Max

Max was my part of the deal when Ben wanted to get a motorcycle. He got a motorcycle, I got a cat. Hannah and I found him at Shute Park in Hillsboro at a concert. A cute family was giving away free kittens. We picked out the orange, short haired one of course. It's family tradition.

He is great with kids and very patient. All four kids tote him around and he is always available for a warm blanket, a rub and some TV time.

When we moved into our current house, 4 years ago. Max went missing for many days. We were all panicked and Hannah said a prayer for his safe return. He showed up in the middle of the night scratching at Hannah's window. It was a real testimony builder for us all, especially Jeff and Hannah.

Just recently, he went missing again. Jeff said, "Well prayer worked last time. Let's try it again." Hannah said the prayer and within 10 minutes he showed up." No lie! The kids and I were shocked and relieved.

Tonight, Max was crushed in the garage door and died. It's been a rough night with the kids. Hannah burst out in tears immediately, along with her mother of course. Jeff kept it in till bedtime where he poured his heart out to Ben. It was a great teaching moment about the resurrection. Jeff said the family prayer tonight. "Please bless Max to be happy in heaven. Please help him to find Jake so they can play together." Amen.

Thanks Max for all the fun years, great mousing and warm cuddles on the couch. You are loved.

Cut, Split, Stack, Repeat

Another winter is upon us, so there is wood to cut, split and stack. Our neighbor had 4 trees that had died, so Labor day we got an itch to take them down. Who doesn't love a good tree fall??? We loved it! Started with a little one, then a little bigger, and then 2 big ones to finish it off. Jason and Ben brought out their inner logger in them and took them down.

Ben worked during the week to cut the rounds. Friday the "team" went to work. We finished cutting and splitting 3 trees. We started the stacking process. This would end up being a VERY LONG process!!

Saturday Ben and Delbert finished cutting and splitting the fourth tree. I have to stop and appreciate the splitter. It is AWESOME!!! I can't imagine having to split each round with an axe. Ahhhhh! It takes a log and splits it like butter. We all adore the splitter!! I also have to pause and say a big "thank you" to Jeff for being on baby duty. He was great with the kids. They played outside for hours and he kept them entertained, fed, clean (kinda) and happy! Thanks Buddy!

We stacked and stacked and stacked for the rest of the afternoon. Before we started this adventure, Ben had ordered from a patient 4 cords of wood. So we stacked 2 of those 4, plus we cut another 2+. People . . . we have a LOT of wood. We won't be running out this year!! The beloved "Dragon" will be fed and happy. When the Dragon is happy, mommy is warm and happy.

We finished stacking around 4:30pm Saturday. Feeling oh so proud of ourselves. Cleaned up everything, nice and tidy. It looked so good. Then the patient with the wood showed up and dropped off 2 more cords of wood. It made us tired. We walked away and went swimming.

Homework Already?

True--Hannah came home with her first 'book report' due on Oct. 7th. Party is over! Summer is gone. I miss "Deff" as Jack calls him and "Anna" as Molly says. We were all very happy to see them off the bus. Jack to jump on the trampoline with Deff, Molly to eat popsicles with Anna, and me to take a nap as I've been up since 3:00am with a VERY annoying, painful sore throat. We're going on day 3 of being sick. Strep . . . again!

Hannah in a rare pose NOT pulling a silly face. Yea!

Jeff is just too cool for his mom as you can see.

Cove Palisades

We had a fabulous, awesome, fun, tubin', wake boardin', swimmin', dunkin', eatin', not sleepin', hilarious time with the Wolfe's, Stadelman's, and Mortensen's at Billy Chinook. We got 2 killer campsites. Great company. Delicious food. Sweet boat with a cute captain. Loads of laughs. See ya next year!!

Nothin' Like Family Time

Thank you, thank you, thank you for the awesome visit Morties!! We love you!!

We met them at the beach the first day. It was a bit cold, but we made the best of it. The fire was a hit! The pizza had the best crust we have ever eaten!! The big kids (dad's included) tried skimming (see Jessy's blog for pictures). They all fell on their buttocks. It was hilarious. Fun times!

Buck Up Lil' Camper

We had another fun camping trip to Trillium Lake on Mt. Hood. It was a bit dusty . . . it is August.


I had a great time on the zip line. 500 ft of pure adrenaline. (no pictures) We sang and sang and sang every camp song we could remember. "Baby Shark, dut do, do, do, baby shark . . ." (Thank you Rylee!)


Jack setting out on his first trail ride. He rode his lil' bike 2 miles with his dad on a trail ALL ON HIS OWN. He didn't want any help. It was adorable!!





We played some challenging hop scotch games using the International Tournament Rules????


The kiddos put A LOT of miles on the bike trailer. Did you know you could fit 2 nine year olds in a TODDLER bike trailer.



Jeff rode 52 miles over the whole weekend. Ben and Jeff did downhill at Skibowl again. They had a great time.


Thank you Stadelman Clan and Mary! It was a fun weekend!

We Really Did Have Fun!

It just may not look like it . . .