After making Mom's bag and crochet hook holder, I decided to make

a crayon holder for Emma and a colored pencil holder for Ryan for convention.

I thought about making Emma a matching bag but didn't have the time to make one from

scratch. Michael's has plain bags (I chose red) for $1.29. I figured I couldn't go wrong there.

So, here is Emma's crayon holder and bag for convention. I had enough left over to make a skirt for her also.

Once I got started, I couldn't stop!

Ladybugs and Strawberries

This is Ryan's colored pencil holder.

No matching bag or skirt for him. :)

A few more boy designs...flames and race cars.

~

These take just two fat quarters, a bit of interfacing and 26" of grossgrain ribbon.

I was able to make three with 1/2 yard of fabric, plus 1/2 yard of the contrast fabric.

For the girls, I added a bit of ric rac.

Fishing Weekend ~ Year Six

Last Thursday was Ryan's last day of school.

They passed him on...he's officially a third-grader now.

Right after school, we packed up the car and headed to

La Grande for the Annual Fishing Weekend.

Look! He's smiling...because he doesn't have to be separated from his family after the weekend is over. Every other year, Bob headed back to Portland to work on audits while the kids and I went to Parma to spend a week.

There were some pretty cool cloud formations on the way there.
Later that night, there were some pretty scary cloud formations!

This is a photo of Ryan and Jordan from 2008. We take the same photos

each year...it's such a great way to see the growth in the kids.

Emmalee in 2008.

The kids this year just before heading out to the ponds.

2008

2009

While the boys were gone, the girls had fun!

Emma and Grandma played dinosaur wars for a bit.

Aunt Ann arrived just in time for dinner on Friday. Afterwards, she and Emma made another

apple pie. Ann has Bells Palsy, so she's pretty good at making pirate faces. This was their "Aaargh" face. Ann was a trooper...we're hoping that it goes away soon!

On Saturday, we headed up to the pond. J's birthday is right around fishing weekend, so we're allowed to come up as long as we bring birthday cupcakes, more food and whatever else the guys forgot the day before.

~

I asked Emma if she was going to catch a fish. She said that she was and showed me how

big it was going to be. Next year, the guys may have a problem because Emma really wants to go with them!

For the past 5 years, the guys have had a medium-size stocked pond to themselves.

This year, someone found out about the location and brought lots of friends!

The guys found a much smaller pond about 9 miles further down the road.

There weren't as many fish, but they still had a good time.

I don't have the photos the guys took before we came, so I don't have any

fish photos to post.

Every year, the kids collect all of the bones from the area.

Yuck!

Greg and Holli...celebrating 15 years of wedded bliss this fall!

Ryan, J, and Emma scaring the fish away.

Look at that happy Idahoan!

Me and my silly goose.

It was so cute watching Bob teach Emma how to cast.

Doing it all by herself!

Hmmmm...birthday cupcakes...more sugar!

The birthday boy...ten years old!

There were quite a few games of hacky sack while we were there.

The big kids and Uncle Rick even let Emma play.

The might fishermen

Dear Ryan,

In two days, you'll finish second grade. SECOND GRADE! It seems like only yesterday you were this tiny little guy that would just lay there and smile up at us. I miss those days, but I wouldn't trade them for today for anything.

~~

You've had a wonderful first year here in our new town. The move was probably the hardest on you as you had so many good friends in Portland. Every once in a while, you tell us that

you wished you lived there again. But, by the next breath, you've usually changed your mind to tell us that you'd rather live here. You've been such a trooper...new friends, new school, new meeting, new everything.

(all photos taken by Ryan this past weekend at P-40 Flying Tiger Days)

~~

You have changed so much over this past year. At your new school, they take school pictures of the kids at the beginning of the year and again at the end. You look so young in your first picture, with three teeth missing and short hair. The photo they took last month...you look so grownup!

