8 days in Hawaii!

We were in Hawaii for Thanksgiving this year... Oh, what an amazing time! We went for two weddings and stayed an extra 5 days for a little family vaca. The weather was fantastic; 85 and sunny the entire time! Well, I take that back... the Wednesday before we left there was a terential down pour and flash flooding. Other than that, it was gorgeous!






Thursday the 28th Jeromy proposed! We were at a quiet water fall on the NaPali Coast line. Madeline helped in presenting the ring and it was a very special moment for the three of us I will never forget! There is so much to tell about the vaction and not enough room or time for this little blog. Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season! I promise to write more in the next posting!

Time to catch up!

Well, it's been a while and so much has been going on!! Here are a few highlights from Halloween. Madeline was a caterpillar and Lucy was a butterfly. And yes, Lucy went trick-or-treating with us and got some treats along the way!

Pumpkin Times!

We met grandpa and grandma Sager the the Sauvie Island pumpkin patch on Sat. Oct. 20th.

What a bad idea! It was the end of the nasty weather and poured the whole time. We didn't do much as far as pumpkin hunting. Madeline picked out a pumpkin for us and a couple for g & g out of a pile and we were off to find cover! Madeline got her face painted in the red barn while we were waiting for a break in from the rain. It never actually stopped, but it let up enough for her to take a ride on the cow train! Take a look at that!

Madelin spent the rest of the weekend at g & g's house and carved their pumpkins and went to OMSI. We finally had a chance last night to carve ours. Good times! Madeline has decided that pumpkin's need ears too so we cut moon shapes out and stuck them to the side of his face! We're heading to picture people tomorrow for pics of Madeline and Lucy in costume. Madeline is going to be a caterpillar and Lucy a butterfly! Oh, I know! It'll be cute! I probably won't post until after Halloween so I can put trick-or-treating pics up at the same time.

Junior Dance Team Member

Yesterday was my dance team's first junior dance clinic for the k-8th graders here in St. Helens. I was a little scared at the turn out because of the details I didn't know going into it. The kids didn't get the registration fliers until Tuesday. But we had 38 girls come and it was just enough for the first clinic. Now that I've done one, I know what to expect and how to plan better for the next one! Anywho... Of course Madeline participated. And did she have a blast!! It was such a wonderful feeling watching her enjoy dancing and actually being pretty good at it too! The team just loves her and some of the older kids that came thought she was quite the doll also. How cute are this pictures!?!





The clinic lasted all day.... 1:15-8:30. We fed everyone sandwiches for dinner and they got to perform during half time at the football game. It was so funny listening to the girls and how excited they were to just be at the football game! They were just pumped to be able to be in front of the crowd. I must say though, I think half the crowd were the parents because after they performed the stands were pretty bare. :) It was a great day all in all and I'm so happy it turned out the way it did. Madeline had a fantastic time and didn't want to leave. Needness to say, she crashed when she hit the bed and it's now 9:10 the next day and she's still sleeping!


We're headed to the pumpkin patch next weekend! We're hoping to go to Roloff Farms in Hillsboro. Madeline LOVES the show The Little People on TLC and really wants to see their farm "in this world." lol I'll be sure to post all the cute pictures from that!

Life can be so busy!

It's been a couple weeks since posting and there's been a lot going on! School is going great for Madeline. She loves it! I'm finally able to just pull up and drop her off and she walks into school without me! I really didn't know when this day would come. lol And she's learning so much. She's excited about school and what they do each day. She says math is boring, but I told her it gets pretty fun after your basic equations. We went to a class play date at Campbell Park last week and it was a joy watching her play and interact with all her school friends.

Well we drove to Missoula, Montana the weekend of the 28th for a wedding. Jeromy's cousin, Nicole, got married and Madeline and I finally got to meet his dad's side of the family. There are a ton of them... His dad has 8 brothers and sisters!! It was a long drive but a fun weekend. Madeline tore up the dance floor. She dance for about 2 1/2 hours! (She's the tiny one in white and pink.) Here are a few pics from the wedding...

