Jacob's Big Day

Jacob had a very busy day on Saturday the 21st. It started with the an invitational in Wilsonville.  He was running the 1500 so he could leave early for other events.  We went to watch and cheer him on. My fabulous camera did a great job and so did my fabulous son Jacob!  He knocked 8 seconds of his PR finishing 8th with a time of 4:21.  He hung back in the beginning and I was a bit worried about him.  Turns out that was his strategy.  He slowly worked his way to the middle of the group and by the last lap, he really poured it on and flew past many, many runners!  I am so proud of my guy!

 

Right before he crossed the finish line, he is looking up and seeing his time, and he is HAPPY with it!

Crossing the finish line

Jacob came home with us and Richard took him to pick up his brand new suit.  He also got new shoes to go with it as well as a nice new shirt.  He looked so handsome!  And why would he get all dressed up on a Saturday afternoon?  Well it just so happened to be "Mormon Prom" at the Beaverton West Stake Center.  He asked Valerie Stokes, a girl from seminary, a few weeks ago and she said yes.  He went with his friend Ryan and they picked up their dates, took pictures and went to dinner at Stanford's.  He had a wonderful time and I am very happy he got to have such a great experience!  It is hard to believe his senior year is almost over!  I am grateful for the fun experiences he is having!

 

Easter Weekend

After helping Adrienne buy her car on Saturday, we came home, boiled up a bunch of eggs and dyed them!  What fun!  We had a kit I got on clearance last year that made the eggs speckled and colourful.  I could not find the other kit I got, so we used our bright food colouring kit and made our own fun colours.  Adrienne took these fun pictures for us!

 Easter Sunday was stake conference for our area.  We did not go until 1pm, so we started out our morning with the wonderful deviled egg casserole that Aunt Lesa taught us how to make. It was just two years ago that she was here helping us make it for Easter weekend!  We also had a wonderful fruit salad.  The kids hunted for eggs and found a bunch.  We headed off to conference and heard some wonderful messages!  When we got home I fixed some scalloped potatos to go with our Honey Baked Ham. Mmmmmm!  What a treat!  Gidget got the bone from the ham, but she had to gnaw on it out on the back deck so she wouldn't make a mess inside.  She was not thrilled by this and was very pitiful trying to get one of us to let her in!  Annalina had fun taking photos of her!

   

It was a wonderful weekend with my family!  I am so grateful for each and every one of them and the contribution they make in helping our family be so happy!  

Happy Birthday Adrienne!!!

My oldest daughter is no longer a teenager!  On March 24th she turned 20 years old!  We happened to be in Rexburg at the time and neither she nor I was feeling well so we decided to celebrate at her favorite restaurant once we got back to Oregon.  The other night Richard and I took her out to dinner  to the Korean BBQ place she loves.  It is always so much fun spending time with Adrienne, she has such a great sense of humor.  She is also very kind and nurturing to her siblings.  Adrienne is also very responsible, which leads me to our next adventure...

Late Birthday Celebration!

....Adrienne has been saving for a new car for a while now.  She has worked to hard to save up and finally got to her goal.  She and Richard have been keeping an eye on the car market for a while now and she was very excited to get to start test driving!  Last week they looked at a car that she loved, but could not see out the rear window.  She decided to keep looking.  Yesterday several Subarus went up for sale so we went into Portland to check them out.  We looked at one and she really liked it.  We went to look at the second one and it was really cute, but she liked the first one better, and actually Richard and I and the littles felt the same.  We headed back to get it.  While she was in filling out paperwork several people came by to look at it.  It seems we had gotten back just in time so she could buy it!  Isn't it cute??  Isn't she cute???  Together they are irresistible! So I rode with Adrienne on the way home and there was a little drama involved.  Heading up Burnside the engine started to overheat!  Oh no!  I got Richard's attention in the van and he pulled over.  I took the littles home in the van and Richard and Adrienne waited for her car to cool down, then headed back up the hill. Richard drove it, seeing if it would overheat again and it did not.  Then I think he tried to get it to overheat(Adrienne told me he drove it REALLY fast) but it drove beautifully!  Richard did some minor things to it and it's good as new. Both Adrienne and I were a little worried for a minute there that we would have to take it back!  But having a brilliant husband who KNOWS things is very handy in situations like this. He will be able to help her with most mechanical issues that may come up! The littles are extremely impressed that Adrienne bought her own car. They have both declared that when they are old enough, they will also be buying a Subaru! 

Still Running....Senior Year Track

Wednesday we had the pleasure of attending Jacob's first home track meet this year.  It was cold, rainy, cloudy and AMAZING!  Joseph loves to run and really looks up to his brother so he tagged along to help us cheer.  Jacob took 3rd in the 1500 with a time of 4:32.  At the end of the meet he ran the 3000, which is his favorite.  He stayed in the front of the pack, but there was a Newburg runner who got out ahead of them.  He had a good half lap lead, but in the final lap Jacob gave it all he had and closed the gap. He came in just 2 seconds after first place with a time of 9:57!  We could not have been more excited for him!  After the race Jacob always congratulates the winner and the other runners. It was so neat to watch him encourage some of the guys who were feeling down about their times.  He has developed into an amazing runner, but even more he is a fabulous team mate and role model.  Can't wait to watch him run some more!

