought, potatoes, sugar-snap peas, squash, carrots, all for about $7, not bad. Friday, we hope to U-Pick blueberries, to start the blueberry jam and pies.

It was a good afternoon in town, especially considering between 11:30 a.m. and 2:00 a.m. I was vomiting my brains out! Oh my gosh, what a awful feeling. I'm not quite sure why I got so sick, other than I had a headache which could have become a migraine. When I'm sick like this, especially vomiting, I often think of my mom during her chemo treatments. I recall her telling me how painful it was and how sick she felt. She always wanted to prepare for the best not the worst, but she just wouldn't know until it was there. Imagine that feeling of not know how long you will be sick, how bad it will be, is this the worst or just the beginning. Needless to say, I started to cry during all the puking which really didn't help. I kept having to blow my nose between all the hurling. I'm sure she would think I was silly for doing that to myself. I pictured her holding my hair back like when I was a little girl. Then Wade came in with water and offered to help...that was nice. I stayed in bed all day, until I had to shower to take them to Guitar Hero.

After Wade got home from work and dinner, I was folding and sorting the laundry from two days ago, which leads to the funny for the day. As I was finishing up, Henry came in and asked if I was done yet. I said, "No, why?" He replied, "I told Dad he should come help you finish the laundry, while I go outside and play."

Thanks for looking out for me Henry.

"Dadada, Dadada, Garage Sale"

Friday we ventured out for local garage sales. I wanted the boys to understand that not every need or want must be bought new. As nice as buying new is, reusing is green, the economy sucks, mom doesn't have a job, there are bargains to be found, plus the whole "One man's trash, is another man's treasure". Saying that, I do have a few "off limits" at garage sales. I will not buy clothing, bedding, really anything made from fabric, or from a house that looks dirty, I know that narrows down this list...a lot!

I picked this week since the paper had about eight listings in the Forest Grove area. Which in this small town, I could make them all in 20 minutes without stopping. Of course, I stopped and looked, so the whole trip, including a coffee/smoothie break, took about two hours.

So what did we find on our shopping trip:

Nerf archery set

two fishing vests (I know--fabric, but the house was very clean, the label was expensive and they belonged to an older couple that can't fly fish anymore)

Vintage silverware storage box

binoculars

Solo cup holders

Bread Slicer (for my homemade bread)

New Pampered Chef 3 qt. stirring pitcher

Lawn Darts

New Star Wars model set

wrapping paper

fishing flies

All for the bargain price of $25, plus $9 for the coffee and smoothies.

What is with the title of this posting? When my oldest niece Molly was a toddler, she said this while imitating my sister on the phone. You know how little ones are, they just ramble like an actual conversation is taking place on their play phones. This is how her pretend conversation went,"Dadada, dadada, garage sale!" Now it is a joke between the sisters, when we are on the phone a lot with each other or ever bring up garage sales.

"Are you my mother?"

A family of robins have made their nest under our back deck. Wade noticed it one night while sitting out there. It started with three eggs (one you can see in the picture). I've put off taking a picture of the nest, which finally caught up with me. Today, I noticed a shell on the ground and thought it must have fallen from the next before hatching. I checked the nest but it was too dark to see between the deck slats. A little time later, I checked again, and could make out two baby birds.

All day, between walks, fixing the fence gate, pitting cherries for more cherry pie, and visiting with co-workers picking cherries, we noticed mom and dad robin flying in to feed their babies. They even had the courage to fly in while we ate dinner downstairs under the deck.

We wish them the best and their two new additions.

Tina--How many posts can we use this title?

Love the U-Pick

We did our first u-pick of the 2008 season. During our visit in 2002, we did a few (blackberries, peaches, blueberries) and made several preserves. I remember how lucky I felt to have a four year-old and a two year-old willing to pick with me or at least hang out while I picked.

Now that we live here, I am excited to add the u-pick adventure to our annual summer activity schedule. Since both Chandler and Henry have issues with bugs, I wasn't sure how they would hold up. In trying to NOT control the situation and go with the flow, I relaxed and waited to see how they would react. Much to my surprise and delight, they did great. We picked for almost 2 hours, with only a couple of bug concerns, which included me too. Actually, the fake gun shot and wild bird sounds (to scare off bugs and birds) were more of a nuisance then the actual bugs would have been.

We picked over 12 cups of raspberries (another week on the blueberries), which yielded 12 jars of jam and a batch of raspberry vinegar.

Happy 4th of July

As I stated in my previous posting, I did pick cherries most of the day. Wade started replacing our fence gate. The gate that leads to our backyard and three, very fruitful apple trees, which we must guard...but that's another story.

We left the evening for the bar-b-que and fireworks. Since Oregon allows a medium level of fireworks in the city, we decided to take part in the tradition of lighting our own fireworks out front. After a delicious dinner of ribs (made with my Rhubarb-b-que Sauce), corn-on-the-cob, local sugar snap peas, and bread, we headed to the front to wait for dark and the fireworks.

And wait, and wait, darkness is about 10:00pm here. Being the Boy Scouts we are, we took all the precautions, water bucket, sitting far away, Wade even wore a glove for the hand held ones. We all had a great time. The anticipation of what each firework would bring was so exciting. Several neighbors had the same plan, including the police chief, who lives two doors down, so we figured we were legal.

Can she bake a cherry pie?

Yes, I can!

I baked two!

Let me start from the beginning. Slowly but surely the fruit on our cherry tree has made an appearance. The color changed to a beautiful red but the size was still very small. I was expecting a large cherry...what else? Well, apparently there are small cherries that grow on Cherry Pie Trees. Once I figured this out, I then realized the cherries are ripe and there are a lot of them!

Friday, I started to pick and picked and picked, even in the rain, even on a ladder, I was going to pick them all, it just didn't matter.

I picked two large bowls full. The down side to picking so many at one time is the pitting.

Even with my handy pit remover, I started to feel the pain. Saturday, I pitted about 13 cups of these small cherries. Chandler even got into it by doing a few cups.

Pitting 13 cups of cherries...cost...a sore hand.

Ingredients to make two pies and 7 jars of Cherry Conserve...$20

A new pressure cooker to help with the canning...$90

Hearing your husband say, "This is the best cherry pie I have ever had!"....Priceless!

PS We thought of you John L. and wished we could share with you.

Great Wolf Lodge Trip

The first weekend of summer break we headed to the Great Wolf Lodge in Grand Mound, WA. It was actually Henry's birthday party. For several years now, we allow the boys to choose between a birthday party with friends or a family trip. Some past trips have been to LegoLand, DisneyLand, and SeaWorld. Henry made a wise choice this year.



Great Wolf Lodge is a indoor water park resort with slides, a wave pool, a tornado tube, and much more. The resort has a northwoods theme with restaurants, an arcade, craft area, teen room and my favorite Starbucks.
We were a little surprised by the cost of the rooms but the water park passes are included, which are issued to guests only. I'm not a big water park fan, the wild kids, water diapers, more flesh than needed, etc. Even in Arizona, I would rather melt than visit the parks there. This was really great, very clean, total family fun. The four of us ran around like a four kids. At times I did wonder if it was boot camp for us all...I was so sore.






The icing on the cake...MagiQuest! This was like a life size Runescape. The kids use a wand, issued to them, which they keep to continue their quests at other locations. The game takes them on quests and adventures for power and runes on five floors of the hotel. Another side to the boot camp.




What would a trip to WA be without a visit to Cabela's. After walking around and shopping, we had a little wild lunch. I had a venison brat, Chandler had the bison brat, Wade had the halibut, and Henry (the true adventurer) had pizza!