My Camping Badge

I'm going to earn another Mommy Merit Badge!

We are going camping this weekend.

I am not ready.

I have not gathered a thing. Shopped for food. Or planned anything.

If the kids weren't so dang excited, I would bag the whole trip and stay home to get some things done before school starts on Tuesday.

I have no business even sitting here, typing this post.

Chaos reigns about my house.

The only redeeming feature about going camping this weekend is that I will be able to hopefully just "BE" and relax. There will be no jobs to worry about, no floors to vacuum, no dishes to wash, no laundry to do, no sports practices to rush to, no clocks to watch, no schedule to maintain. When I finally get to town and to the grocery store in a few hours, I plan on picking up at least 2 books and a stack of magazines, including the sleazy gossip rags. By the time we get back I will be unbelievably relaxed and mentally ready to face the impending school year.

But that relaxation will last only until we pull back into the driveway on Monday and the insane schedule that is our life starts once again and harsh reality slaps me in the face.

Two of the three kids have practices on Monday!

This One

RUBY

• Asked her 13 year old brother today if he was gonna get married when it is snowing outside. Cuz she is.
• Is getting 2 new frogs for her aquarium tomorrow. Their names are Lily and Tad.
• Is SO excited about school. Only 8 more sleeps!
• Her voice has changed a bit because she has so many teeth missing right now. Three (!) in the front and one more loose on the bottom!
• Is starting to sound out words and figure out what signs say.
• STILL won't wear underwear.
• This is going to be a problem in about 8 days when school starts.
• Can already dribble a soccer ball better than her brother.
• Named her butt cheeks, Fluffy and Puffy. Her tummy is Muffy.
• Wants to work at Sonic before she has kids and as a teacher after she has kids.
• Wants to have 3 kids and drive a truck.
• Her favorite colors are blue, and white and red.
• Her best friend is Jimmy. He LOVES Ruby and she loves him too. Only she loves him like a brother. Poor Jimmy.
• She has several boyfriends, most of which are her brother's age.
• Her brother's friends (her boyfriends) usually tell Jacob to tell her to put some clothes on when they are over. We have a problem keeping clothes on this kid.
• The new rule at the swimming hole is that swimsuits must be worn at all times. No skinny dipping Ruby!
• Never had or needed a spanking, point your finger at her and she cowers.
• Her favorite song is Rascal Flatts "Me and My Gang" She likes the "It's a brother and a sister kind of thing" part. (Cuz she has a brother and a sister)
• She likes the music in the car so loud that she can't hear herself, or anyone else, sing. And she likes to listen to Sugarland's "Stay" over and over and over. She sings it at the top of her lungs.
• Is my baby and is growing so fast that she really isn't a baby anymore.

My favorite movie of all time

Red Dawn is my all-time favorite movie. I have no idea when I FIRST saw it, but I know I have seen it MANY times since then.

Somehow while watching this movie I identified with many of the characters and it helped make the Cold War more of a reality to me (albeit in a chilling way). For me, that movie helped me grow up and realize that the World was bigger than just our country. I knew it was a fantasy movie but it also got mes thinking, “What if that happened? Could/would I do that?”

It is also a movie about teenagers, the Wolverines, not being able to rely on adults. And even though this movie does not have the greatest acting or script I somehow can't resist watching it and crying through it, whenever it is on. I also own a DVD copy for melancholy times.

This scene when the Dad says, "Boys! Avenge kills me.

And when Daryl is shot for his traitorous ways also gets me.

In fact I cry all the way to the end when Matt and Jed are on the swings dying.

Although most of the Wolverines are killed, a voice-over appears at the end of the movie by Erica, one of the two survivors, showing a World War III memorial. The American flag flying above it implies the United States had - eventually - won the war.

The exact quote framing "Partisan Rock" is:

"I never saw the brothers again. In time, this war, like every other war, ended. But I never forgot, and I come to this place often, when no one else does."

"In the early days of World War 3, guerrillas, mostly children, placed the names of their lost upon this rock. They fought here alone; and gave up their lives, so that this nation shall not perish from the earth."

Vegas, baby!

Did you know that you can fly to Vegas from Redmond, Oregon for only $59 one way?

And Redmond is only about 200 miles from here, closer than Portland.

That is only $170 round trip with all the taxes and fees added.

Yep, the trip is booked for October 9-12 with three friends!

I am so excited. I have not been to Las Vegas for three years. I can't wait.

The atmosphere is fun, the food is great, and the shopping is so fabulous!!!

Top 5 Sports Movies

We are a sports loving family.

There is not a week out of the year when one or another of the kids are not participating in some sport of some kind.

Jacob plays basketball, baseball an football and also competes in track for his middle school. He also goes to golf camp every summer and hikes and hunts.

Hayley plays basketball, softball and soccer. She also plays volleyball whenever she can, goes to golf camp in the summer and hunts.

