Well, I Am No Fried Chicken

Today is my birthday. I am kind of indifferent about birthdays nowadays. I have learned that they are just another day. Life doesn't stop. I still have ball games to get kids to (soccer in Enterprise and football in Cedar), treats to prepare for the ball game, fruit baskets to fill, Halloween costumes to arrange, a house to clean, laundry to wash, groceries to buy, bills to pay, singing time to prepare (I am a procrastinator on that one), and a husband who is enjoying an elk hunt. I deiced not to set myself up for disappointment. Life goes on. Who really wants to celebrate turning 34 anyway? I was all set for today just being another day.

Last night as I was tucking Dace in, he got a huge smile on his face. "Dace" I said "What are you smiling about?"
"I am just so excited about you birthday tomorrow."

"Me too." I smiled. And I meant it.


P.S. There is a story about fried chicken. A couple of years ago my grandma turned 90. Some one was commenting on how great she looked. Her reply was "Well, I am no fried chicken."
My mom said "Don't you mean spring chicken?" We laughed for days.
Now when someone has a birthday we tell them "Well, your no fried chicken!"

Thirty Point Buck

We have some mighty deer hunters at my house. Royd snagged himself a massive 4 by 5 (te he) during the bow hunt. Quade scored his first deer on the muzzle loader, a decent 3 point. Quade was super excited. I am pretty proud of my boys.

Summer Road Trip: The Final Installment (It's About Time)

After a short nap in the car we were ready for Redwood Forest. It was breath taking. I had heard the the trees were unbelievably tall, but until you see them you have no idea of what they are like. It was like stepping back in time. I half expected dinosaurs to be grazing around the corner. They were unlike anything I had ever seen. Everyone was in awe.

It is had to comprehend how big these massive trees are. Pictures and word can't describe their massive beauty. The picture below is at the bottom of a tree that we could not see the top of.

I told the kids they were on a mission to find their mom a giant pine cone. We searched and searched with no luck. I had so been looking forward to a giant pine cone (don't feel too sorry for me, LaDawna hooked me up with one I could pretend I got on my trip - thanks Erica.)

The root systems are all connected. The tree Reese is standing under had some exposed roots. That is a very small root he is holding onto.

Look really close at the bottom of that tree. You may be able to make out our family and car. Royd is wearing red if that helps.

It was getting dark when wee left the park. We had no idea where we were going to stay the night. We planned on visiting with Richard and Julie near Lake Tahoe. I took a look at the map on the navigation system. I found a road the according to the key was about 50 miles, ending in Redding California. We decided to take that route, and in about an hour be sleeping in a hotel on Redding. The map did not take into consideration the ups and downs of the road. It was dark the road was winding up and down, uncertain cliffs on either side. It felt like we were in the Ozarks of California. The 50 miles ended up being 150 miles at 30 miles per hour. 5 hours later we reached Redding only to find no vacancy at the hotels. We finally found one that would let us a room. After some rest we headed to Rich and Julie's stopping to look at the sites in Lake Tahoe. We spent the day with them, and headed home the next morning. We took the loneliest highway through the deserts of Nevada (We were starving. We were completly out of food and water. We did find a gas station and bought a $7 box of Chicken in a Biscuits.) We made it home an hour faster than we were told it would take. The last highlight was the comfort of sleeping in our own beds.

I Love You This Much

Dace and I have a little game we play.
One of us will start by saying “I love you.”
The other will say “I love you more.”
It will be countered by “I love you the most.”
Then the winner of the game will say “That is impossible, because no one can love more than I love you!”
Or, we may play the game with numbers.
“I love you 47.”
“I love you 2,457.”
“I love you one million trillion bazillion.”

Saturday Dace started the game by saying “Mom, I love you, and no one can pass me. Because, I love you the very last number.”
Doesn't he understand that is impossible? Because no one can love more than I love him.

Summer Road Trip Part 4: River Wild

The next day we were up at the crack off dawn to begin the days adventure. We road 104 miles in a jet boat, up a river and back again. We saw all sorts of wild life, and had tons of fun riding the rapids. The river was the same river on the movie River Wild with Meryl Streep. It was a highlight of our vacation. We spun 360's, ate wild berries, ate lunch up river, got totally soaked, and had the time of our lives.

After the trip was over it was off to the Redwood Forest. It was a very quite 60 minute drive.

Summer Road Trip Part 4: On the road again

The conference was over. It was time to start our way back home. We decided to travel home along the coast. It made the trip longer (a lot longer), but we had never seen that part of the country before. It was amazing! It looked somewhat like what I picture Hawaii looking like (never been there ether), minus the palm trees and warm weather. It was still quite cold. It was so green and lush. The smells were unbelievable.