Rexburg Adventures

We left for Rexburg in a blizzard(maybe not an actual blizzard)!  It started snowing the night before we left and kept on snowing.  When we got up at 3am to leave, there was a nice layer of the white stuff all over the ground, including the streets!  Crazy weather for Oregon in March!  We hit more snow going through the pass and that slowed us down a bit.  The little kids were very excited to see the snow in Rexburg and Annalina's only wish was that we have a snowball fight while there. Imagine our surprise to arrive to NO SNOW!!  In fact the locals told us there had been little snow this past winter.  Go figure!

We stayed at the SpringHill Suites right in Rexburg.  We got a great deal on Travelocity and I am glad we did because I was having trouble finding anywhere in Rexburg to stay. The staff was delightful and very helpful through our entire stay.  We opted for a ground floor unit and were pleased to be so close to the lobby and the swimming pool and an extra bathroom.  Five people sharing one bathroom was a challenge that we easily overcame with extras down the hall!  Each morning they provided a lovely hot breakfast.  When we ordered in for lunch or brought home dinner, we ate in the dining area of the lobby, so it really was like an extension to our suite.  We had a beautiful view of the Temple from our Hotel and it was truly amazing all lit up at night!  Actually the Temple is visible from most everywhere, which is really neat.

 

Our first day we got up early and headed to BYU-I for the grand tour!  It was great.  The little kids loved it too and are already planning to attend college there.  When we would stop to look at a map, a student would ALWAYS stop and ask if we needed help.  What a friendly community Rexburg is!  We met with counselors for our various majors and Adrienne and I got great news.  Our associate degrees will transfer us in as Juniors and we will not have to take all the foundations courses.  When we first decided to go to BYU-I, I was a bit bummed to have to start over, but now I don't have to!  I have decided to work towards my Health Care Administration degree while applying to the Nursing Program.  The coursework looks really great to me and I would be fine if that ends up being my main focus!  Adrienne will be working towards her art degree and hopes to get into the photography program.  Richard will work part time towards his IT Management degree. 


One day we drove up to the Buttes near Menan.  We explored a new development on the side of the south Butte and found the perfect lot for us if we decided to stay in the area.  Just dreaming, but it was still fun to explore.  As we were climbing around a great big dog joined us.  He followed us everywhere and even marked the front tire on the van, we felt so honored.  When we drove off to look at the rest of the Butte, he escorted us around.  Here is a funny story that the kids have still not stopped talking about.  As we were walking back to the van, Richard said, "What is your name dog?  I think I'll call you Buddy."  and Buddy came running up to him.  As we were leaving we ran into some people out walking.  Conversation turned to the dog and we asked his name, which of course was Buddy.  The kids thought that was AWESOME that Daddy just happened to know that dogs name!

 

Adrienne turned 20 while we were in Idaho.  She and I both had a bit of a cold and were not feeling up to a whole lot of partying.  But Richard and I did get her a cheesecake to mark the occasion!  We will celebrate more when we get home!


Annalina has been a bit worried about the move only because 5th grade starts middle school in Idaho.  So we took her to the school she will be attending and a very kind woman took us on a tour.  It looks fabulous and they have great music programs for the kids. Annalina is very excited now and I think Joseph is looking forward to 5th grade!


We looked at a couple of homes for rent in Rexburg and explored the ENTIRE city looking at neighborhoods and such.  I thought housing would be simple.  The cost of living is much less than here, so we can afford a fairly comfortable home, however, the rental market near the University is very competitive, with many families applying for each home that opens up.  We will fast and pray that they perfect home for our situation will open up.  We include that in our prayers every night. It is sweet to hear the littles remember and pray for a place to live in Idaho.  While driving around, the kids got a little restless.  Each time we came across a school, we would make the kids run to the tallest slide, go down it and run back to the van!  They loved it and it was fun to watch!  Thanks Adrienne for the great pics you took!

We spent another morning at the campus. We got to eat lunch at the Crossroads dining area.  We hit the local DI and found Joseph some nice church shirts, we got sunglasses at Walmart on one bright and sunny day and we went through the local car wash.  There was a sign that said "Free vacuum with car wash purchase" so we vacuumed out the van.  The kids were amazed that the vacuums were on all the time and that they just trusted you to pay the $2 if you hadn't been through the car wash.  We got to talk about small towns and trusting communities and the kids were impressed.  Adrienne got to spend a day with a friend who is attending BYU-I and had fun walking around and seeing everything again.

We left to come home and it was a long ride home!  We stopped in Meridian for Krispy Kreme donuts.  We were able to listen to four Lemony Snickett "A Serious of Unfortunate Events" Books.  It was good to be home, but I think we are all ready to get moved and settled in in Idaho!


Jacob stayed home alone because he did not want to miss another day of school and his first track meet was while we were gone.  Turns out it was a good thing he made it to his track meet. He PR'd in both his races and helped his relay team win first place!  Way to go Jake!  I think he got used to have the house to himself since when we got home he asked when we were leaving again.  Poor little Gidget had 6 teeth pulled a few days before we left and it was nice to have him home taking good care of her! She really does adore him!