Ruby is just getting started. She will be playing her first season of soccer this fall and I highly anticipate that she will be soon following in her older siblings footsteps of playing a sport throughout the year.

All of the kids swim.

Me, I walk, run/shuffle a bit, throw and catch softballs and baseballs, shag basketballs and play horse, suck at golf, and hike. I have no time to really join a league or play anything competitively for myself--Who would drive my kids to their events?

We watch a lot of sports movies. They can be so inspirational.

My family's top 5 sports movies (in no particular order):

• Remember the Titans
• The Sandlot
• Friday Night Lights
• Blades of Glory
• Bend it like Beckham

Kind of all over the place, but then so are we!

What are your family's top 5 sports movies?

Time flies

This picture was taken in August of 2005. This picture was taken in August of 2008.

It's Been Awhile...

(That's a great song! I love Staind!)

Here is a bit of what has been going on—

• Ruby lost another tooth and the tooth fairy came the SAME night that she put the tooth under her pillow! Jacob and Hayley's tooth fairy was really the pits and always took at least an extra day, sometimes 2! (Hey, it took 3 kids to finally get it together, what can I say...)

I love this picture. She is very into hairstyles lately, but never wants to brush it!

• I had a Stampin’ Up Club workshop at my house. It was not my month to hostess, but my house is more conducive to entertaining, so I got to be the hostess. The best thing about having a party at your house is that it gets cleaned. Really cleaned. Company cleaned. Not just family cleaned.

• Hayley’s Classic soccer team had a qualifying tournament in Canby. We stayed in Newberg at the Shilo Inn and went to the Drive In movies to see Wall-E (I do not recommend Wall-E, it is very slow and much too long.)

This is Hayley and Max, the stockiest Border Collie I have ever seen. He goes through seasonal depression in the summertime when we are so busy and spend too much time away from home.

• The soccer team placed 4th in their bracket and went on to round 2 of the qualifying tournament this weekend in Keizer. They lost both games, but Hayley finally played like she can.

• Jacob went on a 50-mile hike of the Pacific Crest trail from Timberline to Cascade Locks. All went well until the last night when he was eaten alive by mosquitoes.

This is one of the pictures I took the day before he left just in case I had to make LOST posters, or he didn’t make it out alive. Yes, I am morbid. My kids tolerate me.

• Football has started. I hate football. I hate the fact that he looks like he is getting beat up and that he likes to hit people, and is pretty good at it too. I cannot stand to watch Jacob play even one minute of football. He says football is his favorite sport because he just plays and doesn’t have to really think.

• I finally got my “Welcome Back” letter from the school district and will start on Aug. 28th. There was some worry that the start of school would be delayed due to un-completed renovations and the fire in July.

I know I am biased, but they really are beautiful!

• The girls decorated an onion to enter in the County Fair. The theme was, “It’s Magical!” their onion was a wizard. Pretty cute.

• I spent oodles of money on nothing at the fair.

• I helped a friend who owns a start-up catering company by serving salads at a company picnic. Not only did I get paid very well for my time, I also got to bring home leftovers to my perpetually starving son.

• Seriously, I really didn't believe people when they talked about their teenage boys eating them out of house and home, but OMG. My kid can really EAT. A LOT. ALL THE TIME

• I've purchased two pairs of soccer cleats, one pair of foot ball cleats, two sets of shin guards, 6 pairs of soccer socks, two soccer balls, and one football mouth guard. I have a lot more I need to buy, but I am TIRED OF SHOPPING! Can you believe it? I want to stay home.

• My beloved Honda Odyssey ( I do have 3 kids... someday I'll get to drive something cute!) rolled over 100,000 miles. I was too sidetracked to take a picture like I wanted, but plan on getting one at 111,111 miles.

And this is a portrait of me taken while driving down the North Umpqua Hwy. I am concentrating on being a safe, responsible driver, not on taking a great picture!

Exciting News!

At 5 years, 8 months, and 3 weeks, Ruby officially lost her first tooth tonight!

I say officially because she did have one of her top front teeth pulled a few months ago because it was injured in a bleacher accident. Her freshly lost tooth is a bottom tooth.

Here is the photo proof:

I got nuthin'

Blah, blah, blah...

BORING

This is my life right now.

I can't WAIT until school starts again and I get to go back to work!

Ruby is having a movie marathon day and so far we have watched: Finding Nemo, Enchanted, Veggie Tales, and Cinderella 3. I am cutting her off when this one is over.

Hayley is at soccer practice. This is her first year of Classic Soccer and their first tournament is this weekend in Canby.

Jacob is on Day 2 of his 50-mile hike of the Pacific Crest Trail from Timberline to Cascade Locks.

Once again, the kids have much better lives than I do. My major source of excitement the past few days has been.....ummmmm.......I can't think of anything!