Royd had found this fun river trip thingy on the Internet so we were headed to Gold Beach. We got a little distracted. As we were driving through a cute little beach town we saw "Beach View" painted on the road with an arrow. So, like good tourists we followed the arrow. It was a great view and worth the detour. We thought if we hurried we could still make the river trip.

After the slight distraction we were on the road again. We traveled another hour or so, when we saw another sign. Oregon State Park: Arizona Beach. We had to stop again. It was so beautiful. We took off our shoes to run in the sand.

This was the neatest beach I have ever seen. The sand was so smooth, it felt like my feet were getting a spa treatment. Because the sand was black (yes black), this beach was a lot warmer than the others. We were able to get a little wet. As we walked around the beach we found beautiful white rocks all over the black sand. The boys collected a few for me. This was one of my favorite stops on our trip.

After the refreshing break we were on the road once again. This time we were running a lot late. We didn't know if we were going to make to the river trip. We arrived in Gold Beach just after the last river boat left, darn. We had to make a decision. It was still early afternoon. We could keep on the road and head to the Redwoods, or get a hotel and go on the river trip first thing in the morning. You only live once so we booked the trip, and started looking for a hotel. Finding a hotel turned out to be an adventure. Royd finally found a vacancy, but the price tag was steep.

Gold Beach is an old mining town on the coast. It is located where the Rouge River empties in to the ocean. During the gold rush panners flocked here. They mostly found gold dust, which is very hard to mine. The temperature stays between 45-60 degrees year round. As you head up the river the temperatures change drastically.

We checked into our very expensive hotel. It was a dive, but it was clean. I couldn't help feeling ripped off, until sunset. I guess we paid for the view.

To Be Continued ...

Who's Kid is That?

Reese was able to spend his 11th birthday at his first scout camp. When Royd picked him up Reese's scout leader asked if Reese was part Aborigine. Why? Because he was running around camp without shoes. He was told that the only time he could have his shoes off was if he was going to go swimming. So what does Reese do. Changes into his swimming suit, takes off his shirt, and runs around half naked for the next 3 days.

Summer Road Trip Part 3: Are We There Yet?

Are we there yet? Yes we are! We made it to Salem in the late afternoon. Because we were tired, and it was a Sunday, we hung out in the Hotel. It was nice to have a few hours of just chilling and resting.

The conference started early the next morning. It was a really good conference. I learned a lot. I met Rebecca and Richard Dufour (famous people in the world of education.) For the next 3 day we spent our mornings and early afternoons at the conference. The late afternoons and evenings were filled with tonz of fun and exploring.




One of our first stops was to the coast. The kids were all excited to go to the beach and wondered why we didn't bring our boards. This beach was beautiful, but different than the beaches they were used to going to. It was freezing. We asked the locals and they said that it didn't get much warmer. The kids still had a lot of fun.

We spent a lot of time in state parks. There were beautiful fun things to see everywhere we looked: beaches, rivers (as big as lakes), railroad bridges and more. We went swimming in the Willamette River. It was just a block from the hotel. We also had our first experience with a Cinnebar. It was a movie theater/restaurant. The kids thought that was super cool.

TO BE CONTINUED ...

Quote of the Day

Dace (holding a cantaloupe): Mom will you cut up a Koala for me? PLEEEASE!

Summer Road Trip Part 2: We Take a Detour

After we left my sisters house we drove about 5 hours to Twin Falls. We stopped at a Target to get a blanket for me (Royd likes the air on full blast, and I was freezing.) The clerk informed us we were only a couple of miles away from the the falls. We took a quick detour to the falls. Totally worth it. The pictures don't do it justice. It was super cool. On the way back to the freeway we ran into the temple. Royd was not about to stop, so I snapped a few pics out the window.

Then we were off to Boise. The map said we had another 5 hours to Salem, so we stopped and got a hotel room. We went to dinner at Tucanos Brazilian Grill. It was fun to watch the kids eyes as the servers kept coming with more and more meat. By the time we left Dace was an expert with the tongs. I think between Quade and Dace, they ended up eating the equivalence of a whole cow and two chickens. It was a fun experience.

After we left the restaurant Royd and I were getting a little frustrated with the kids. Not one of them had thanked us for dinner (or anything else for that matter.) Royd sat them down and gave them all a lecture on being grateful. After he was finished Dace piped up "I was the only one that was just about to say thank you." Then gave dirty looks to the other kids.

After dinner we walked around the temple. The next day it was off to Salem.

To Be Continued.... Da Da Dun

Reese's Face Says It All

P.S. We totally embarased Quade. We didn't have enough clothes so Royd stopped at Areopostale and baought us all t-shirts that were on sale. All of us looked like we were trying to match each other. A walking advertisement. 12 year old boys think that's so un-cool. I liked it just because it made Quade so uncomfortable. Love to watch'em squirm.