Corvallis with Auntie Allison

The longest driving portion of our vacation was from Reno, NV to Corvallis, OR--google maps said it would take 8 hours.  I figured it would take close to 10 hours with stops and it did.  The first 8 hours were fine.  We listened to Harry Potter Book 1 and were really enjoying ourselves---then 4:00 PM came and we were all pretty much done with nearly two more hours to go.  We were on a two lane road most of the day and when you get behind some semi's....well let's just say it makes the trip much longer and then add the voice from the back every few miles..."How much longer now until we will be to auntie's house?"  The scenery was beautiful and that did help immensely.  We finally made it and it is nice to know that we won't have that long of a driving day to get home.

We enjoyed a nice dinner with Auntie Allison and her friend, Brian at a local Indian restaurant,The Evergreen.  Ella didn't complain:)

Allison took us on a tour of Oregon State University.  One of the things we love to do when we visit family is to see where our family members spend their days.  Allison's office is in a building where classes and offices are in the central portion of the building and living quarters (dorms if you will) are on either ends of the building.  It was an interesting set up.  Ella wanted to see how the smart boards work in the classrooms....but alas after trying to get it up and running....it didn't work out....not so smart of boards after all.  There are kitchens throughout the building for joint cooking.  There are worship rooms throughout the building as well.  It was really enjoyable to spend time where Allison spends the majority of her time as well.

 This building reminded us all of Hogwarts....especially since it was on our minds anyway.

We had a lovely visit into the evening.  We navigated our way through town just fine.  The next day we enjoyed the local farmers market.  We love these.  We have shared lots of fun memories at farmers markets in many locations over the years.  There were local musicians playing guitar, flute, and the fiddle.  There were several items to sample and shady spots to sit and chat.  We enjoy deciding what we will purchase and the kindness of those there making a living.

We walked around downtown Corvallis, stopped at a bookstore (of course)--The Book Bin, had lunch at The Broken Yoke and then dropped Ella off with Auntie for a couple of days.  I MIGHT have shed a couple of tears when we dropped her off.  I don't know where those came from---especially since we--which includes Ella--have looked forward to her staying with Allison and Byron and I heading over to the coast in advance.  I chalk it up to a Mother's heart and I recovered fairly quickly.

Thank you Auntie Allison for being willing to spend some time with a girl who loves you so very much!!  We love you too.

Just Being Together

I love to watch Ella having a good time.  The sound of laughter and the feeling of "not a care in the world" is so peaceful to me.  There were lots of these moments.  We enjoyed Jaden too. Byron got some disc golf in with him.  He left for scout camp during our visit.

Thank you...Ben and Nat...for such a fun time.  We enjoyed every minute.  As always, it was hard to say goodbye....especially with a 9 hour drive ahead of us.

Happy 4th of July 2015

We were fortunate enough to be able to spend the 4th of July with my brother, Ben and his family.  They have two daughters, Megan and Lanie and Ella loves spending time with them.  She has said in the past that she would like to live with them so she can have sisters.

The night before we had a "manicure" moment.  We all got into the spirit of the holiday.

We were off to Lake Tahoe for the day.  My brother prepared us and especially Byron that it would be crowded but the fireworks show would be worth it.  We played "Rubberneckers" (a travel game) on the way there and we had a lot of fun.  It is a lot more fun to play with more than two people.  It rained a lot on the drive and there was concern that our plans for the day would be spoiled.

But nope....the clouds and few showers did not deter the girls at all.  I dipped into the water and it was cold.  

Hours of fun...even in ponchos.  The weather doesn't matter as long as you have someone to share the adventure with you.  The girls dug out a small area in the sand to be able to view the fireworks.  It didn't seem to matter that they were ready 4 hours before the fireworks would start:)

We are so thankful for our country.  A place where we can enjoy time together as a family and make memories that will last forever.  May God bless the USA...and may we do what is necessary to defend and protect our families in this beautiful country that we have been given.

The weather did deter the crowds...somewhat.  We were informed that it has been much worse in years past.  It was still crowded but very manageable.  We had staked out a large space anyway.  

The sunset was absolutely gorgeous.  The fireworks show did not disappoint.  They were done over the lake from 3 different barges.  It was the best fireworks show we have ever seen.  As Byron describes, it was like a fireworks finale for 25 minutes.  It really did last for 25 minutes straight.  It was a great way to celebrate our freedom!!