You did a great job this year in school. You made new friends right away and jumped right into the school work without missing a beat. You did well in your Gifted and Talented class. Your GATE teacher told me that you have a knack for public speaking (I didn't tell her that you haven't stopped talking since you turned two...you've had LOTS of practice).

You're a very lucky boy for many reasons. You are surrounded by extended family that love you very much and share your interests. They are all so willing to spend time with you.
This past weekend, you spent the day with Uncle Max at the Warhawk for P-40 Flying Tiger Days. When I came to pick you up, all of the employees and fellow volunteers came up to tell you good-bye. You went up to John (the owner), stuck out your hand and told him thanks for letting you volunteer. That did this momma's heart good. Last night, Hop came by for a few hours and you played catch with him. You've got an arm that rivals many kids older than you. It was sweet when you told us that you'd picked the Nerf football because you didn't want to hurt Hop. This next weekend, you'll spend the weekend with all of your cousins, most of your uncles, your daddy and your grandpa on Daddy's side of the family. You'll come home stinky, sweaty, all sugared-up, but oh-so-happy.
What a lucky boy you are!

These past few months, you've been a bit of a pill. You get in trouble and then immediately feel bad for whatever you did. Yes, it takes you a few times to learn your lesson. But your heart is so soft. You'll pick on your sister (I think that brothers are supposed to), but you're the first one there when she gets hurt. When she gets in trouble, you go to her and comfort her. Then, you often reinforce what me or Daddy had told her. She looks up to you so much.
I'm so glad that she has you. I'm so glad that we have you.
Our lives would be incomplete without that smile you try to hide from us.

(Ryan's view of the plane from his seat on the tug. They are pulling the plane to where they want it)

Ryan, as we move into summer, I know we'll have our battles. I'll limit your time on the DS and you'll try to argue for more time. You'll pick on your sister. Your onery streak will jump out occasionally (please, only occassionally!). We'll have our moments when we'll need our space from each other. But I'm looking so forward to spending more time with you without school. Time outside working in the yard, kicking the soccer ball, playing tennis, at the playground, at Hop and Nana's house working in the garden. Time inside reading, working on projects, doing chores, and playing games.
~~
Thanks for being the wonderful boy that you are.

Love~~Mom

I'm going on a long trip!

Yep...I used to wear those pants.

Not too long ago, too.

60 pounds ago.

I can't tell you how much I DON'T want to wear those ever again.

~~~

When I was removing (not losing...you usually want to find something you've lost) the extra weight from my body, I walked 2-4 miles six days a week. Once the weight was off, I was able to cut it back a little. Since we've moved here, it's been a bit hit-and-miss with my exercising. The area where we live doesn't have many sidewalks or bike lanes, so it's not as safe as Beaverton was. Of course, in Beaverton I had a little incident with a car full of unruley teenage boys, an egg moving 40 miles an hour and the police. But that's a different story.

My Leslie Sansone DVDs get a bit boring after a while.

~~~

I've fallen in love with my bike!

I didn't want to walk in place in the family room the other day, so I put Emma on the back of my bike and we went 'round and 'round the subdivision. Each lap is .7 mile, so 6 times around is 4.2 miles. It felt so nice to be moving fast, to have the wind blowing on me to dry the sweat, to feel the burn in my thighs, and to know that my legs were gonna wobble when I got off the bike. The best part was the constant chatter of conversation from behind me. I learned that, to make gas, you put lots of grass in a bucket and leave it for a while. Pretty soon it'll be gas. I learned that Emma only likes to hold worms if she has her gardening gloves on.

And I was reassured that she'd continue to look forward for me if I needed to turn and look back while we were riding.

~~~

My goal, for however long it takes me, is to bike from Boise to Portland. I was able to get in 50 miles in May, which means I just crossed over into Oregon. I'll track my progress on the sidebar...not really for any other reason than it keeps me honest and gives me a place to record my miles. I love coming into the office just after finishing my ride, kicking Bob off of the computer for a minute, and updating my miles.

~~~

For any of those out there that care to join me...please do.

