Welcome, Wyatt!

Wyatt Andrew: 8/15/08 7 lbs 15 oz. 20 1/2 inches


Proud parents! (Meysa doesn't look so thrilled here!)
I loved being able to hold him! He's such a cutie!
Proud brother and sisters! Wonder how long it will be before they want him to "go back!"

Doo wop in 2008?

Andy and Teresa drove their 57 Buick Special from Idaho to Tacoma for a car show. This is a show Andy has always wanted to have a car in and here it is! Does this kid belong in the 50's? He loves this era and all the great music. It was fun to see him and Teresa enjoying the show.

I took the grandkids for the afternoon and they really enjoyed seeing the cars! Not sure Lauryn appreciated it but she had a great time looking around.
Meysa thought it was pretty cool to sit in the convertible!
Just a glimpse of things to come - it's only 9 years till he's driving!
Mom and Dad went for a spin in the Buick. It looks like a lot of fun!
And they're off! Mom and Dad loved the ride; it brought back lots of memories for them.

Who knew being a grandma was so much fun?

We had Ayden and Meysa for 4 days and decided we would go camping at the coast. The entire month of July was without rain.....until that fateful day....July 29th! We had made our reservations a month ahead of time and guess what. We had a crazy, crazy rain storm- it was a deluge! We decided after spending an hour in the tent with no way to dry out that it was time to bail!

Here are Greg and Ayden putting up the tent; Greg and I took it down after 3 hours of downpouring rain and wind! The kids thought it was grand fun - NOT! My mantra now: NO MORE TENT CAMPING for this grandma!

So we improvised and had our own campout in the living room! The kids decided it was a great night to watch Santa Claus 3.....what a hoot! I just loved the time spent with them.
Going to bed led to lots of laughs and fun. Meysa and Ayden decided they could make different poses and here is one showing "who has the longest arms!?"
So now how do we have s'mores? Well, the microwave melted the marshmallows and then we made the sandwiches. It actually was the night after we bailed from the coast that we made these.
Both Meysa and Ayden ate two of these. Can anyone say sugar high? (Sorry Aimee and Ryan, but this is the best part of being the grandma - I get to spoil them!) And yes, bedtime was a little more stressful; not that I didn't join in on the pillow fights and frolicking!
We took the kids to the A.C. Gilbert Discovery Village in Salem. They were enthralled with the light room where they moved around and saw how the lights changed with their body movements. We spent almost an hour just in this area. It was pretty cool.




Greg and Ayden: playing Mario Kart on the Wii. Ayden was pretty good with this and as you can tell, they both were pretty intense.

Every morning it was hot tub time! We had such a terrific week with the kids; thanks, Ryan and Aimee, for letting us have them!

MOTORCYCLE MAMA

As I get older, I am finding myself willing to take more chances. I think about my boys and their risk-taking and wonder why I've been so conservative until recently. That being said, I am loving the risks! Here are some pictures of me in my "Motorcycle Mama" outfit. Greg and I took a long (3 hours) trip today through the coastal mountains. It was spectacular and my only regret is that I forgot to bring the camera. It will be a "must" on the next trips. Hopefully we will be taking some overnighters this fall!
We arrived back home and took this picture before I took all the gear off!
Rusty hates being left behind and is so excited to see us when we get home!
Yep, that's what is known as helmet hair! But the smile says it all....I loved the thrill and adventure of it! Now I understand why those Harley dudes wear the scarfs - no bad hair days for them!

Memories

Oh the Memories!!!
I stole this idea from another blog. It looked fun.

1. Leave a comment on my blog, one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

How DOES my Garden Grow?

Well, alll I can say is we have a jungle growing! Our beets are about ready to harvest - 6 rows of them should give us lots of pickled beets and fresh ones to eat too! We have peppers, zucchini and spaghetti squash growing like crazy! Tomatoes have just started to set and the cukes are blooming. This is my favorite part of gardening - the harvest!!!

Beans have blooms almost ready - these are purple so it will fun to see how they grow.
The zucchini is a single plant but it's a monster! It has completely covered the hubbard squash 3 feet away!!!!
Can you see the pepper peeking out? It's almost ready to pick. YUM!!
The first zucchini to set; we'll pick it in the next few days to add to our salad.

Sister Time!

In late June, Beth came on the train to visit. We had 4 days of sister time! It was so much fun. We shopped, played, shopped, ate, shopped, and played some more! I loved having her here. She is my best friend!

We ate lunch at this quaint little restaurant. They made a great vegetarian sandwich!
A day at the beach: I took Beth to Cape Kiwanda in Pacific City. We hiked the sand dune, laughing at ourselves. At one point we were laughing so hard, we had to quit climbing the huge dune! But we made it and we were treated to this incredible view.
It was a very blustery day but warm. The sand actually felt like needles hitting our skin as the winds were whipping it around. We had sand everywhere- in our hair, eyes, mouths, and ears. We then went house-hunting! It is still my dream to own a home in this area.