Years in the Making

I intend to add photos later:)  When Byron and I celebrated our 20th Wedding anniversary, we started planning what we would like to do for our 25th.  Well now it is here.  We left today for our Lake Tahoe, Oregon Coast anniversary trip.  Things are going great.  Byron got home from work early and we packed up and left earlier than scheduled.

We aren't great road trippers, but we have planned for this.  We hid some items (mostly reading material) in the car and Ella will be exploring for days.  We looked at a few blogs and found a few fun things to occupy her time.

Our first stop....Elko, NV......a place to rest and sleep.  Thank you to some friends with connections to Marriott...we are enjoying a nice evening....Ella swimming, Byron chilling out with cable and me making a new effort to update our blog.

It feels good to have left everything in our every day lives in good hands and spend this time together as well as with some of our extended family members as well.

Stay tuned for more......

General Womens Meeting

Since Ella turned 8 in January, she was able to attend the General Womens Meeting which was held in March.  I was able to get some tickets and Ella, myself, Aunt Ericka, Aunt Sara and Grandma Wright all went together.  This was the first time this meeting was held for Primary, Young Women and Relief Society ladies at the same time.  I really didn't know how Ella would do.  I thought it would be best if we had dinner before we went to the meeting.  We easily found parking and enjoyed some nice moments around Temple Square as we leisurely arrived at the Conference Center.  We had excellent seats and Ella and I passed some time looking at artwork prior to the meeting.  It was nice being together and enjoying each other.  Ella did well during the meeting and it was nice that it was just over an hour in length!  My hope was that she would enjoy it so that she would look forward to this new tradition again.  I think we accomplished that but we will see what happens in September.

My favorite part was when all of the 8-12 year old girls were asked to stand and sing, "I am a Child of God".  It was beautiful!

Sara, Ericka, Grandma, Ella and I

Grandma and Ella.....so sweet!

 I am so glad we had the opportunity to spend this time together!

Happy Mother's Day!

A few months ago I attended my Aunt Marcia's funeral.  She is an amazing woman and has touched so many lives.  She inspires me to try to be a genuinely kind and Christlike person.  One of the things that she was quoted as saying,

"There is no one way to be a perfect mother but there are a million ways to be a good one."

Thank you to my good mother, my good mother-in-law, my good sisters, my good sisters-in-law, my good friends, and my Good Ella.  I love you all and hope you have a wonderful Mother's Day.

School Days

Ella has had a few projects going on in school.  Her 2nd grade class did a "Mini Society". Each student got "Burrito Bucks" by doing jobs...like presenting their poems to a Kindergarten Class, etc.  Each student also needed to have a business which provided a service or sold an item.  Ella decided to do a Bean Bag Toss. It cost $2 to play and you got a treat for playing.  If you got any number of bean bags into a hole then you got an additional treat.  The Mini Society was held each Tuesday afternoon for 4 weeks.  This gave the students an opportunity to adjust their business plan.  Ella's business did very well.  There was usually a line at her business.  Each student gave a brief business presentation prior to the opening of the society.  Ella usually had her eye on something she wanted to purchase like...a pet rock, origami, paper plate ping pong, puff ball shooter, etc.  With a suggestion from Dad, she decided to change it up on the last day.  The first 4 students to get all 3 bean bags in a hole would receive a full size candy bar.  It was funny because as soon as the society opened, Ella closed her business to go and purchase something, while A LOT of students lined up for a try at a candy bar.  It reminded me of Black Friday shopping 2nd grade style.  Ella made lots of money and didn't spend much of it.

Her teacher gave me some money and Ella gave me some as well.  I enjoyed several back massages, playing hopscotch and buying a few treats.  It was fun and the students loved it.

It was Ella's turn to do a science experiement for her class.  We tried a few things but finally settled on, "Can you peel a raw egg?"  Is it possible?  You place a raw egg into a container and add vinegar to cover it.  The vinegar mixes with the egg shell and after several hours...like overnight...you have a peeled egg.  We did the experiment every day for 5 days and took all of the specimens to her class.  As the egg peels, it takes on the vinegar and swells in size.  She demonstrated the experiemnt and then to everyone's amazement uncovered the pan of specimens.