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For those who need or want to know:

Camie's baby blessing will be at our ward in Salem at 11:00am.

The address for the building is:

2530 Boone Rd SE
Salem, OR

Directions

I-5 S toward Portland
Entering Oregon
Take exit 252 for Kuebler Blvd
Turn right at Kuebler Blvd
Take the 2nd Left at Battlecreek Rd
Take the 1st Left at Boone Rd
Church will be on the right

Peter's brother is in town to bless his baby, Peighton, as well.

Afterwards everyone is invited to a BBQ at our home.

Our address is

1215 Barnes Ave SE
Salem, OR 97306

Directions from Church building:

Turn Left out of parking lot onto Boone Rd
Turn Right at Battlecreek Rd
Turn Left onto Kuebler Rd
Turn Left onto Commercial St
Take the first right after the 76 gas station (Barnes Ave)
Our house will be the 2nd on the right after the 76 station.

Hope to see you all there :)

-Anne

Just wanted to say Happy Father's Day to my husband, my father, brothers, and brother-in-law! You all amaze me as fathers and are wonderful examples to all of the younger men in our family. Thank you for all you do. Enjoy your day! I love all of you.

Sorry but I am looking at races to run and wanted to add the race websites to the blog so anyone who wants to join me can.

Skirt Chaser 5K - Vancouver, WA
August 7th
http://www.skirtsports.com/skirtchaser5k/vancouver/

Oktoberfest Road Race 10K - Mt. Angel, OR
September 18th
http://www.mtangel.net/matthew/oktoberfest.html

Domestic Violence Awareness 10K - Salem, OR
October 9th
http://www.mcdvcouncil.org/index.html

EWEB Run to Stay Warm Half - Eugene, OR
November 20th
http://www.eweb.org/runtostaywarm

-Anne

The New Proud Big Brother with his gift from his sister. (She earned Brownie points)

Born at 9:19 PM, 7 lbs, 9 oz, 20 inches, 14 inch head, Buffy and Avery are doing well.

Five days? What happened to eight days? Well, I ended up not having to work next week so I'm going to be coming up to WA early! I'll be there Tuesday morning through the morning of the 5th.  I can't wait to see everyone! Also, I'm not sure who's planning on picking up TnT + fam in Seattle on Wednesday but I am happy to come with whoever is going if there's room or go get them myself.

As for what I've been doing lately, I definitely am in a weird transition period right now. I'm attempting to fully finish up everything with the internship that I was working with while getting things moving on my thesis project while getting ready to start my new internship as soon as I get back from WA. There have been some bumps in the process of switching things around but I'm sure everything will work out fine in the end.

Other than that business, I have been having fun with my friends who returned from Europe last week. This weekend I also get to see a bunch of friends from high school that I haven't seen in a while cause my high school drama teacher is retiring so is having a retirement party that I am going to. Should be fun. And Michelle has her graduation this weekend so I'll be going to that.

I think that's about it so I'll leave it there. Five days! :)

Ok, I think posting before the end of the day would be a good idea as life is about to get a bit more chaotic. Tonight Brent and I are going into the hospital to check in at 8:30 to get the induction process started. It was decided yesterday at my doctor's office as I am not showing the right signs of being ready for pitocin. So one drug overnight, then pitocin in the morning and let's hope this baby actually comes on Friday.

Here is coming to you from our new house in Salem. We moved in almost 2 weeks ago and it has been crazy since the minute we moved in.

-We moved in Saturday the 5th in the morning with the help of Mom and Dad and a few guys from our elders quorum in our new ward. We left almost right after moving in to head up to the Starlight 5K and Parade. We got back home around 1:30am and were in bed by 2:30am.

-We then had church the next day and immediately headed after to Mom and Dad's for Treven's birthday celebration. We got back home at 11:30pm and went to bed.

-Monday, I began my spinning class at the Y and then Peter got off early so we could spend an exorbitant amount of money at Dick's for the friends and family. We went straight from there to volleyball so I could play in the first night of the CoEd rec league I joined.