I'd love the company.

~~~On a sidenote~~~

I've found something to ponder as I ride.

Why is it that my bum has plenty of natural padding but it doesn't seem

to help at all when I'm sitting on that seat!

Next purchase...gel seat cushion.

Kyla has posted the photos of the kids on her blog.

Click here to view.

Once again, she did a wonderful job!

standing in line at the grocery cart

emma standing on the end of the cart

she's saying something, but I can't quite make it out

put my ear to her mouth

"I'm so glad you're my momma."

These are the moments that make it all worth it!

~Thursday~Thursday evening, we met Kyla at the Train Depot

to have Ryan's eight-year and Emma's four-year photos taken.

I always used to go to JC Penney in Portland on or around their actual birthdays in December

to have the photos taken. However, after our family photo shoot last June, I've decided to have Kyla take the kids' photos. The kids tend to be a bit more cooperative for outdoor photos when it's 75 and not 20 degrees plus this city is gorgeous in the spring...so I think we'll have Spring/Summer photos from now on.

This is the flag that flies at the Depot.

With Memorial Day just a few days away, seeing the flag is

a reminder of all that has been sacrificed that we might

have freedom in this country.

Bob and Emma are looking out over downtown.

For those out-of-towners, if you look just to the right of the tall building in the middle, you'll see the capital building.

Ryan took a moment to sit and contemplate...

...what weight of line he'd need to catch these fish!

I love what the sunset did to these poppies!

Ryan's favorite spot is wayyyyyy up on top....

...like this.

Looking out over downtown

This is just before Kyla got there for the pics. The sun was gorgeous in the western sky.

No, there aren't many trees up on those foothills, but aren't they gorgeous

in the setting sun?
~~

~Friday~

Today, I discovered Emma and her friends enjoying a spot of sunshine.

Oh, how I love this girl's spirit!

...and her ability to mix-and-match.

Here she was a fairy princess-fairy godmother-racoongirl (coon skin cap) with

a bandanna tied around the waist for just that little extra oomph!

~~

~Sunday~

Mom and Dad came up to spend the night.

I love the time that they are willing to spend with the kids.

Here, Mom and Ryan were chatting as

they shucked the corn.

Yep...back to the Train Depot.

Mom wanted to get some photos of downtown at night...she's trying out some functions

on her camera that she's recently been learning about in her camera

class. Sadly, her camera battery died about ten minutes after we arrived.

We did get a few more photos at the Depot though.

On Thursday, the sky was bright orange. Today, there were clouds in the sky...giving it a

bit of a different look.

A man, his dog, and his favorite granddaughter.

Ryan and Buddy

That's downtown in the background.

~~

~Monday, Memorial Day~

Mom and I got up early, left everyone else sleeping, and went to visit

this pre-Civil Wat cemetery. I had never been up here.

We got there before 8 a.m. and there were already people

biking, walking and jogging in the foothills.

We were the only ones at the cemetery.

It was so quite and peaceful.

Does anyone know the significance of leaving a penny or

a small rock on the top of a gravestone? We saw this

alot at the cemetery.

There was a large stone listing the family members of a Major Collins.

Three of their young children died within two days. Their other child

had died several years before.

So hard to imagine what life must have been like then.

Having moved here from Portland where everything is green yearround, I thought that I've have a hard time with the dryness and lack of green here. I've discovered that I love it!

There is such beauty in the roll of the land.

(Now I just have to stop imagining how many rattle snakes are in those hills!)

After the cememtery, we headed over to Julia Davis Park and the Greenbelt.

I amazed by the size of this tree...I couldn't fit it all into the frame!

That'll be a favorite spot this summer when the heat hits!

While we were walking, we came upon the "Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial."

I had no idea this was even here...so glad we stumbled upon it.

"The best tool yet devised for improving society is freedom."

Back on the Greenbelt, we were able to get close to the river.

It is moving so fast and is so full!

If you look close, you can see a crane in the middle of the photo.