Our drive home was awful! The weather wouldn't stop. We hit Spokane and it started raining... by the time we hit Oregon it was a torrential down pour! I was driving and we had taken the camping trailer with us so there were heart stopping moments during that stretch of rain and stupid drivers all around me! lol After leaving Biggs for dinner the rain held up and I caught this beautiful shot of the sun amongst the rain clouds.

Well, it's now Oct. 7th... My grandfather has been very ill and in the hospital. As of Friday we aren't sure how long he has. We were able to take him home yesterday and hospis is coming in tomorrow to take over care. He so badly wants to just fall asleep and go to see my grandmother. She passed away almost 10 years ago and he's never been the same. He's hangin' on to life, but I know he just wants to go. I'll be sure to keep everyone posted.

For now... We've got the pumpkin patch coming up, a jr. dance clinic, birthday parties and who knows what else!

Prima Ballerina...

Oh my goodness! Will ya look at that cutie pie!! Madeline is taking ballet through Evergreen Dance Studio. Her teacher's name is Molly and as of the first class Madeline is in for some private lessons. She is the only 5 year old! It was so wonderful watching her. I started ballet at five and to have your child follow in your footsteps and love it as much as you do is a great feeling! She comes to all my dance team practices with me and dances around the house constantly! Who knows, maybe I'll coach her one day too!









Here are some shots of class before my batteries died. ENJOY!

School Changes!

Well, Madeline has changed schools! I had signed her up to go to Arthur Academy back in April and she's been 5th on the waiting list since. We got a call last Thursday letting us know she's now in! Arthur Academy in a charter school run out of Yankton School here in St. Helens. It is a public school, but has a limit on class size and a very structured and academic based curriculum. She is one of 24 kids in her class and now goes 3 hours and 15 minutes instead of 2 and a half hours. And she's loving it! She was having a hard time at McBride and I think it had to do with the size of the school and who knows what. She cried almost every morning I dropped her off, but was great during class. At Yankton she hasn't cried at all and can't stop telling me about all the stuff she learned during the day. It's been wonderful seeing her so happy! She has to wear a uniform though and it's messin' with her fashion sense lol
Miss Madeline starts ballet classes this evening so stay tuned for some pictures of my future ballerina!

First Day of Kindergarten!

Well, today was Madeline's first day of kindergarten! What a big girl! We live so close to the school it only takes a few minutes to get there. I'll admit... walking through the front doors and seeing the mass of other kids older than her kinda scared me a sec. But then I heard someone say the kindergarteners were in the cafeteria and noticed a much smaller and quiet group of kids and parents. Each teacher has a small cone with their name on it that the kids line up behind. The teachers come get the kids at 7:45 and they all walk to class. Madeline wasn't quite sure until she actually saw Mrs. Biggs. Then she grabed her hand and got in line with the rest of the class. She ended up holding the assistant's hand all the way to the class room. Enjoy these few pictures of her first day!

I picked her up at 10:30 in the front hall and it made me feel good to see she was happy to see me. On our way to the car though she started crying because she wanted to ride the bus home like all the other kids. I explained to her that we lived too close but she didn't care what the excuse was! She starts on Monday going everyday and as for now, is looking very forward to her first year of school.

It's September!

Oh how I love this time of year! Not only does school start, but the routine of things is so much easier! Last weekend was a busy one, just like the rest lately... Friday, well let me start with last Wednesday... Jeromy rushed home from a drug bust in Kalamath Falls to sign the closing papers on his condo and by 6:30 we were off to Kellogg Idaho to pick up Mr. Biggs (Madeline's name for our new Dodge Ram 3500) It's an amazing truck! I LOVE IT! Friday I picked Bailey and Melanie up from daycare and got Madeline from her dad's. The kiddos stayed the night while Dan and Stephanie celebrated their anniversary. Saturday was beautiful so I got the sprinkler out. What crazy kids!