-Tuesday was an unpacking day and waiting for the cable and internet stuff to show up. Peter got home from work and we went out to shop for stuff for the house.

-Early Wednesday morning (1am) Beck woke up having thrown up in bed which meant I had to get up and clean up and start the massive loads of laundry. He then threw up at 4am and Andrew came in and threw up around 8am. We headed to the doctor's office for the first time here in Salem to find out that Andrew had a mild ear infection and they had both caught a bug somewhere (I am guessing either Kim's family gave it to us or they got it at the gym). Peter felt bad that morning and ended up staying home from work feeling like crap. Needless to say, my day was filled with taking care of my 3 sick boys and keeping them away from Camie.

-By Thursday morning we were all feeling somewhat better. We had to travel to Boise for Peter's work Summer party. We took off at noon and got back Sunday evening at 6pm. It was great to see friends but definitely sucked since we did not all feel in tip top shape.

-Monday was filled with cable guy in the morning, then off to Dave's practice for a filling and then some shopping with mom at IKEA and the Container Store.

-Yesterday was more of a relaxing day just getting things done when I can around the house.

Our house is still in boxes and I feel like I can't get anything done but Peter keeps reminding me that it is okay as long as we get a little done at a time.

Juggling 3 kids is hard I will say. Going out to stores and such is difficult and I am trying to come up with ways to not make it such a stressful event (any ideas???). The boys are both going thru stubborn stages and I am trying my hardest to not get so upset at them. They just love to be boys and we are dealing with alot of fighting between the 2 of them. Mom tells me it is just a stage and they will get better even though the fighting will not go away.

Camie is growing but of course she is still tiny. She is such a good baby and I couldn't have asked for a better baby. She is what I needed right now and I am so glad she puts up with me.

Peter is working harder and harder but is enjoying the 10 minutes of driving to work instead of 1 1/2 hours. We like it too! :)

I am sure this all seems like so much babbling but I thought I would get something out here since it has been forever. And yeah, no pictures as we lost our camera during the Gualala trip. Anyone seen it at all? Blue Sony Camera in a black case.

Ok I will stop now, Love you all!

-Anne

Wow, has it really been an entire month since I last posted? I would say that it has flown by but I have also done so much that it seems to have lasted forever! I hate doing this timeline style but it’s the quickest way I can think of to remember what we’ve been up to. So here goes:

In the middle of May we started the beginning of our sad season to say “see you later” to many of our friends. Many members of our Okinawa family are moving and I just try not to think about life in Oki with out them. We had a big “see you later BBQ” with Randy and Melanie Ball before they left. They were so stressed with flying out the next morning that I don’t know if they remember it but we had a great time.

Hayden finished the soccer season, much of it was cancelled due to the crazy amount of rain we’ve had this season but he still had a good time. Danica finished preschool. She has loved her teacher and class and it’s been a great experience for her. They did a little program on her last day where they were singing and she started out happy and smiling and part way through the song she realized how many people were watching her and just ended up crying and nervous... it was just “so Danica.” Here she is with her two teachers, one American one Japanese. She learned a lot of great things in her culture class and sings a cute little Japanese song.



We’ve had a lot of fun exploring Japan and participated in a lot of cultural exchange activities with local members of our church. They took us around and showed us the true Okinawa side of things. We really enjoyed it and learned a lot! These black snakes are really expensive and you buy them to make things like snake soup. The kids were thoroughly disgusted and fascinated by the pigs heads and crazy fish. Alyssa was terrified the lobster were going to crawl out and get her! Danica developed a little "crush" on a boy named Levi, he's the son of the woman who was the district camp director so they spent a lot of time together while were we getting camp things planned. She hadn't seen him in a while and was so happy to spend the day with him!






Alyssa is completely adorable and I have fun taking her around everywhere with me. She's my little companion while Danica is at preschool. She is talking up a storm and loves to smile and ask me "you happy mommy?"

