New Puppy....

No, we don't have a new puppy....yet.  Back when our dog Caesar died a year ago March, Mike and I told the girls that we would wait until summer 2012 to get a new dog.  As the time is drawing nearer, Mike tries to wiggle his way out of that promise, saying such things as "I didn't promise," "You guys don't pay enough attention to the dog we already have," and "We don't have the time to get a dog this summer." Well trust me, kids never forget, so I am really interested in seeing how this all plays out.

In the meantime, Mike and I saw this commercial on TV tonight, and we had to laugh. I'm afraid Mike's laughter was a bit more on the evil side, and I'm afraid he may be up to something....

Five Hours in Oregon....

This weekend the girls and I made an extremely quick visit to Oregon (about five hours in all spent in the state) for my niece Tiffany's baby shower. A couple years back I posted about Tiffany's engagement, and then blogged about her wedding. Now she and Nate are about to make me a Great Aunt for the first time. She is due the day before I leave for China, and I have a sneaking suspicion that she will be having Baby C. while I am gone. If that is the case, I better get some photos while I am there!

Tiffany did not know the girls and I were coming, so it was fun to see the look on her face when we pulled up. She was outside when we arrived, and she did a double take as the girls hopped out of the van to greet her. She teared up as we hugged and laughed, blaming it on the hormones.

Our side of the family....

My SIL Lorrie (soon to be Grandma) and niece Tiffany

Cute shot of Jaelyn and her Grandma (soon to be a Great Grandma)

The shower took place at the exact same spot as the wedding did. A house now sits where the wedding tent was. The farm land was a beautiful backdrop then and now.

Friday and Saturday nights were spent on my brother and sister-in-laws "farm," as it broke up our long drive to and from Oregon. Besides good company, the girls always enjoy hanging out with the alpacas. They had a one day old cria that was so soft and sweet. Lorrie made the evening extra special when she had the girls pretend they were showing the alpacas and she was the judge. The girls were grinning from ear to ear as they strutted their alpacas around and had the "judge" inspect their prized animals. Now once again I have to convince the girls that our backyard is definitely not big enough to house our own alpacas!

Goose Rock

Today after church we decided to beat tomorrow's predicted rain by hiking today instead of on Memorial Day. Today's choice was Goose Rock, one we haven't done since Kellen and Josh were little, despite being within 10 miles of our house. It was just as spectacular as I remember. The trail begins by going underneath the Deception Pass Bridge, then parallels the Pass below before veering right and up a steep incline to the summit. Most of the hike is through a heavily wooded trail, but once up top, it is rocky ground, peppered by colorful spots of red, yellow, and purple flowers, with a beautiful view. The only disappointment was that I did not have my camera, so these photos are off my phone, which doesn't take the best shots.

Really, despite the faces in the photo, we had a good time!

I Stand Corrected....

I am terribly embarrassed to admit it, but I was mistaken in my last post when I said we would be celebrating our 25th anniversary next month. My husband corrected me through posting a comment that we are only hitting 24 years this year. Guess I didn't realize he read my blog so closely; better be careful what I say. Now he has no excuse for not planning out our Hawaii vacation celebration!

20 years!

Nope, not my wedding anniversary yet. In another month that will be 25. I'm not sure whether to call it a birthday or an anniversary, but today marks 20 years since I was first diagnosed with Type I diabetes. No celebrating, no cake, in fact, some years this day comes and goes without me even remembering. But I thought that 20 years and still in great health was worth mentioning:)  In fact, just two weeks ago I was at my endocrinologist's office, and my a1c is again at a steady, healthy target, and my cholesterols are great. As he has mentioned before, I am his only over 40 patient who is not on a statin, and he still sees no reason for me to be. Where I would certainly not choose to have T1 diabetes, I do think that it has given me a reason to live a healthy lifestyle. Now here's to a cure before I hit 40!

Daddy's Girl!

Today we celebrated six wonderful years with Jaelyn! And as she was from the beginning, she still is a Daddy's Girl. Here she is just a short time after we met her face to face...

And here she is today, with her same Ling doll...

She chose her usual favorite Chinese buffet restaurant; not the fanciest, but she loves being so independent, filling up her plate with as much rice as she wants! Nothing fancy today, but such a special day for us all. We are blessed!

And here are a couple sports photos from last week. What a contrast between Josh's district track meet, where he tied his personal record in the 800, despite pouring rain and hail (note the gray sky and the rain on my lens). This is after the first lap of two, and Josh is hanging with the pack.

 and just three short days later, the beautiful weather at Jaelyn's soccer game...

Mother's Day n' More...

What an amazingly gorgeous day today turned out to be! Following a special time at church with the entire family, we headed to a delicious seafood brunch at a local restaurant. The weather today was so incredibly beautiful that we actually chose to sit on the patio, something we rarely even do here mid-summer. It was a nice change from the spring we have had thus far. We were even entertained by live music.

Speaking of entertaining, here's Josh and Kellen preparing to down their first oyster shooters....

 Can you tell which son enjoyed it, and which son did not???

I always enjoy the handmade cards and gifts the most....

The difficulty of getting a photo without one child being silly greatly increases with the number of children you have. Here was the best attempt...

After brunch we headed home, changed clothes, and they planted the Daphne "summer ice" and a few other flowers that they bought me, as well as spread bark.

Spring is my favorite time to enjoy my yard. The vivid red rhododendrons are in full bloom, and my pink climbing vine clematis begins to go crazy! The variegated purple/white lilac they planted from a Mother's Day past is just coming into bloom, and the sweet smell is intoxicating. I can even smell it through my cold-stuffed nose! I thoroughly enjoyed my day with my family.