House Update

I realized it has been over six months since I updated about our remodeling project we are in the middle (please say end?!?) of. We have never remodeled a house together that we actually live in and I can now see why. Besides the added stress we currently have in our life...like shutting down a 15-year company and loss of income...we have had the joy of this additional stress on top of it. Maybe this is why my eye won't stop twitching!!

I think I may need to check into an insane asylum!

We have now finished framing the kid's future bedrooms - we added a couple closets and my daddy just completed all the wiring - praise God for Dad's who can help so much!!

Last week we purchased 900 square feet of flooring from the "Hoop" that was bought by the Russian church. I think a basketball court would look fabulous in my living room, dining room and kid's bedrooms - don't you?? We will post a picture of the finished flooring someday.
There was a fireplace that was painted very bright red in the living room - so the kids and I primed it this week to say goodbye to the red!
You will have to stay tuned to see the completed fireplace - I will be painting it the same color as the front door and the chimney outside. Hopefully that will be done before Curtis puts the flooring in front of it - I had better get going!!

Curtis had this very cool idea to write all over the sub flooring. We are putting lots of scriptures and sayings we want to declare for our family. Emma has had a lot of fun with this and when Cody returns from camp next week he can add a bunch.

Emma thought we should put our family mission statement right inside the front door - good idea guys! It is nice to know we are covered in the word of God under our feet every day!

I am confident we will all survive this season and look back with "fond" memories. We will definitely be able to say God provided - which if for nothing else, makes it all worth it!

the big falls - with a celebrity!

Yesterday we headed out to enjoy a God-given beauty that is so close to home. Multnomah Falls was calling our names and we wanted to hike to the top! We even took Tucker along and he did a great job once he had his harness on!
This shot of the kids and I was taken about half way up the hike to the top .

Once we got to the top Tucker had a nice bath in the mountain water and we enjoyed lunch on some great big rocks.

There were a few mysterious caves along the path that the kids fit perfectly into!

We made it safely back down for snow cones and ice cream cones at the lodge. Tucker was quite a celebrity at the falls. So many people were asking about him and wanting to pet him. At the end a group of 10 south Korean college students stopped to touch him and drool over him - they were so fascinated they were all posing for a picture with "Tuckar". It began to get a little ridiculous! It must be how the family of a famous person feels - a little invisible.

It was a great outing!

loving flowers

Yesterday my parents, my brother, the kids and I went to check out the rose garden in the big city across the river. The weather was perfect and we had a good time wandering around the gardens.
We checked out all the different varieties of roses and even tried smelling a lot of them!
Some of them even smelled so good, Emma considered maybe eating one of them!!

We went to play in the park which happens to be a park my brother and I played at when we were kids. I think they still had the same slide and teeter-totters from the 70's.

Afterwards, we took them to this favorite spot of mine to have a few "dots". They were delicious as always!

cave exploring

The kids, my brother and I headed off Friday for the Ape Caves to be nice and cool in the midst of the heat. We stopped at a small attraction near the caves to do the underground tunnel at the Trail of Two Forests. My kids went through it about 4 times and my brother even gave it a shot. As for me, no thanks!

After lunch we all headed down into the big caves. With it being about 40 degrees and slightly windy inside the cave, we quickly put on hoodies. It is about a 30 minute hike in and then you turn around.
We were glad we had good flashlights because it is pitch black inside. It is also good to wear a hat or hooded sweatshirt to avoid the water dripping on your head the whole time.
We were able to get a shot or two of us in the dark.

Thank you God for the mysteries you create and that we are able to enjoy them!

celebrating freedom!

After celebrating at a big party in the afternoon, we decided to forgo our annual tradition at the Fort Vancouver and just stay home with some friends. We had several friends over and just relaxed until dark. Luckily, we didn't go to the fort because I ended up with lovely pink eye that evening. With every loud boom, I thought my head would explode!!

This year the girls really got into the fireworks. They were all wanting a turn to blow something up - they were giddy from the excitement!

My brother joined us since our parents ditched us for a fancy cruise on the columbia to watch the big show! Actually, we sent them off with our blessings.

The evening was gorgeous!!

Not too hot or cold

and perfect for sparklers

and blowing up big stuff!!

We ended the show about 11:00 and dad was out cold by 11:10 - He was done for the day!!

Happenings

When summer comes, that means we spend more time riding in our dad's 1968 Nova. This photo was just a couple days before us girls chopped of our hair. Our hair blows around a lot in this car, since it was made before air conditioning =).
Last week we went to a dinner party that a few of us had purchased at an auction. It was at the Dillon's house and prepared for us by the pastors of our church. It was a beautiful night in a great backyard.
The food was fabulous and the friends were great.

Notice how the two hip ones with the short hair (Val & I) are on the left side and the ones who are still hanging on to those longer locks (Shannon & Amy) are on the right.

Thanks Bruce, Vicky, Chris, Diana, Aimee, Connie & Carol for a wonderful dinner!!

Then this week, my son and hubby and brother are off to here....

My son and his small group boys were looking forward to a great week. Thank you God for opportunities to get closer to you and to others.