Tom got to DJ the youth dance last month and we had a lot of fun. Although it was pretty stressful trying to screen all the songs to make sure they were appropriate. I offered to host Hayden’s class for the end of year family picnic. It sounded easy enough, I would put together a few water games, throw out some chairs and blankets and have a good time. So I spent all week weeding and prepping the yard and getting it looking as nice as it can. Then of course the forecast was very rainy. At the last minute we rented some huge canopies for the yard and had quite a headache picking them up, setting them up and then taking them down...ugh...won’t do that again. But they saved the picnic. It’s warm even when it rains so the kids still rain around playing games, doing the slip ‘n’ slide and sprinklers while the parents stayed dry under the canopies! Hayden is done with school this Thursday and although he has loved his class this year he is dreaming of waking up and playing video games every day.... his dream life.



Over Memorial Weekend we watched our friends kids and so in return they watched our kids this past Friday night. Tom and I didn’t go anywhere but lived a life of “freedom.” We went out to dinner, did some shopping, and then went to karoke. We went to bed late and then woke up early and ran a 5K race and then went on a 20 mile bike ride before picking up the kids. It was nice!!! Saturday night we spent at the church at District Area Training. It was a long meeting but was good information.

We've enjoyed a lot of fun activities. Great beach days, park days and indoor play days. The girls play "mom and dad" all the time and I never know for sure whether to call them mom, dad or baby... I never know who I am supposed to be that day.

Now we are prepping for our big summer trip back to the states. We leave on June 23rd and will be there for three weeks. We can’t wait to see family and friends and to be in America, we miss it all!!!! We fly in Wednesday morning and will lay low that day...then we want to hit the outlet malls on Friday...anyone want to join us? Anyone want to watch the kids? :)

In looking for something else in my old files, I came across this Neal A. Maxwell quote that I really like...so I thought I would share:

"In the next world, we will finally receive what we have persistently desired and chosen during mortality...Individually, we will have made so many incontestable, on-the-record choices. The final outcome, therefore, will be perfectly just, and all mortals will so acknowledge...In effect, we will receive the degree of joy we have demonstrably chosen and which we have developed the capacity to receive."

Thought provoking, isn't it?...glad I have a few more years, I would hope!

Love you all,

Mom

I can't believe the month of May whizzed right by and now it is already almost mid-June. I have a great deal of catching up to do but I will start with the present and work my way back I guess.

Mike- is suffering from a terrible cold, fever, etc... and it's finals week. His last final was this morning but he still has a major project due on Monday. Two weeks ago he was set apart as the new High Priest Group Leader. I think that officially makes us old. He also just joined a softball team with a bunch of guys from our ward and Monterey Second Ward. I'm pretty sure he has officially guaranteed himself no free time for the rest of his summer. He still remains an amazing dad and husband and gives his family almost all of whatever time he does have.

Me- since we might as well go in order. I am catching Mike's cold, but besides that I have to say that May and the first week of June was the most busy I EVER want to be in my life. I was able to do some creative activities, example- come up with a sea creature costume, mexican costume, renaissance costume, and woodland fairy costume. I helped bake bread for 90 middle schoolers and create an authentic booth, I also transformed our courtyard into Pixie Hollow for a birthday fairy and her 12 little fairy friends. I visited three different schools, attended two different meetings, and sat through several phone calls as I attempted to make the decision as to where Ellyn would attend school this coming fall. Throw in helping put together New Beginnings, joining a gym co-op, and running three mornings a week at 4:50 and you have a little glimpse into my life.

Jane- finished the seventh grade and is having a little bit of a hard time with the fact that Edie will be in High School this next year and she will only be in eighth grade. Her Renaissance Fair was a great success, which was a huge relief. The fair was a culmination of a semester's worth of studies, the entire school dresses up and the seventh graders are the vendors. Jane and Jenny and Kari baked homemade bread served with honey and homemade lemonade. We even cut burlap napkins. Jane also played the flute, which was difficult because it was a very blustery day and we had to use rocks to keep her music in place. Jane has been working out with me every morning at the gym co-op, she and Edie had a slumber party Tuesday night that included manicures (Robin, in our ward, gave them free manicures for babysitting at the temple for the ward temple trip), and a late night movie, "Letters to Juliet." Jane has also had several babysitting jobs but her focus has everything to do with leaving for Washington on Father's Day.