After the kids left we headed to Hillsboro for The Simpsons Movie and sushi for dinner. We went right to bed when we got home because we had to leave at 6am for Bend for my cousin's wedding. Yeah, Bend... that was an adventure! After getting gas in Madras the check engine light went on... we didn't get to Bend until 10 and had 30 minutes for breakfast. The place was packed so we didn't get out of there until 10:45. The wedding was at 11 at Todd lake! At 11 my brother called and said they were waiting for us! Oh, I love my family! We finally got there at 11:20. It was gorgeous! We all walked down a trail behind Eric and Heather while a bagpipe played. It was great! They exchanged vows right there in front of the lake. And it was perfect! Of course I forgot batteries for the camera so I have no pictures! :( We had time to go back and check-in to the hotel (and take a quick nap) before the reception at my aunts cabin in La Pine. Cabin? Oh, no... more like a second home with a huge garage with apartment upstairs... it is huge! And of course, I got batteries on our way there and left the camera in the hotel room! Anyway, Eric made authentic Indian food and we all just relaxed and caught up. We haven't seen a lot of my family for awhile. It was wonderful seeing everyone at such a happy event!

On our way home Monday we stopped at Clear lake to go fishing and let Lucy go swimming. It was so beautiful there! We were the only ones there and it was about 80 and clear blue sky! This was Madeline's first time fishing... She lasted about 20 minutes lol.

There was a duck tormenting Lucy out in the lake! He'd quack at her and let her swim to within about 5 feet and then take off. He did this about 3 times! Lucy was going crazy and it was hysterical to watch!

We finally got home at about 6 and Madeline was bathed and sleepin' by 7:15. She was pretty tuckered out! Today she met her new kindergarten teacher and got to visit the classroom. Her first official day is this Thursday. I'll be sure to take a ton of pictures of that! Stay tuned!

Beach babe!

It's been quite a busy month of August! We seem to be heading somewhere every weekend! Last week was crazy! I started practices with the high school dance team and I had Madeline and Jordy the first few days of it. Jeromy was at SWAT training all week and get home Friday just in time to pick up Madeline from her dad's with me. He had called Thursday to let me know she fell and busted her eye! I was VERY anxious to get her home. Take a look at that!

Saturday morning we took off at 5:45am for Camp Rialea. Jeromy was helping judge an Explorers event all day so Madeline and I headed to Seaside. It was only 15 minutes from there and gorgeous! Hood to Coast was finishing up so as the day went on the busier the beach got. We spent a good few hours just sittin' on the sand and playing. Well, Madeline played and I people watched.

We got home about 5:30 and headed to Steve and Sommer's for a going away party. They are moving to La Grande. We will miss them so much! Sunday we stayed at home... finally! But there was so much to get done around the house and yard it flew by! Now it's back to a busy week and off to Bend next Saturday for the holiday weekend and my cousin's wedding. WooHoo!

Birthday Princess!!

Madeline is 5! We had a great party for her on Sunday with a nice size group of 30 people. Some how we lucked out with the weather! It was pouring before everyone showed up, cleared up and was sunny for the party, and then poured all night! Gotta love Oregon! She got many "cool" toys and it was wonderful having so many friends and family able to help celebrate with her. She was sure to remind us all that it was HER party and SHE is the princess. lol What a goof!
Thank you to everyone who came!
Last weekend we headed to Newport for the OSP Superintendent's Salute. It was gorgeous down there! We took the dogs down to the beach with OJ, Amy, Tori and their dog, Sammy. What a great time! Lucy couldn't get enough of the ocean and chasing the ball!

We picked up Jordan on our way home so she could be at Madeline's party and stay a couple days with us. At one point during the ride home Madeline was telling Jordan about a slug in the back yard. She said, "It wasn't eating any of our flowers... It was just sluggin' around!" Jeromy and I lost it laughing! Oh, the things kids say!

Madeline got a letter from her kindergarten teacher. She has Mrs. Biggs for the AM class. She's pretty excited because we can walk to school! We only live 5 houses from the playground and can see her class room windows from our driveway... She only goes one day the first week and actually starts everyday Sept. 10th.

For now...