Sadie- when you think of Sadie just sing the song "I just want to party all the time, party all the time, party all the ti-i-ime." This girl goes from one birthday party to the next these days. Her own birthday party was on June 3rd and we had a great time. We "fairy-fied" all the girls with piggy buns, glitter, face paint, ivy, and flowered head wreaths. Then we played all sorts of fairy games since Sadie loves the show "Minute to Win It." Pictures will follow. Sadie is so happy to be out of school, mostly just so she doesn't have to wake up in the morning. Sadie turned the magic number 8 and will be baptized in Washington on July 3rd. Our girl is so excited.

Ellyn- yesterday she decided to say about 20 words and I am not exaggerating. It was the most bizarre thing ever. Today we were back to just a couple, but we will take anything. Ellyn is really thriving right now. She is really enjoying playing with toys, she loves running (with helpers holding her hands), she loves looking at books, she has discovered jumping with both feet. Yesterday she lost one of her top front teeth. It is Soooo cute. After much thought and prayer we have found the best track for Ellyn to be on for school next year. Unfortunately she can't stay at her cute little pre-school forever so we are making the big plunge to full day school in the fall. We will really miss everyone that worked so hard for our little kiddo.

Sawyer- is hilarious. The words he uses totally crack us up. It is so obvious that he listens to his older siblings. Of course now I am blanking but I will remember later. Sawyer is completely potty trained and that is an awesome feeling. He loves his sisters so much and they love him and playing with him all day long. I had to empty every hidden stash I had of candy, even old candy canes because this boy has a sweet tooth and, being home alone with me every day, knew where I hid everything. So... we are really trying to eliminate sugary foods from all of our diets. I think with the end of the school year and having a bunch of treats around during Sadie's birthweek and then our camping trip we were all on sugar overload. Anyway, Sawyer has discovered legos and that is so much fun. He loves playing outside and "fighting" on the floor with Sadie, Mike, Jane, and me. Every day he picks out his stories for nap and we snuggle on my bed and read stories, then he falls asleep for an hour and a half or so and I take my 20 minute power nap. I LOVE snuggling that little man.

I know there is much more to write and I need to post a million pictures but this will get us started. Blog out.

I was working at the temple today and thinking a lot of Mother...and today being her birthday. Martha has a post with a picture...she would have been 99 today. It seems impossible that it is almost 10 years since she left us.

She really was an exceptional mother and grandmother...I wish those of you who have joined the family since 2000 would have had the chance to know her. She was so wise and kept me going in times that I felt like giving up! One of the things I look forward to the most when I get to the other side is talking with her and feeling her unconditional love for me!

I miss her terribly...but know that she is happier being with Wa-wa...as she always was!

Love,
Mom

I'm just enjoying my latest playlist so much that I thought I'd share in case anyone is interested. Some of these were also on my last playlist I posted so sorry for the repeat but they make this one too cause I just love them so much. :) So here you go:

Marnie's Summer 2010

• Excuses by The Morning Benders
• Swim by Surfer Blood
• 10 Mile Stereo by Beach House
• Quiet Little Voices by We Were Promised Jetpacks
• Pretty Girl from San Diego by The Avett Brothers
• Zebra by Beach House
• Fall Hard Pt. 2 by Shout Out Louds
• Animal by Neon Trees
• Let's Go Surfing by The Drums
• My Girls by Animal Collective
• To Lose My Life by White Lies
• Trinity by Paper Tongues
• My Love by The Bird And The Bee
• Sweet Disposition by Temper Trap
• Two Weeks by Grizzly Bear
• 1999 by Shout Out Louds